hello and welcome back to "newsline." i'm shery ahn. let's get started with the headlines. aerial teams looking for the missing malaysian airliner have temporarily called of their search because of severe weather conditions. the u.n. security council is expected to consider issuing a statement condemning north korea for its latest missile launches. north koreans with disabilities are getting some

support from abroad. search teams hunting for malaysian airlines flight 370 have had to temporarily suspend their search because of severe weather. they've been zeroing in on an area in the southern indian ocean. new satellite images picked up more than 120 objects bobbing in the rough waters. nhk's craig dale has details. >> reporter: crews have battled fierce winds and choppy waters as they scour a vast area in the southern indian ocean. now they may be able to narrow their search for malaysian airlines flight 370. >> this is still the most credible lead that we have. >> reporter: malaysia's defense minister says french satellite images detected 122 objects floating in a 400 kilometer square area. >> some objects were a meter in length. others were as much as 23 meters in length. some of the objects appeared to

be bright, possibly indicating solid material. >> reporter: flight mh370 left kuala lumpur on march 8 bound for beijing with 239 people on board. it disappeared less than an hour after takeoff. malaysian authorities say it went way off course and likely crashed into the ocean. the objects picked up by the french satellite are about 2500 kilometers west of werth, australia. the areas close to where australian and chinese satellites detected possible debris more than a week ago. pilots from a number of nations have been taking off and landing from perth spending hours in the air. it's been a frustrating mission. >> translator: we used radar and infrared camera along with visual observation but we couldn't get any valid information to find it. >> we investigated a couple of visual contacts but turned out to be marine mammal activity. >> reporter: investigators hope

sophisticated technology will help them locate the cockpit voice recorder and data recorder in these deep waters. so far they can only guess about what happened to the plane and to those on board. relatives of the missing are yearning to see some hard evidence. the majority of passengers were chinese. their families have been critical of malaysian authorities. they've accused them of basing their conclusions on speculation. investigators are hoping the latest satellite images will get them closer to finding concrete answers. their search has stretched on now for nearly three weeks. they're looking for any clues that will help themself this mystery. craig dale, nhk world. nhk world's takeo nakajima joined us earlier from the australian air force base in perth where the search areas are being coordinated. >> reporter: the aerial search today was called off in the afternoon due to bad weather. the crews started flying from 5:00 in the morning.

they planned to fly in shifts so one team could relay their findings to the next team. they hoped to continue until dark, but forecasts indicated a weather front was coming up so they've returned to base. but five ships are still in the area to continue the search. this is normally a base for training pilots for the australian air force, but now it's acting as a multinational task force center for coordination, refuelling and planning. the coordination work is apparently going well. u.s. and japanese forces regularly train with the australians, so they say that's making things easier. as we've seen the weather on the high sea is unpredictable and the location of the search area is remote. crews on board the larger patrol planes have to fly about four

hours to reach it. they only have one to two hours for the actual search. after that they have to make another four-hour flight back to refuel. smaller jets can fly faster so they have about five hours of search time, but the area they must cover is vast, nearly 80,000 square kilometers. basically the size of a small country. even with coordinates and gps, the search teams are having a hard time trying to locate the possible debris identified by satellites. forecasters say the weather should improve on friday. the crews stay they will be ready to resume their efforts at first light. >> nhk world's takeo nakajima in perth. the u.n. security council will meet in a closed door emergency session on thursday in the wake of north korea's

launching of two medium range ballistic missiles into the sea of japan. security council resolutions ban the north from developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technology. member nations are expected to consider issuing a statement condemning the launches as a violation of these resolutions. the north has fired a series of short range missiles over the past two months stoking concerns among u.n. members. the security council apparently deems the latest launches an even greater threat requiring a concerted response. following the third's third nuclear test in february of last year, the council unanimously adopted a resolution further tightening sanctions against pyongyang. china, the north's ally, also backed the resolution. attention is focused on whether the security council can again agree on a unified response. south korean peculiar park kuhn nay is calling for better communication among east asian

