hello and welcome back to "newsline." i'm shery ahn. let's get started with the headlines. the standoff continues between chinese and vietnamese vessels in disputed waters in the south china sea. chinese authorities are detained a pro-democracy journalist ahead of the 25th anniversary of the tiananmen incident. and producers have adopted an innovative strategy to promote japan and japanese

products overseas. the standoff between chinese and vietnamese maritime police continues in disputed waters in the south china sea. vietnamese officials reported collisions between vessels there wednesday. vietnamese officials askused chinese of ramming their ships and firing water cannons. they said the encounters took place near the paracel islands. both countries lay claim to the territory. earlier this month a chinese state-run oil company began drilling in the seabed in the disputed waters. vietnamese government officials say the area is in their exclusive economic zone. that i have been demanding that china remove the oil rig. they say that about 80 chinese str vessels remain in the area. some 20 vietnamese ships are believed to be on guard. vietnamese representatives plan to take up the issue at a meeting of the association of southeast asian nations starting saturday. they're seeking the cooperation of the philippines and other countries that are having territorial disputes with china.

but the standoff could continue as china is giving no sign that it's willing to compromise. now, japan's top government spokesperson says his country sees the latest incident as part of a series of unilateral and provocative maritime activities by china. >> translator: we are deeply concerned that china has heightened regional tensions by unilaterally starting to drill for oil in an area where demarcation is being contested. >> suga said china should clearly explain to vietnam and the international community the grounds for its activities and provide details. a veteran chinese journalist has been detained by authorities in beijing on suspicion of leaking state secrets. it's just one of several arrests ahead of the 25th anniversary of the tiananmen square incident. the state run xinhua news agency

reported the detention of gao yu. the 70-year-old woman had been missing since last month. the agency says gao illegally obtained a copy of a confidential communist party document and sent it to overseas website. gao was jailed twice after supporting the student-led protests in tiananmen square. she was the deputy chief editor of a local newspaper at the time. in her writings, gao advocates demock ratization and freedom of speech. in 1997 she was awarded unesco's world press freedom prize. on tuesday, chinese authorities detained a human rights lawyer and other activists. they were attending a gathering calling for an investigation into what happened in tiananmen square in 1989. south korean investigators are holding the head of the operator of the ferry that sank last month. they're questioning him about allegations that the vessel had been overloaded. a joint team of prosecutors and maritime police detained kim

han-sik, the chief executive. t( sewol sank on april 16th off south korea's southern coast. 269 people, many of them high school students, have been confirmed dead. 35 remain missing. the investigators say the ferry was carrying around 3,600 tons of cargo. more than three times the legal limit. the overloading is believed to have hampered the vessel's ability to right itself after tilting in a turn. the arrest of two employees of the operator on suspicion of manipulating computer data shortly after the accident about the weight of the cargo. they say the operator had earned an extra $3 million in recent months by routinely overloading the ferry. people in the philippines are still rebuilding after one of the strongest typhoons ever recorded swept through their

country. six months ago, typhoon hian flattened villages and let more than 7,300 people dead or missing. today 2 million people are still living in shelters. nhk world's schar shane degas yas reports. >> reporter: six months are, we are back on leyte island where thousands of homes and buildings were flattened. the commercial center of tacloban has been rebuilt. the electricity and water are back on. but on the town's outskirts along the coast, you can see rows of makeshift shelters made of tarps and items salvaged from the rubble. the devastation was most severe in this village. people now call it yolanda village, which is the typhoon's name in pagalag.

47-year-old lanita fuentes lost her home in the storm surge when a ship rammed into it. her brother and his family have been missing since then. >> translator: so many people are still missing. and they haven't been found. we lost all the property our parents gave us. >> reporter: she has built a shelter using materials gathered from the rubble. her husband, children and grandchildren, 12 of all, live under one roof. they want to move to temporary housing, but so do a million other people. so far, none is available. fuentes used to trade fish at a local market, but the job is gone. she says she only has 3 u.s.

