hello and welcome back to "newsline" i'm shery ahn. let's get started with the head lines. a japanese researcher has apologized for the controversy surrounding a high-profile study of stem cells. but she stressed the results are still valid. security forces in ukraine moved to crack down on pro-russian activists in the east, and demonstrators keep up their push for independence. and some people in south

korea are finding new business opportunities by offering unique delivery services. a japanese researcher embroiled in controversy defending herself. scientists around the world praised haruko obokata for what appeared to be a breakthrough in the study of stem cells. now, she's facing allegations she fabricated some of her research data. she has apologized for the troubles. but reiterated the newly created cells do exist. obokata has held a news conference. it's her first public appearance since the allegations arose. she started with an apology. she said she was sorry for all the troubles caused by her inexperience and carelessness. but at the same time, she defended her achievement. >> translator: i do not believe the result of the study was influenced by my mistakes in the paper. i would like to insist the

experiments were carried out in the appropriate manner, and i worked on the paper without any ill intentions. i succeeded in creating stap cells more than 200 times. >> obokata and her team published the research in journal in the british journal "nature." they claimed to have reprogrammed mature animal cells into embryonic-like stem cells and they called them stimulus triggered acquisition of pluripotency or stap cells. they said they could be turned into any type of tissue. then researchers elsewhere started finding problems with the paper. so the leaders of riken, where she works, appointed an investigative panel to look into the research. panel members announced last week that obokata fabricated and manipulated data. now this set of images was initially published as one of the crucial proofs suggesting the pluripotency of the cells. but it was later learned that

they came from another experiment she conducted. so panel members concluded the data was fabricated. obokata explained that she unintentionally used the wrong photos. she said she submitted what she calls the real images proving the stap phenomenon to riken. and she's requesting the panel members look into the case once again. a deadly explosion has ripped through a busy market on the outskirts of the pakistani capital islamabad. local police say the blast killed at least 19 people, and injured 61. they say a bomb was apparently planted in the wholesale vegetable market, crowded with traders and shoppers. no group has claimed responsibility. >> translator: the blast occurred when i was at the vegetable market so i rushed to the site.

>> translator: something exploded behind me when i was selling guava and i fell down. >> the country's main islamic militant group is holding peace talks with the government. police say a different insurgent group opposing the talks may have carried out the attack. the capital security has deteriorated in recent months. just last month a suicide bomb and gun attack at a court killed 11 people. security forces in ukraine are trying to put the lid on unrest in the east. they moved in to take control of one city where pro-russian activists are pushing for independence. but in other areas, demonstrators are digging in, and in the capital kiev, lawmakers are at odds over who's responsible for the worsening situation. nhk world's craig dale has details. >> reporter: this pretty much sums up the state of things in ukraine.

politicians traded punches in parliament after trading accusations over who's to blame for the turmoil in their country. a lawyermaker with a right-wing nationalist party called for unity. but ukraine appears anything but unified. armed pro-russian demonstrators remain in control of a government building in the eastern city of donetsk. they want to hold a referendum within a month on whether their region should be independent. protesters in luhansk are occupying the state security building and have planted land mines around it. residents of another eastern city are cleaning up after the occupation of a government building there. security forces moved in to take control, and they arrested dozens of protesters. government officials say the situation is stable, and they say they blocked the flow of money that financed the civil disobedience.

leaders in kiev and western capitals have accused russian president vladimir putin of using his resources and agents to fan separatist flames. >> no one should be fooled, and believe me no one is fooled, by what could potentially be a contrived pretext for military intervention, just as we saw in crimea. >> reporter: putin sent in soldiers and moved to annex the ukrainian republic after crimeans voted in a referendum to join russia. western leaders have warned him to keep his hands off the rest of ukraine or face further sanctions. russian foreign minister sergey lavrov denies his country is involved in the unrest. he's urging ukraine's interim government to work toward giving special authority to the regions. lavrov and kerry will discuss the situation next week when they meet with representatives of the eu and ukraine. the four parties haven't sat down together since the crisis began. it's clear they need to find a