nations on nuclear security and the environment. park went to berlin for talks with chancellor angela merkel after attending a security summit in the hague. >> translator: there are friction among east asian nations over territory and perceptions of history, but it is impossible to sever these nations' deep economic ties. >> park called for multilateral forums to discuss matters of mutual concern such as the environment and nuclear security. merkel said germans are ready to share their experience for the peaceful reunification of the korean peninsula. now the latest business stories from ron madison. >> japanese consumers and business executives are getting ready for a rise in the consumption tax. the rate will rise on tuesday to 8% from the current 5%. the new bank survey suggests that more than 40% of small and

medium-sized companies won't fully pass on that tax hike to the prices of their products. more than 14,000 small businesses around the country responded do the survey by shin king central bank. one-third of the firms said they'll raise the prices of their production to fully cover the tax increase. 35% said they can transfer only part of the tax hike while 8% said they can't raise pritss at all. the survey also asked whether the companies raised the wages of their employees this year. just 16% said they had. about one-third of the firms that didn't raise wages said they're taking a wait-and-see approach to the economy. 25% cited uncertain economic prospects and 16% said it was because of poor earnings. a senior researcher at a japanese bank says smaller companies have more difficulty raising prices or increasing wages. he says few executives at these firms believe the economy is recovering. on to the markets. tokyo share prices started the

session with losses following an overnight drop in u.s. equities. investors bought back in the afternoon. the nikkei average closed up more than 1%, 14,622, the highest level that we've seen in two weeks. at the open investors were a bit concerned about geopolitical risks after president barack obama hinted at tougher sanctions on russia. later on in the day overseases placed buy orders as they felt japanese is cheaper than overall stocks. a fairly mixed pictures. seoul's kospi rose to a high but chinese markets came under pressure. the shanghai finished lower, .8%, 2,046. investor sentiment remained weak stemming from worries about chinese economic outlook as well as the country's financial

system. in the philippines the key index shed .5% to 6,315. speculation the country's central bank may raise key interest rates. after the market closed it will maintain the key interest rate at 3.5%. total domestic out put rose in february for a 6th straight rate due to higher demand ahead of the con assumption tax hike. the pace moderated because of heavy snow. the eight automakers made nearly 820,000 units, up 7% from a year earlier. the increase is due to makers producing more to meet strong demand ahead of the higher task and brisk sales of new models launched since the end of last year. record snowfall suspended production at some factories. this affected toyota, honda and fuji heavy industries that operates the subaru brand. the rise in february production was 7%, the smallest increase

other the past six months rnlths japanese automaker nissan is recalling nearly 1 million vehicles in the u.s. because of a faulty air bag system. officials say they've received no reports of fatal accidents related to the problem. niece is a officials followed the recall with u.s. transportation authorities on wednesday. they say the problem involves the software that controls the air bag system. it might not recognize a person sitting in the front passenger seat, so the air bag may not properly deploy in a crash. the recall affects more than half a million ultima sedans and nearly 30,000 leaf electric vehicles and some 100,000 infinity models. all the cars are from the 2013 or 2014 model years. n.a. holdings plans to buy 70 new planes, spending about $70 billion. executives say it's the biggest order ever in the company's history. >> translator: we've selected

new aircraft based on fuel efficiency and other factors. these planes will help our earnings to grow. >> ana will purchase after 2021, 20 large passenger planes now under development by boeing. the state-of-the-art aircraft, the 7 779x will be the successor to boeing's 777. in addition, the carrier will acquire 30 small planes manufactured by airbus. that will be for two new types. boeing and airbus are competing to get orders in the global market. ana's rival japan airlines has announced a plan to buy 56 of the airbus a 350 from 2019. the people who run tokyo's two international airports are getting ready for change. this weekend the more central hanada airport will enhance its

