delegates say they are closing on a deal to regulate the glow kbbal trade in conventl weapons. some u.n. delegations could stand in the way. representatives are studying a final draft of the document. in principle they need to agree to adopt the treaty. some have got caught up on whether to include ammunition in the list of restrictions. the united states is the world leading arm producer. u.s. delegates don't want ammunition to be covered. the draft include another edition on ammunition. it calls on u.n. member countries to british their own systems to manage eximportants.

delegates have been pleating since last week. they are pushing to reach an agreement before the talks end on thursday. heads of the british nation are wrapping up a summit approximate tell us about that. >> they agreed in principle to form a bank but details have yet to be set. leaders agreed to create a development bank. they made the decision at a two-day summit that ended on wednesday. officials face the challenge of setting up a viable frame work. >> we have decided to enters formal negotiations to establish a bank based on our own considerable infrastructure needs. >> besides the banks the brics leaders agreed to launch a new

mechanism to provide each other with currencies. the leaders of the emerging nations aim to reduce their dependence on funds from industrialized countries such as the u.s. and european nations. they may also be looking to secure future markets by offering assistance to developing countries with growth potential. brics delegates are to work out the plan for the next scheduled meeting for september but challenges remain. the officials have yet to agree on details. these include the ctribion tio among the brics and which development areas to focus on. china is increasing its ties with developing nations as part of its strategy to strengthen its position in the international community.

we have the diplomatic agenda. >> reporter: the merging economy may be scaling back. there are various reasons for this. the financial crisis and the european debt have given emer emerging economies a shared grievance. both programs started in advance nations. emerging economies want tolessen their exposure. the country she has just visited a rich in natural resources. chinese leaders have pursued closer ties with africa in recent years and she is expected to reenforce that strategy.

it's not all about business and investment. china is recruiting for strategic reasons. washington says it wants to take up more in asia pacific region. winning for friends will gooive china stronger on the international stage. he's shown he's ready to lead that effort. >> the dow jones industrial average ended down at 14,526. nasdaq managed to close in the positive. to see how stocks are performing

this thursday morning let's go to ramin at the tokyo stoke exchange. how is tokyo kicking off? >> the euro fell again but this time about the political situation in italy and the formation of a government. following the elections from last month also the stricter conditions for cyprus's banks as they prepared to open later today and all of that has continued to weigh on sentiment in financial markets but let's have a look at how tokyo markets are opening up for the nikkei and the topix. both indexes in the negative. in the first few minutes of trading on the screens. the nikkei closing the positive on wednesday which keeps it in the positive so far this week as we approach the month end and the fiscal year end here in jan. in terms of uncertainty global

funds tend to move towards safer assets such as the japanese yen as well as the swiss frank. we've seen the yen gain against the dollar and the euro in pretty volatile trading. that's putting more and more pressure on the next bank of japan meeting, the policy meeting and that is likely to show or is expected to show more aggressive monetary easing measures and that tends to weaken theyen. we shall see. >> ramin expectations is pretty high. that boj will take strong measures but you know that situation in europe must be a real headache for him. where do we stand today? >> he must be looking at the euro/yen trade right now. let's look at the currency levels on the screen. dollar/yen 94.36 to 41.

that could change. eu euro/yen 120.62 to 64. two trading days left for there month. we'll be keeping a close eye on the yen and how that affects key blue chip stocks financials as well as real estate shares here. >> thanks for that update. mitsubishi may have identified the cause of a short circuit.

the company has suspended production of the vehicle. it had partly melted from overheating. they are warning owners not to recharge the battery. pre-shipment inspections have found metal chips and other objects in the battery. some of the objects may have entered the battery during production and still passed inspection. they plan to increase sales of its plug in hybrid and electric cars. it wants to produce production to more than 20% of out put by the end of thedecade. thcompany willinime the battery fault by quickly identifying the cause. his government is seriously considering the adoption of the

bullet train. they plan to build a rapid network across the nation. visiting minister says his government acknowledges the high quality of the train system. that's in terms of speed and safety. he explained that the indian government is currently working out a ten-year plan to build a new rapid train system to build new rapid train systems on seven existing lines across the country. there's been intense competition between japan, france, britain and other countries to gain orders for train technologies. i'll have more business headlines next hour. here is a check on markets.