way forward. fast. craig dale, hq world. now, toyota is again recalling some of its products. ron madison joins me with the details. >> this is just the latest setback for the automaker, which has issued a several major recalls in the past recent months, shery. executives there announcing that they are recalling more than 6 million vehicles worldwide. the automaker will recall 27 models such as its subexact cars. also included is the subaru tressia which toyota produces. the recall will amount to 6.39 million vehicles. they were made between october 2004 and august, 2013. officials at the transport ministry say they found five different defects. they pointed out problems with the driver's seat, as well as glitches with the engine's starter that poses a fire risk. toyota motors in japan will begin offering free repairs at its dealerships from thursday.

let's get a check of the markets now. investors in asia encouraged by a pause in the recent declines that we've seen on wall street. as you can see here, most of our markets in the region have finished higher. a stronger yen sent tokyo's nikkei average down to a three-week low. jakarta was closed due to parliamentary elections. in sydney the s&p asx 200 index climbing nearly 1%, finished at 5,463. that's the highest close that we've seen there in more than five years. retailers were boosted by merger and acquisition news from a major department store operator. and in hong kong the hang seng index also jumping to a closing high that -- the highest close since late january. it added more than 1% to tuesday's 1% gain. investors continue to pick up bargain stocks such as high technology firms, and also casino operators. meanwhile the nikkei gave up 2.1% to close at 14,299. its fourth straight trading day of losses. a firmer yen weighed on overall sentiment, pushing down shares

across the board today. well computer users around the world have been using windows xp for more than a decade and now they face a choice. upgrade, or keep using the operating system without support services. a top engineer at microsoft is saying it's time to switch. >> translator: windows xp-based computers are 21 times more vulnerable to viruses than pcs running our latest service. i expect all users to upgrade their pcs as soon as possible. >> he says it's hard for microsoft to deal with security problems affecting the old operating system. the firm is no longer offering support for people using windows xp. people at a private research firm statement nearly 30% of business and consumers worldwide still use the 12-year-old operating system. analysts expect nearly 6 million computers in japan will still be running windows xp at the end of june. managers of fewer and fewer japanese companies are facing bankruptcy.

corporate bankruptcies have declined for a fifth straight year. analysts at credit research company teikoku databank say about 10,000 firms went bankrupt. each had debts of at least 10 million yen. that's roughly $100,000 u.s. dollars. the number of bankruptcies dropped by 0.7% from the year before. the analysts say managers of construction firms in particular faced fewer problems. those companies benefited as people rushed to buy homes before the consumption tax hike came into effect. but the analysts are worried about the tax hike, and about higher fuel costs stemming from a weaker yen. they say those risks could upset conditions in the retail, and transport sectors. the head of the organization for economic cooperation and development says japan needs to make it easier for women to enter the labor market. angel gurria says the government should adopt ambitious measures to boost the nation's growth. >> one particular reform that is incorporating women so that

their level of participation could be as high as that of men, only that could have a very, very important impact in terms of growth. >> government leaders are scheduled to release their growth plan in june. gurria said it should include tax reforms and measures to improve market access for foreign companies. many south koreans are finding lifetime employment is becoming a thing of the past. some just can't land a traditional job. so they're employing themselves, providing the kind of services once available only to the wealthy. nhk world's anna j nuchlt chlt g reports from seoul. >> reporter: she is picking up ingredients for tonight's dinner. not for her family but for her customer. she's a self-employed chef for hire. she has her client's apartment to cater a housewarming party for 15 people.

her customer chooses how much to spend on ingredients. then she adds a $100 fee. this time, the meal comes to around $500. >> translator: for this kind of gathering it costs too much to dine out, and it's hard to find the rate place. it's cheaper and much more relaxing to have a chef come over. >> reporter: sang was a housewife for more than 30 years. then her husband retired early. she thought working as a caterer would subsidize their pensions and put her experience to good use. >> translator: there's a real growing demand for this kind of service. >> reporter: her reputation spreads through word of mouth, and now she works about 15 days a month. a call-off service is also valuable for car washing.