dollars to her name. food assistance has stopped. and for now, they are living on the rice and canned goods they have saved. >> translator: i don't know how long this food will last. i have no job. so we have to save everything. >> reporter: the people here badly wanted to be rel vkated. and obviously they needed to be. but how and where? that, they don't know. the local and national governments have plans to build 200,000 temporary houses in areas away from the coast. but they are having problems securing the land. so far, only 130 units have been built. >> we are constructing already. but it will take six more months to complete the housing units. >> reporter: and fuentes has new things to worry about.

namely, this year's cyclone season, which starts next month. >> translator: when the weather is bad, i'm afraid our place may be destroyed by the ship again. i can't sleep. >> reporter: for now, people can only pray that the weather will be kind to them in the coming season. charmainedeogracia, nhk world, tacloban. ron madison for the latest business stories. >> we start with earnings news this hour where executives at toyota motors say the company's operating profit for fiscal 2013 reached a record high. they credit a surge in overseas profits thanks to the weaker yen. the automaker posted a group operating profit of $22.5 billion in the fiscal year that ended in march. that's up more than 73% from yen terms compared to last year and does exceed the previous high recorded in 2007 before the

global financial crisis. group sales rose more than 16% to $252 billion. >> translator: we'll pursue drastic reforms and sow the seeds for future growth. because now is the best time to allocate more resources in realizing those goals. >> toyota officials expect another record year in fiscal 2014. they're forecasting an operating profit of $22.6 billion. executives predict solid sales in the north american market. they say they'll promote more cost cutting measures as domestic sales are expected to drop due to the rise in the consumption tax in april. leading electronics maker toshiba posted an operating profit increase of more than 40%. toshiba executives released their earnings for fiscal 2013. group operating profit was $2.8 billion. up 47% compared to the previous year. sales amounted to $63.9 billion.

up 13%. the maker received more orders for memory chips, which are used in smartphones. toshiba's infrastructure businesses were also brisk. these include solar power generation systems and elevators. for the current year, toshiba forecasts a record high, estimating an operating profit of $3.2 billion. the company expects brisk business to continue in asia and a recovery in the u.s. and europe. china's exports in april rose for the first time in three months. officials at china's customs agency says exports last month totalled more than $188 billion. that's up about 1% from a year ago. imports which tend to reflect how the domestic economy is doing posted their first rise in two months. the total was about $170 billion. that was up 0.8%. overall trade also up 0.8% from april last year. china's trade with japan in the

first four months of the year increased just over 4%. that's much slower than the 11.3% increase in trade with the european union. the head of the federal reserve says the u.s. economy still needs a lot of support. janet yellen says she and her colleagues will continue to hold interest rates near zero. yellen gave members of the joint economic committee of congress her outlook for the year ahead. she said policymakers expect activity to expand at a slightly faster pace. >> in light of the considerable degree of slack that remains in labor markets and continuation of inflation below the committee's 2% objective, a high degree of monetary accommodation remains warranted. >> lawmakers asked when the fed would raise interest rates. yellen said low rates would be needed for, as she put it, a considerable time. she said a recovery in the housing market has flattened out. and the crisis in ukraine and other geopolitical risks could

threaten the recovery of the global economy. on to the markets now. investors in asia showing a bit of relief today as chinese exports and imports came in above market consensus. markets in asia were higher. investors also reassured by those comments from janet yellen. tokyo's nikkei average rose nearly 1% to 14,163. rebounding from an almost 3% loss on wednesday. investors bought back recent decliners. shares of trading companies saw pretty strong buying. the shanghai composite add added .25%. 2,015. shares of resources companies like coal got a boost from the positive data on the chinese economy. and over in sydney, the s&p asx200 seeing gains of .75%. 5,476. market sentiment received support from data showing australia added a more than expected number of jobs in april. coupled with the country's steady jobless rate. u.s. president barack obama

has warned russian leaders again and again over what's happening in ukraine. he's hit them with a range of sanctions. now he's decided to remove russia's preferential trade status. a statement from the white house said obama would withdraw russia's eligible for benefits under the trade program. the u.s. grants lower tariffs on imports from developing economies. but the statement says russia is efficiently advanced and no longer warrants such treatment. a spokesperson for the national security council says russia's actions regarding ukraine make it particularly appropriate to take this step now. producers are giving fans around the world the opportunity to explore japanese culture through music, movies and anime. many of them see opportunities in growing markets in asia. some have adopted an innovative strategy to promote japan and sell japanese products overseas. ♪ >> reporter: this is a clip from a popular tv show in taiwan.

