welcome to north korea world "newsline." islamist militants in mali may be reviewing battle plans in face of greater resistance on the ground. french soldiers have pushed them out of two key cities in the north perform the president of france says coalition forces are winning the fight. francois hollande says french troops will retake key towns in the north and hand over operations to africa. he says it would be up to the africans to restore the territorial integrity of mali. coalition forces recaptured the

rebel stronghold of gau and sealed off the city of timbuktu. french cities won control of the major airports and roads in the area. analyst warn militants could still mount guerrilla-style attacks from hideouts in the deserts and mountains. in ethiopia, african union leaders have met to discuss the situation in mali. they're vowing to do more to help with the fight against islamist militants. representatives of the union's 54 members gathered in the ethiopian capital, pledging kz 50 million to support troops from france and from across africa fighting islamisttants. they are linked to al qaeda and control a large part of the country. >> made a commitment to pool our efforts together to assist this country.

>> representatives from japan, the u.s. and europe will discuss the situation with african leaders later in the day. the japanese are expected to contribute $100 million in aid for refugees. a senior united nations official says the needs of millions of syrians are growing as their country's civil war rages on. john ging says the u.n. will ask governments at upcoming donor conference to raise $1.5 billion in aid. >> the 400 million people in need within syria, we also have a plan to respond to the refugees which now number over 650,000 in the neighboring countries. and that plan is costing $1 billion. >> ging spoke in new york after a mission to syria. he said the u.n. will make the request for aid after the donor

conference in kuwait. he says the civil war has damaged infrastructure such as water, electricity and roads. he noticed people are in desperate need for food and medical supplies. he said relief goods are not reaching people who have fled to northern syria. ging demanded syrian leaders allow u.n. officials to enter the country from turkey. emergency crews are on the ground in southern kazakhstan following a plane crash. russia's interfax news agency says the aircraft with about 20 people on board came down outside almaty, the country's largest city. the plane was reportedly flying from the north. interfax reports there were blizzards around the almaty airport and visibility was poor. they say pilots repeatedly tried to land the plane before the crash. the airline s.c.a.t. operated the aircraft.

members of the japanese cabinet have approved the biggest budget on record for fiscal 2013. it totals over $1 trillion. the draft budget reflects shinzo abe's plan to stimulate japanese government by expanding government expenditures. the government plans to spend over $770 billion to implement its policies. that's up about 3% in yen terms from the current fiscal year. it has earmarked more than $240 billion for servicing government debt or an increase of over 1%. also for the first time in four years, tax revenues are expected to exceed what the government would get by issuing new bonds. the government expects tax revenues to total over $473 billion, or nearly 2% more than in this fiscal year.

meanwhile, new bond offerings will fall by 3% to about $470 billion. japan still replies on government bond sells for 46% of its total revenue. the outstanding balance of government debt is expected to total about $8.2 trillion at the end of fiscal 2013. to repay it, the nation requires 17 years worth of tax revenues. the total debt also translates into almost $65,000 per person. the government plans to submit the draft budget to the diet for approval by the end of next month. let's check on the markets. european stocks are trading slightly lower. investors appear to be taking a wait to see stance before the fed's policy meeting as well as release of u.s. fourth quarter gdp this week. london's ftse 100 right now down by a fraction. frankfurt's dax down by 0.17%. the cac 40 in paris down by

0.3%. earlier in asian trading stocks lacked direction. some investors locked in profits sensing that the markets may be overheating. tokyo nikkei average managed a rebound, up by 0.4%. shanghai rose 4.35% to an eight-month high. the hang seng in hong kong slipped from a 20-month high it touched on monday. let's take a look at currencies. the dollar is moving in a tight range against the yen. dollar/yen right now at 90.44 to 48. many want to see the outcome of the fed meetings and a series of key economic numbers and determine how the u.s. economy is doing. euro/yen 104.7 to 50. japanese workers may have a few more yen in their pockets if union leaders get their way. labor and business leaders are discussing a proposed wage hike.

>> translator: a wage increase is a way to ending deflation. it's time for businesses to invest in human resources and not cut corners with workers earnings. >> koga asked for an increase of wages much 1%. he said raises based on seniority should continue. the leader of the business federation opposed the union's demand. he said labor leaders are ignoring the reality of today's business climate. >> translator: this year workers and managers need to share a sense of crisis. we need to have constructive discussion. it's critical for us to do so, to ensure businesses survive and grow. people need stable employment. >> he said the current economic situation leaves no room for raising wages across the board. he said struggling firms may be forced to postpone or even cut regular raises. manufacturers have long been

seen as leaders of japanese industry, but a new government survey suggests this is no longer the case, at least not in terms of scale. the survey suggests wholesalers and retailers are now the largest industry sector both in sales and number of employees. officials in the ministries of internal affairs in industry released preliminary results on tuesday. it's their first economic census for business activity. the survey is meant to provide a comprehensive picture of japan's industrial structure. the government polled all companies and businesses in the country. the results show japan had 5.8 million businesses as of february february 2012. total asset sales in 2011 came to $14.4 trillion. wholesalers and retailers reported about $4.4 trillion in sales. that's about 30% of the total. the manufacturing industry came in second with sales of almost $3.8 trillion. financial businesses and

insurers posted about $1.2 trillion in sales. and construction companies registered about $880 billion. one of the growth sectors in japan's aging society, medical and welfare services, reported about $760 billion in sales. in terms of employee numbers, wholesalers and retailers were at the top with nearly 12 million workers. that compares with 9.4 million workers in manufacturing. ministries plan to take the census every five years. the results will be used for market analysis and to formulate industrial policy. here once again is a look at the financial markets.