international airport and the larger norita airport is expanding to look for passengers looking for cheap flights. businesses are scrambling to catch up. nhk world's car roek co-ish bish she tells us why. >> reporter: at hanada 110 planes arrive from or depart for foreign countries each day. this is about one-tenth of the number of its domestic flights. 40% of its international flights are late at night or early in the morning. but from sunday the number of international flights it handles will jump by 50%. more flights between tokyo and southeast asia or europe will be scheduled during the daytime. with these changes, domestic airlines are rethinking how they work with travel agencies as hanada links tokyo with regions

across japan, they want the agencies to set up overseas tourists that use the airport. >> translator: i want passengers to take our flights to hanada and transfer to planes bound for london, paris, frankfurt and munich on the same day. >> reporter: at present many people in japan's local regions get long haul flights from south korea's ancient airport. to attract customers, japanese travel agencies and airline companies will introduce a service giving passengers a free domestic flight to hanada if they fly from there. a hotel is now being constructed near hanada's international terminal to accommodate an crease in transit passengers from abroad. the hotel will provide 17 rooms for passengers in transit. a single room will look like this. guests can step off the plane and come straight to their room without passing through

immigration. transit hotels are common around airports in asia, but this is the first one to be built in japan. >> translator: there are not many hotels around hanada, so we believe there are plenty of business opportunities. >> reporter: from sunday norita will loose 120 international flights a week about 4% of its total. located some 80 kilometers from central tokyo, it's less convenient from hand nad da. but they plan to become a budget traveler hub by building a terminal by next march only for local carriers. >> translator: we want to take advantage of the network we already have absorb the increasing demand we have among people in fast growing asian

nations. >> reporter: a bus company is taking steps in line with norita airport's new focus on local carriers. its buses linking narita with central tokyo charge about $10, one-third of other buses. from january the bus service has been running every 20 minutes. two new businesses offer more comfortable seats. >> translator: i always use this bus because it has wider seats and a toilet, too. >> reporter: by enhancing the convenience and comfort of its services, the company has enjoyed an increase in passengers. >> translator: we plan to increase the number of bus services in the early and late hours when there are no railway services available. >> reporter: hand nad da is gaining momentum with the scheduled increase in

international flights. norita is aiming to open up a new market by accommodating local carriers. so the condition is expected to further intensify between the two airports and also among local businesses. nhk world, tokyo. that's going to do it for bi zrnlths at this hour. let's get a check of the markets.

every morning investors turn their attention to asia. the tokyo market leads the way, and markets around the world follow. >> from the decisions that could change the course of the economy. >> to the latest business trends. >> up-to-the-minute market reports. >> analysis from specialists from around the world. >> get all the latest business news in "insight" every day here on "newsline." egypt's army chief has made a long anticipated announcement. abdel fatah al si si says he's running for president. he revealed his decision in a televised speech. he said he was resigning from the military as he was required to do before launching his bed. sisi led a queue last july to depose mohamed morsi. the power shift triggered a wave of violence. morsi's supporters clashed with

the interim government security forces. sisi is seen as the election front-runner, popular among egyptians. critics say sisi would bring back authoritarian politics. they accuse the interim government on cracking down on freedom of expression and assembly. workers at the fukushima daiichi plant have been testing a water treatment system that can remove most radioactive substances from wastewater, but they've run into yet another problem with the equipment. workers noticed that the contaminated water they were pumping into the main filtering component was cloudy. so they shut down one of the three waterlines. they're trying to find out if anything is wrong with the equipment. officials with the plant's operator tokyo electric power company plan to use the filtering system to reduce the amount of contaminated water stored at the plant. about 400 tons of groundwater each day flows into damaged

reactor buildings and becomes contaminated, but the filtering system has been hit by a series of troubles. workers had just resumed operation of two lines on tuesday after leaks and a filter malfunction. most people around the world know little about how north koreans live. they learn even less about those with physical challenges. one german man is helping north koreans with disabilities to reach out. >> reporter: these north korean youngsters have impaired sight. they locate the ball through the sound of a bell inside. until recently north korean children didn't have access to recreational equipment like this.