the show introduces young taiwanese women to the latest trends in japan. famous japanese models and tv stars appear live in the studio. >> reporter: it debuted in november and has already become one of the most popular variety shows in taiwan. iako nagaka is one of the people working behind the scenes to make the show a success. she works for a japanese major entertainment company. her job is to expand the business in taiwan. >> translator: use this top and tuck it in. when you're asked to comment on

something, you should say "cute" in mandarin. girls in taiwan are eager to know what's fashionable in japan right now. >> reporter: nagaya is also looking for opportunities beyond taiwan. especially in mainland china. two years ago, anti-japan demonstrations raged across china. at the time, nagaya's company was collaborating with a tv station in shanghai, but the tensions caused the project to stall. so company officials shifted their focus to taiwan. taiwan shares friendly ties with japan. and it's also considered a gateway to mainland china. nagaya is trying to target young women in china by making the show available online. and that idea is appealing to

japanese business executives who want to sell their products overseas. one recent show introduced a scooter as a kind of fashion accessory. the company that made the scooter saw it as a strong advertising medium. >> translator: we're hoping the show will give taiwanese people a better chance to become familiar with our product. >> translator: the show can be used not only to promote products, but it could also fill a variety of other roles. >> reporter: japanese business executives are faced with a shrinking market at home, so they're exploring ways to make inroads overseas. tying up with the entertainment industry may be a good way to start. >> okay. that is going to do it for business hour. let's get your check of what's happening with the markets.

officials at a prominent japanese research center have given their final word. they've told a scientist accused of falsifying data that they won't reconsider their findings against her. the officials at riken have urged her to retract two papers she published in the journal nature. obokata was the lead author. she and her scientists claimed

in january to have found a quick way to develop stap cells that can develop into any type of tissue. an in-house panel at riken concluded last month she fabricated data. obokata objected to the findings and asked for a reinvestigation. riken has refused and officials say they will now consider penalties against obokata and the other researchers. >> translator: it's totally unacceptable that riken quickly reached this conclusion. which makes it seem as if her experiment itself was fabricated. even as research to verify the existence of stap cells continues. >> obokata's lawyer said she was at a loss for words when he told her of riken's decision. police near tokyo are questioning a man who may have put a promising technology to a darker and potentially deadly use. they arrested him for owning handguns and suspect he made them using a 3-d printer.

weapons created with that kind of device for the first time. police say they investigated the man because they believed he was hiding two plastic pistols at his home. they became suspicious when he posted a video of the weapons on the internet. officers seized five plastic handguns and say two could be used to kill. the man admitted to making all of them using a 3-d printer, claiming that he didn't think it was breaking the law. authorities say he had a handgun blueprint on his computer. they suspect he got it online and used it to make the weapons. russian president vladimir putin is asking separatists in eastern ukraine to postpone their referendum on greater

autonomy. spr separatist leaders say they are considering his request. >> translator: we believe the most important thing is to create direct, full-fledged dialogue between the authorities in kiev and represents in southeast ukraine. >> separatist leaders have scheduled the referendum for this sunday. they say they'll meet later on thursday to discuss putin's request. pro-russian residents don't like the direction in which their country is going. they've been occupying government buildings and police stations for weeks. many are refusing to leave. >> translator: we continue to fight so that the referendum can go ahead as scheduled. >> leaders of the interim government in kiev sent in troops last month. they're pressing ahead with an operation to push the separatists out. police in nigeria are offering a $300,000 reward for information on the whereabouts of more than 200 schoolgirls

kidnapped last month by an armed group. the islamist militant group boko haram has claimed responsibility for the abductions. the group is demanding that the government abolish western-style education. on wednesday, nigerian police and anyone who provides credible information leading to the girls' rescue will be eligible for the reward. they've posted six phone numbers on the internet. local media report that an armed group thought to be boko haram attacked a village near the country's border with cameroon on monday killing at least 100 people. this happened in borno state in northeastern nigeria where the kidnapping took place. the attack occurred despite increased alerts by the nigerian government. france has offered to help nigeria find and rescue the schoolgirls. foreign minister lauren fabru said in parliament his government is ready to send a special team to nigeria to