rating officials say they sent a monkey into space. they say the animal went there aboard a rocket. some security analysts think the iranians used the launch for to test long-range ballistic missile. officials in take ran say it reached a height of 120 kilometers. they say the monkey reached safely to earth. the defense minister said iran is on its way to sending a human into space. the country has set a goal of doing that by 2020 and putting a man on the moon by 2025.

this launch went ahead even as iranians struggle with economic sanctions. western nations have imposed in response to their government's nuclear program. iran is one of ten countries in the world with the technology to send a satellite into space. scientists successfully launched their first satellite in 2009. the following year they sent a rat and turtle into space. the animals came back alive. but a monkey they sent into space in 2011 returned dead. some analysts say iranian leaders aren't as focused on space as they are on threaten, the u.s. the institute for future engineering gave us his take on this launch. he's an expert on international space development. >> iran stresses it's only for peaceful uses but we believe they are developing rocket, or

warhead. so it appears that the monkey mission has accomplished too. iran has also been providing technology to north korea. north korea use technology from iran's rocket for third stage rocket they launched in december. iranian and north korean scientists were closely cooperating in missile development. iran's major goal is to develop an intercontinental ballistic miss well enough length to reach the u.s. >> hiroo hieda. north korean leader kim jong-un is rallying supporters ahead of what many analysts

believe will be the country's third underground nuclear test. he called for unity at a workers party meeting in pyongyang. the gathering on monday involved secretaries of the ruling party's local divisions or cells. it was the first of its kind in 6 1/2 years. kim said it marks a turning point in the party's effort to strengthen the military. >> translator: the cells play an important role in building a strong and positirosperous nati >> kim did not refer directly to a nuclear test. north korean leaders have denounced a u.n. security council resolution calling for wider sanctions in response to the rocket launch last month. analysts say they're shoring up their power head of a possible nuclear test. north korean scientists carried out this type of test in 2006 and 2009.

chinese protesters in gong zau over a newspaper. in taiwan people are also protesting about the media. they're worried about the increase of pro-china ownership and coverage. nhk reports from taipei. >> reporter: one of taiwan's four major newspapers and until recently it had more readers than one of its competitors. owned by hong kong interests, it was known for articles criticizing the chinese government. in november that changed. they are expected to areceive approval of authorities, a

consortium of companies bought the paper. and the major partner is pro-china. >> reporter: if there had been any doubt, the company showed their colors in november. taiwanese boats entered waters in the senkaku islands in protest against japan's control over the islands. the boats displayed company banner and mascot. the chairman of the company helped finance the expedition by donating $140,000 to it. they join a list of other taiwan media owned by the gripe. it already owns a major cable tv news station on the island and the china times newspaper. when taiwan authorities approve

the purchase of the daily, the group officially owned two of taiwan's four major newspapers. china times used to be known for unbiased and liberal coverage, but under its new ownership the paper tends to support china. as an example, in the same senkaku dispute, it calls on taiwan to cooperate with china encountering japan. as for coverage of the protests in china over newspaper cens censorsh censorship, it's not extensive. earlier this month taiwanese demonstrators lobbied in central taip taipei, protesting against censorship by chinese interests. it was organized by largest

opposition bloc, the progressive party. members want taiwan to have a separate identity from china. some protesters carried a banner stating the group must go. about 90,000 people protested. many expressed concern about the future of taiwan's media. >> translator: there should be no media monopoly. it restricts diversity of opinion. >> translator: we have to be wary of china's ambitions for our economy and freedom of speech. i find that reprehensible. >> reporter: and the president says taiwan is improving with economic ties with mainland china. this is evident in the tourism business. last year over 2 million chinese travelers visited taiwan. that far surpasses the number of visitors from japan. four years ago it was japan that

sent more. many in taiwan are concerned about the inroads pro-chinese interests have made in the economy. and now the taiwanese worry their media may not be far behind. nhk world, taipetaipei. >> nhk senior media analyst explains. >> taiwan has the kind of free media or independent media compared with mainland china because they have the system of democracy and china does not. the problem is china is pressuring taiwanese businessman, especially the taiwanese media owner.