german robert grund donated them to north korea. he's had impaired hearing since he was born. he works for an international npo that helps people with disabilities and has been living in north korea since 2013. last month he delivered a report in japan about the help he gives north koreans. at the age of 15 grund became interested in north koreans with physical challenges. he was motivated by an official north korean report that said there were no hearing impaired people in the country. grund was skeptical. he first visited north korea ten years ago. officials denied the existence hearing challenged people in the country. but he persisted in asking to people people who cannot hear. on his third visit in 2006, his request was finally granted. when he met some disabled children he observed their

difficult circumstances. >> reporter: at a school for the deaf in north korea students learn sign language, but their reading and writing lessons are inadequate. sign language varies drastically across the country. that's because north koreans are not allowed to travel freely and there is not that much communication between people in different regions. >> reporter: now grund is looking to standardize the north korean sign language.

with help from local people he makes and distributes sign language cards to different parts of the country. north korea is the brunt of criticism from other countries because of its nuclear program. but grund casts politics aside on behalf of north korea's disabled people living here. let's bring in sigh ak ka. eastern canada hit by heavy snow. how normal is such weather at this time of rather here? >> it's quite rather to see such a powerful snowstorm in late march. it has brought about 25 centimeters for snow in parts of massachusetts, nearly 20 for many places in the northeastern u.s. and strong winds battered many areas. take a look at video from the eastern tip of massachusetts. a powerful spring storm brought fierce wind and snow to parts of massachusetts on tuesday.

winds of over 120 kilometers blew the snow making travel impossible. hurricane-force winds were making high sea winds. very fierce conditions over this area. as you can see the lines are close. the dangerous winds are blowing there, up to 130 kilometer gusts are likely. so blustery conditions, blowing snow conditions will likely continue through thursday for the canadian maritimes. within the next 24 hours, things will be clearing up. however, another system is making its way towards the east. things will get quite stormy for your friday evening for the coastal areas once again. now the system is affecting the midsection of the u.s. snow for the northern areas and the wintery mix for this location and strong winds across the southern areas raising the potential for wildfires across the southern planes.

this one will head towards the east providing severe conditions over the mississippi river valley. even tornadoes cannot be ruled out. across the northwest, snowshowers nor the mountains and heavy coastal rain for the pacific northwest in northern california, up to 180 millimeters of rain is likely which is not good news for especially western washington state because the massive landslide occurred on the weekend. so that could hamper the recovery efforts and rescue efforts as well. temperatures are mild across los angeles, 20 degrees and rising to more typical levels across the northeast. 9 degrees in washington, d.c. and rising to the double digits finally on your friday. across europe, quite messy picture for the southern areas, severe weather is likely to happen. that will be affecting the southern parts of the balkan peninsula and turkey on friday. nasty weather for the western areas but quiet in other areas. temperatures are in the mid

teens in many places. it will stay almost the same into the weekend. enjoy the warm weather. over asia looking quite settled over most of japan, some drizzle is falling over the tokyo area, but by tomorrow clear skies will come back. clear weather across the korean peninsula and rain for the beijing area that is good in terms of air pollution. however, winds will be picking up. that will carry yellow sun from the gav i have desert. temperatures looking gorgeous in beijing, 20 for tokyo on friday. here is the extended forecast.

that's all for this hour of

"newsline." i'm shery ahn. thank you for watching. óñóa7guc

>> egypt's abdel fattah al-sisi finally confirms speculation that he will indeed run for president. sisi is the widely popular general who ousted mohamed morsi from power. almost my month later, sisi is promising to rid the country of terrorism. the right-hand man to x president -- was at the international criminal court in the hague. counts of facing four crimes against amenity linked to the postelection violence for years ago. in the man thought to be the world's longest-serving inmate