assist in the search. the united states and other western countries have also said they would help. south africans have cast their ballots in their country's first general election since nelson mandela died last year. local media report the ruling african national congress is on track to retain power. voters went to polling stations across the country. 400 lower house seats are at stake in the election which takes place every five years. president jacob zuma appeared confident his party would see victory. >> i feel very good. i've been very enthusiastic for this date to come. >> this year marks the 20th anniversary of south africa's first all race elections after the end of apartheid. mandela then became the nation's first black president. the anc has upheld his legacy, but it has been losing support. many voters are disillusioned by the sluggish economy, widening

gap between rich and poor, and government corruption. south africans born after the end of apartheid are particularly critical. analysts are watching how growing public discontent could affect the outcome of the election. we have reports of large hail and tornadoes in the central united states. our meteorologist robert speta joins me now. robert, how severe are conditions there? >> shery, this is definitely ongoing here. we have seen those tornadoes reported in colorado. it's continues to push to the east with this cold front which is just plowing across the central portions of the u.s. really going through the next 24 hours, if you are out here, especially see those areas under those bright white cloud tops. watch out for that threat of the heavy rain. those damages winds. up to about 110 kilometers per hour is very possible. and large hail, about five centimeters in diameter could occur. with this storm system it's not just that severe weather.

also the cold air wrapping around the northern periphery. northern portions of the rockies, montana, wyoming, you could see as much as ten centimeters of snowfall. conversely ahead of it warm, hot and muggy along the eastern seaboards. that will be changing, though. here's where severe weather is. that's going to shift off towards the east. eventually it's going to cool things down in the northeast. chicago, right now a high into the 20s. 28 on your thursday. but by friday morning down into the single dimg its. back towards the west still expecting the rain showers into denver. 12 there for your high. that's going to rebound into the high 20s as we look ahead there towards the weekend. then continues windy conditions and thunderstorms down there towards the south. definitely an ongoing story. if you have travel plans to the central u.s. be ready for travel delays. same thing if you're traveling on planning on traveling to southern portions of the british isles. a low pushing through, gusty winds, rain showers and even the threat of tornadoes actually out of this one. there into southern portions of

the uk. extending into northern france, belgium and the netherlands. that's another area we want to watch. back towards the east, take a look at this. another area of red into southern portions of the balkan peninsula. not so much due to damaging winds but it's the rainfall. it has been coming down. there's still that threat of flooding. as we look farther to the east, turkey, eastern portions of the mediterranean the rain has been causingish shoo us for you. some areas as much as 100 millimeters could fall. the next several days, unfortunately, forecasting not improving too much. rain showers and thunderstorm extending out there through saturday. let's see what's going on into eastern asia. really the rainy season. let's stay on the topic of the rain. is continuing to dominate much of southeastern china, taiwan over through the southern japanese islands. into okinawa the past 24 hours you've actually seen about 50 millimeters of rainfall. back towards the west, gong dong province reports up to 90 millimeters. in the next 24 to 48 hours that's not going to change too much.

this low is going to continue to linger here. you're going to see showers into southeastern china. that's going to develop and push off towards the northeast. think by sunday that same low pressure system is going to be impacting much of japan even including tokyo. until then, central and western japan, partly cloudy skies really here into your forecast. it's off there towards the north. hokkaido, you could see rain showers, thunderstorms from the cutoff low continuing to dominate. towards the west actually dust blowing up there into northwestern china. some cooler temperatures behind this front that's going to be pushing through. beijing near 21. cloudy skies in your forecast. down toward the south tropical afternoon thunderstorms popping up in manila. 35 there on your friday. that's a look at your world weather. here's the extended outlook.

and that's all for this hour on "newsline." i'm shery ahn. thank you for watching. a7guc

>> you are watching "france vingt-quatre," thank you for watching. russian separatists in the ukraine say that voting will continue this weekend as planned despite calls from russian president vladimir putin to change this. we are standing by in donetsk with more. more trouble for the dismissed by mr. of thailand, she is charged with their religion of duty one day after being suspended from duty. 19 barclays will cut