that not to criticize china. for example, not to talk about independence of tibet, inner mongolia and also human rights. taiwan is businessman wants to earn money from mainland china. and in order to make money, maybe they have to listen to chinese governments. for several years chinese pressure to taiwan's media is growing and growing. it's maybe because of the chinese government's policy. if the chinese pressure does not decrease, maybe the people who are against this kind of trend and demonstrate and say something, if they know this thailand media is influenced by china, they are going not to

reason, but there are some other new media, for example, internet, which is comparatively independent from china's inference, so maybe more and more people will look for this kind of media. china's rise brought it wealth, power and problems. an income gap divides its people. pollution threatens its health and disputed seas strain relations with its neighbors. find out the challenges china faces on "newsline." the operators of japan's power plants are bracing themselves for a new set of rules. nuclear regulation authority officials have drafted new safety standards for protecting their reactors from earthquakes and tsunami. an expert panel within the authority finalized the guidelines they'll that will be passed into law by july. the new regulations will define

active faults as formations that moved in the past 120,000 into 130,000 years but that could be extended to 400,000 years ago if faults are hard to identify. the guidelines will force plant operators to prepare for the highest possible tsunami for all of the reactors. the operators will have to implement safety measures like sea walls to protect the plant from tsunami and minimize flooding. dutch queen beatrix is giving up her throne, celebrating her 75th birthday on thursday. the queen addressed the nation in a televised speech. she said responsibility for the country is in the hands of a new generation. queen beatrix will be succeeded by crown prince wilhelm alexander. his core nation is planned for queen's day, april 30 9. he'll be the first dutch king in about 120 years. the royal family is close to

japan's imperial family. they inviolated crown prince to the netherlands for a holiday in 2006. italian brand fendi is putting up $2.9 million to restore rome's trevi fountain. tourists throw coins into the fountain to ensure a prompt return to the city. experts found the monument needed repairs. workers were getting started on the restoration project, what they say will take about 20 months. the company will be allowed to display a small sign near the fountain for four years in return for the contribution. fendi isn't the only private firm putting up funds for the peser vags of historical assets. the restoration of rome's k coliseum is proceeding with other contributions.

mayor asked for more contributions saying it's important to restore italy's historical statues. robert speta is here with our weather. >> looks like the rainfall from that area of weather that has been bringing all sorts of flooding across eastern australia is starting to move down to the east. rainfall is starting to dissipate. still seeing the remnants of that rough weather. i want to show you a video out of queensland where you have the town of mooloolaba in queensland. it looks like snow but it was sea foam brought on shore by that rough weather. it covered the beaches and trees, up to three meters. many people taking the opportunity to play it in but also some photos of this weather phenomenon as it continued to push on shore here over the past several -- 24 hours, actually. let's take a look where this

area's going now. the good news, well towards the southeast of australia. unfortunately, just absurd amount of rainfall fell across quee queensland to south wales. there's still that risk of continued flooding, especially near coastal cities, even though that rain has stopped. so, definitely still want to watch that. also let's take a look across eastern asia here into japan, korea and even china. high pressure is dominating at this time, bringing much fairer weather, even a warm-up expected throughout the midpart of this week as this high pressure continues to push down towards the southeast. it will be churning up this moist and warm air from the south. into china peninsula. you'll see rain showers, even thunderstorm activity. the high is creating that fog and haze across much of northeastern china, even into beijing. you've been seeing that very high pollutant levels into the atmosphere. if you don't have to venture

outside, stay indoors as much as possible, especially people with with respiratory issues over the next several days. that is not churning up the wind much at all. the next system isn't expected to come in until the latter part of the week. talking about the fresh snowfall last week, that's bringing the risk of avalanches in higher elevations. shanghai getting up to 16 on wednesday. now across the americas also looking at this storm system, a very severe one pulling in warm moisture out of the gulf of mexico. what that's going to do is collide with cold air coming out of canada. yet again, once you start to see this occur, you get that risk of severe weather, specifically around missouri over towards western tennessee and northern mississippi. you could be seeing wind gusts over 100 miles an hour. hail, frequent lightning and even the risk of tornadoes. cannot rule that out at all. also that cold air that will be wrapping around, that's going to be bringing snowfall for western great lakes and dropping down these temperatures. look at winnipeg, minus 9 for

you. ten-degree drop going into thursday. washington, d.c. and new york, you'll see a slight warm-up ahead of that front. warm air coming through but it will start to cool right back off once that front begins to pass by. now, here in europe, several systems we're watching. a severe one over the british isles bringings heavy rainfall, risk of flooding, gusty winds. look at the lines close together. that's indicating about 40 to 60 kilometer per hour sustained winds as it pushes overhead. behind it, though, just like in the americas, we'll see a cold air mass filter in. 13 and 12 on your high. on tuesday expect that to get down to the single digits by the end of the week for london and paris. already below the freezing mark in moscow and kiev. minus 4 and minus 5. here's your extended forecast.

we'll be back in 30 minutes with more news. i'm gene otani in tokyo. for all of us from nhk world. thanks for joining us. have a great day wherever you are.