this company provides service for people who don't have time to take their vehicles to the car wash. customers call a dispatch center and tell the operator where and when they want their car cleaned. it costs from about $20, almost the same as at a regular car wash. the washers are also self-employed agents. people like ie. he quit his office job saying he couldn't live on the salary. he paid a car wash agency $2400 to train him and add him to their books. >> translator: i was looking for a business i could start without a big outlay. and this car washing agency seemed like a good fit. >> reporter: the dispatch company has only been operating for a year, but business is whooping.

the company receives about 60 calls a day. >> translator: right now we operate in the seoul area but sales have been growing steadily and we've got our eye on other major cities. >> reporter: traditional bricks and mortar retailers are seeing the benefits of call-off services, too. this man opened a tailoring store more than 40 years ago. but he says some people are just too busy to visit a tailor, and others prefer the cost and convenience of ready-to-wear suits. >> translator: having a tailor come here where i work saves my time and is really convenient. >> reporter: chung doesn't charge any extra to visit their homes or services. he's hoping the extra service will encourage young executives to find the tailor-made suits.

>> translator: i hope to make more and more visits to my clients. hopefully tailor made will become more common among young people. >> reporter: these new call-off services are proving a hit for south koreans who are pressed for time. and people looking to start a business don't have to worry about finding the perfect location anymore. anna jung, nhk world, seoul. >> all right that is going to do it for biz this hour. let's get you caught up with the markets.

nuclear power plant workers are trying to tackle the flow of water in to fukushima daiichi. they've begun pumping up groundwater to prevent it from reaching the crippled facility and becoming radioactive. groundwater is flowing from nearby mountains into the reactor buildings and mixing with highly radioactive water. the bypass plan has been developed to reduce the amount of newly contaminated water. the japanese government and the plant's operator tokyo electric power company started the new system after local fishermen agreed to the plan. tepco says groundwater will be punched up from 12 wells over several days. the water will be stored in tanks. it will take about a month for private organizations to test the water's radiation levels.

if the water meets safety standards set by the government and tepco, it will be released into the pacific ocean. currently the amount of contaminated water accumulating at the plant increases by about 400 tons every day. tepco says when the system is in full operation, the daily buildup will be reduced by up to 100 tons. many people across northeastern japan are still struggling to find jobs. the disaster three years ago destroyed much of the fishing and agricultural industry. and thousands of people had to leave the area. the situation has been particularly difficult for vulnerable sector of the population. now, support centers are helping people with disabilities find work. nhk world has the story. >> reporter: about 50 kilometers north of the damaged nuclear

plant is a support center for the disabled. the workshop is run by a local nonprofit organization that finds work for people with intellectual disabilities, or mental disorders. currently about 20 people are employed in jobs such as weaving or cleaning public facilities. the earthquake badly damaged their building and they had to close for awhile. at the time, many of the city's disabled people were having difficulty coping. they were mentally unstable, and their families were exhausted. >> translator: we decided we had to reopen as soon as possible before things reached breaking point for the families. >> reporter: even though there was little work, they reopened

to provide a comfortable place for people with disabilities, and to reduce the burden on their families. this woman is in charge of creating new products at the facility and finding new clients. >> translator: our main goal is to make people with disabilities feel that they are needed, and that they are contributing to society. >> reporter: last october, she managed to land a new contract to repair baseballs for a local high school team. the workers had to remove the stitching from old baseballs, and then sew the covers back on. it takes about 20 minutes to finish each ball and requires great patience.

keiko works on repairing the balls. she suffers from cerebral palsy. her home was badly damaged in the disaster, and her previous vocational support center had to relocate to a new area. she started working at beans after the disaster. sakurai is now living in temporary housing with her elderly mother. before the disaster, they shared a home with her brother and his family. so she was well taken care of. but her brother had to move away because of his work. it was a difficult time for her, and her mother. now, sakurai is enjoying her job at bean. >> translator: the instructor

came to my temporary home and asked if i wanted to work with her. i was happy when she asked me. >> reporter: finally, after months of hard work, the workers personally delivered 300 repaired balls to the high school. >> translator: thank you very much for repairing the baseballs. i see that they must have taken a long time to fix. we will take good care of them. >> translator: i can't believe that those worn out balls have been fixed so beautifully and we can refuse them. i really feel so grateful. >> reporter: doing a job with enthusiasm, and then being thanked in person. that's the best reward of all. >> translator: it's important for us to be part of the community, to have a connection with it through our work.