communication between north easi.outh korea has never been according to to leaders it's now nonexistent. this means all interkorean communication has been cut off. state run media reports north korean media informs them in the south. the north koreans cut off another hot line this month.

this latest statement says there's no dialogue with south korea or the united states. this action will hinder stable management. he urged the north to reverse the decision. if they change their attitude he's ready to reward them with humanitarian aid. the president wants to build trust by promoting dialogue and aid. if park puts her principles into action he expects officials to do their participant. he says humanitarian aid for infants and exchanges among nongovernmental bodies would lead to official north/south talks. people from north eastern japan have endured countless challenges since the nuclear

accident at fukushimaorced them to leave hold. the evacuation was hard on older people. the death rate in nursing care facilities nearly tripled after they left. researchers tracked people from five facilities. 75 of those people died within a year. that's 2.75 more the mortality rate than in the five years before the accident. >> reporter: people need to consider the risks associated with evacuation in the wake of disasters such as a nuclear accident. >> the death rate had nothing to do with the distance people had to travel. he said changes in their nursing care and living environment adversely affected their health. many people have reported

medical reports since the disaster began. a nursery cool report a sharp increase in the number of children with flat feet. the school blames restrictions on out door play. 24 nursery schools examined 640 children between 3 and 5 last april a year after the meltdown at the plant. it says 43% had developed flat feet triple the pre-accident number. it reduces the foot's capacity to absorb impact. out door activities were restricted after the crisis began. many nursery schools and ndergartens in the area keep the restrictions amid persistent concerns over radiation. 25 nursery schools allows children to play within its out door playground now that the whole compounds has been

decontaminated. they are banned from walking outside the compounpouncompound. the professor says the sharp fall in out door activities has damaged the children's feet. >> translator: it wouldn't be a problem if they could have fun. everyone has to be creative. >> the nursery school has shifted focus to indoor exercise. the latest check up shows the rate of those with flat feet remain high at 32%.

media in vietnam are letting the pictures tell the story. state run tv revealed video of a partially burned fishing boat. officials in beijing accuse ed them of making it all up. they showed the charred remains of the ship's cabin. the clh ppened abo a week ago in the south china sea. the chinese vessel chased the fishing boat and fired five shots causing the cabin to catch fire. they reported the flairs never hit the boat.

authorities say the clash happened about a week ago near the paracel islands in the south china sea. they say the vessel chased the fishing boat and they say it fired five shots, causing the cabin to catch fire. in china, the state-run xinhua news agency quoted a navy official as saying the chinese crew fired two warning flares into the air. it reported that the flares never hit the boat. the incident comes ahead of a summit of the association of southeast asian nations. leaders of the ten asean nations will meet in april. we have the story. >> reporter: for more than half a century, the military regime cracked down on democratic freedom. the current commander in chief affirmed wednesday that the military is now fully behind democratic reforms being read by the government. >> translator: today, the army is actively collaborating with the stability and development program laid down by the government under the leadership of a president elected by the

people. we will work toward peace and development of the nation through democratic practices. >> reporter: opposition leader and nobel peace prize laureate aung san suu kyi was in the front row of dignitaries watching the parade. now a member of parliament, she said she's eager to build better working relations with the military. in spite of myanmar's return to civilian rule in 2011, the military is guaranteed one quarter of all parliamentary seats, meaning it still wields considerable influence. that means aung san suu kyi needs the military's cooperation if she is to push through her promised constitutional reforms after the general election due

in 2015. her appearance at the celebrations was widely broadcast on myanmar state television. to date, aung san suu kyi has seen huge support across myanmar, but the impact of her attending the parade, and effectively endorsing the military, remains to be seen. jun kobayashi, nhk world, naypyidaw. businesses are lining up for a piece of the action in singapore. entrepreneurs from across the for new opportunities.to look one team from japan is brewing up a plan to reawaken his business. we have the story. >> reporter: the trade fair in

singapore is exhibiting tea and coffee from around the world. booths are lined up to introduce coffee, tea, black tea and oolong tea from different countries. among them is a booth exhibiting japanese tea. a sixth generation of a tea wholesaler established 130 years ago. he's taking part in the trade fair to try to develop markets in rapidly growing economies in southeast asia. mori is serving a type of tea which most people in japan would consider a quality brew.