>> translator: everyone was so happy with the baseballs. i'll be supporting the team from now on. i hope we can all be friends. >> reporter: in the wake of the disaster, work is continuing to ensure that disabled people can contribute to their community, and gain a sense of purpose. nhk world. let's now bring in our meteorologist robert speta. robert, beautiful day here in tokyo. per expect to watch the cherry blossoms. how much longer will they be in bloom? >> shery, yes, today is going to be absolutely beautiful. and going in to thursday, actually much of japan you're going to see some of the warmest

temperatures thus far this year. but as far as the bloom in the tokyo area, whatever petals are left over now, they're going to be gone after this next front starts to push through. you can see it coming out of northeastern china pushing off towards the east. that is also accounting for these warming temperatures. the southerly winds coming ahead of it. as it does push overhead going through the next 24 to 48 hours we're going to be seeing this carry a lot of winds with it. that's going to be knocking a lot of these petals down. farther towards the north, still seeing it come in bloom. it's still going to be out here for actually some areas of hokkaido not until may where you start to see this start to come in to full bloom as far as those cherry blossoms. for now the next 24 hours you're going to wish it was more like spring. if you don't like the snow this is going to push overhead and carrying some accumulation with it, some wintry weather out there for you. also some precipitation in southeastern portions of china. you're looking at, well the rainy season really starting to kick in out here. persistent, not all that heavy, but persistent showers south of the yangtze river basin.

for everybody else those warming temperatures will be cooling down going into your thursday after that front pushes by. beijing some of the warmest temperatures since the 50s out there for you here on your wednesday. up to 30 degrees, back down to 18 though right at seasonal there on your thursday. down towards the south of manila, rain showers and thunderstorms in your forecast. not directly associated with tropical depression peipah. now a depression. was a storm earlier on. now it's downgraded. threat with this is going to be the rainfall over the coming days. especially along eastern portions. you see tacloban still recovering from hainan. back in november. still people in shelters. that's going to be coming on shore. that's a disorganized storm toward the north. this is much more organized, severe cyclone ita drifting off towards the west. and this is expected to hit northern portions of queensland by the end of your work week, as a very powerful system. actually one of the strongest since yasi came ashore in 2011

and up to about a category 4 cyclone coming onshore right around cape melville south of cohen, north of cairns. you've got to remember it's the southern periphery of this storm system that's going to be packing winds gusting well over 200 kilometers per hour at landfall. there's a risk of damaging winds but also storm surge where these winds are coming ashore. this is definitely something we want to watch. the good news is that this area is relatively low populated toward south of cairns where the bulk of people in queensland do live. this could bring some rainfall with it. take a look over towards the americas. high pressure is dominating for the most part. not rain out here, definitely, the biggest problem is actually kind of on the opposite side of the spectrum. sunny skies, but you have fire weather in place. in a few areas in the central portions of the plains, relative humidity around 5%, accompanied by winds up to about 50 kilometers per hour. any flames that do start will be spreading rather quickly with that. take a look over towards europe. a cold front pushing through eastern europe.

remember earlier on this week this is back towards the west. it bulldozed its way across the continent. with it bringing in cooler temperatures behind it but still thunderstorms off towards the east. kiev you're going to be seeing cooling temperatures, rain showers and thunderstorms in your forecast on your wednesday, while back towards the west it's warming up slightly there in the iberian peninsula. here's the extended forecast.

and that's all for this hour on "newsline." i'm shery ahn. thank you for watching. ♪ a7gucc

>> coming up for you this hour, french far right mayor, elected just two weeks ago, but he is already causing a stir, he has taken away funding and lodging for an antiracism group. they say that it is because they campaigned against him. we will go to heart island, the biggest mass grave in