>> reporter: most first-time drinkers overseas find japanese tea a little bitter. and compare it to fermented teas such as black tea and chinese tea, people think japanese tea lacks flavor. >> translator: japanese tea has a weaker aroma than other kinds of tea. i have to concede that chinese tea and black tea smell better to most people overseas. >> reporter: keen to push the virtues of his products, mori met with an importer who is interested in japanese tea. genuine japanese tea comes in a wide variety of flavors. so mori decided to create original blends according to the preference of each customer. observing customers' reactions, he blends together tea leaves of different sweetness, aroma, and bitterness. mori uses over 100 kinds of tea

leaves every day, in his quest for the right kind of flavor. >> this is a profile that i think singaporeans will like. >> translator: i think i got the right balance. but i think i can make it even better. >> reporter: this importer decided to continue discussing business with mori. how can he sell the appeal of japanese tea to more people? >> welcome, welcome. thank you. thank you for coming. all right. >> reporter: mori met six leading chefs in singapore. after the chefs tasted different kinds of japanese tea, they showed interest in using it as a food ingredient. highlighting the bitterness from the tea leaves.

one of the chefs came up with a recipe to mix used leaves with mango. and add that to sauteed scallops. the scent of tea, sweet fruit and salty seafood mixed together turned out to be a winning combination. >> translator: i want people to know that japanese tea isn't just for drinking, and that there are other possibilities. it might be a challenge, but i think this could be a great opportunity to popularize japanese tea. >> reporter: beyond just drinking it, mori believes using tea as a fine food ingredient might just help people across asia learn to love japanese tea. mark ho, nhk world, singapore. people in southern china are dealing with rain.

>> a series of low pressure systems have been creating heavy rain and severe weather across south eastern china. this is the time of year when they are colliding across this area. still an additional 150 millimeters or more is likely in and around the province and more than 100 millimeters enough to cause some further flooding as well as land slides. some of the rain should reach taiwan within the next 24 hours which is not good news because this area was hit by a big earthquake on wednesday. the ground is loosened. i want to show you some video coming out of taiwan. an earthquake of magnitude of 6.1 on wednesday. numerous homes were destroyed more than 80 people were hurt. luckily the driver was rescued by a passer by and suffered only minor injuries.

taiwan will be hit by summer rainfall within the next 24 hours. that could cause land slides. rain could hamper the recovery efforts right here. up toward the north snow will be tapering off in north eastern china and light rain for northern japan. precipitation will be rain today because we'll be seeing a significant warm up. double digits for you for the first time this year but the warm up could cause some aven avalanches here. down towards the south baking hot in bangkok with a high of 39 degrees. all right in north america a major winter storm which dump e heavy snowfall in the midwest. it's hovering over the atlantic producing high surf and storm surges across the northeast coast. northwest winds are causing snow across the inland areas.

the winds are causing heavy snow across the appalachians. the wet weather will continue into your friday. out west weather for parts of washington, oregon and northern california. snow showers may go down toward the south. for the rest of u.s. and canada looking dry. we have freeze warnings still posted across the southeast. temperatures may go down during the overnight hours. during the daytime hours temperatures will go up. 14 degrees in atlanta. double digits in washington, d.c. and new york but still on the chilly side here across the west. all right. finally in europe a risk of severe weather still continues s across the south. anher system will be moving

into the west coast by thursday evening. that will produce rough seas and heavy rain as well as thunderstorms. north avalanche risk remains. temperatures are slightly normal than wednesday. here is your extended forecast.