hello, you're watching "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. first a look at the headlines. president barack obama has proposed new cybersecurity measures calling the hackings of sony pictures and the u.s. central command an urgent and growing danger. editors at "charlie hebdo" are publishing another cartoon of the prophet muhammad in defiance of last week's violence. and the world's biggest

economy is moving to tighten its monetary policy this year. we hear from an expert about the timing and its impact. u.s. president barack obama is making a move to try to counter cyberattacks. he's announced new security measures following the recent hacking of sony pictures and the u.s. central command. he says the incidents are reminders of serious threats facing the country. >> we saw the hack of a military twitter account and youtube channel. no military operations were impacted. so far it appears that no classified information was released, but the investigation is ongoing and it's a reminder that cyber threats are an urgent and growing danger. >> obama said new measures would encourage private companies to share cyber threat information with the government. and he said he wants to be able to better prosecute those involved in cyberattacks. obama called for congressional support for legislation containing these measures.

late last year, hackers attacked sony pictures entertainment after the company produced a film about a plot to assassinate north korea's leader. members of a group claiming to support the islamic state on monday hacked the twitter and youtube accounts of the u.s. central command. officials from japan, the u.s., and south korea are working out a schedule for high-level talks on north korea. they're hoping to meet later this month in tokyo. all three countries are likely to send senior diplomats. they're expected to confirm that they're committed to working together to address north korea's nuclear program. six-party talks on the issue have been stalled for more than six years. the participants are also likely to discuss north korea's human rights record, recently the focus of a u.n. security council discussion. and they're expected to talk about financial sanctions the u.s. imposed on north korea after a cyberattack on sony

pictures. japan's delegates plan to ask seoul and washington to help resolve the issue of japanese nationals abducted to north korea. officials in pyongyang agreed to investigate the fate of abductees and release a report by early autumn but they've yet to deliver. police officers, dignitaries and bereaved family members gathered in paris for a memorial service. they honored the three police officers killed in last week's terror attacks. president francois hollande called for solidarity in the fight against terrorism. ♪ >> translator: the french people stood up in front of world leaders. france may be attacked again. but it will never give up. >> the ceremony took place at the police headquarters.

families of the victims watched as the coffins, draped in french flags, were carried into the courtyard. hollande read out the names of each officer and awarded them the legion d'honneur, the country's highest honor. two officers were among 12 people killed last wednesday when gunmen stormed the offices of the satirical weekly, "charlie hebdo." a female police officer was fatally shot on thursday. the next day the same gunmen killed four of his hostages at a kosher supermarket. 17 people died in the three incidents. mourners also gathered in jerusalem for the four french jews who were killed at the kosher supermarket. ♪ about 2,000 people attended the state funeral on tuesday. the bodies of the victims were brought to israel for burial at the request of their families. the mourners included jews who had emigrated from france to israel.

israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu delivered a speech. >> translator: i believe world leaders must at least now begin to understand. because of what happened in france last week that islamic extremists are a real threat to the world. >> relatives of the victims and others also spoke briefly at the service. >> translator: i'm still in shock. i was worried someone i know might be the victim of the attack. >> it's not known why the kosher supermarket was targeted. israelis continue to worry about other possible incidents triggered by anti-semitism in europe. editors at "charlie hebdo" are making a move in defiance of last week's violence. they're printing another cover depicting the prophet muhammad.

editor in chief gerard biard spoke ahead of the release of the week's first edition since the paris shooting. >> translator: i'm glad to be publishing the latest issue. we will keep issuing the paper. we will not stop. >> the cover features a caricature of a tearful prophet muhammad holding a sign saying, i am charlie. opinions are divided over the drawing. many muslims believe images of the prophet are blasphemous. wednesday's edition has been translated from french into five languages, including arabic, and will be sold in 25 countries. japan's cabinet ministers have given their okay for the biggest budget on record. ai uchida has more on that. >> the ministers have officially approved the draft budget for the next fiscal year.

it is worth more than 96 trillion yen or more than $816 billion. that up $4 billion from this current fiscal year which ends in march. policy related spending will expand to $618 billion. this includes social security, which will get about $267 billion to deal with japan's aging population. also included is the government's tax revenues allocated to local governments. that figure is about $132 billion. debt service costs will account for about $199 billion. the government expects to collect about $462 billion of tax revenue. that's a seven-year high. that's mainly thanks to improved profitability at corporations and a hike in the consumption tax last april. the government plans to issue new bonds worth $312 billion. that's down $37 billion from the current fiscal year.

japan's primary balance deficit is expected to shrink to about $114 billion, in line with the government's goals. prime minister shinzo abe spoke to reporters after the cabinet meeting. >> translator: i believe the draft budget will serve to achieve the twin goals of reviving japan's economy and restoring its fiscal health. >> he added that the government will do its utmost to improve social security including support for child care. the world bank has downgraded its global growth protection for this year. despite growth in the u.s. economy and plunge in crude oil prices. officials expect the global economy will expand 3%. that's 0.4 of a percentage point

lower than the bank's forecast released last june. the lender estimates the world economy in 2014 grew 2.6%. officials say the u.s. economy will grow this year by 3.2%. that is up 0.2 of a point from the june forecast. the economists expect the u.s. will play a leading role in the world economy. but they calculate eurozone growth at 1.1% down 0.7 point and they revised down japan's growth to 1.2%. japan's recovery has been sluggish since it hiked its consumption tax. and the lender projects china's growth at 7.1%, which is down 0.4 point. analysts at the bank note the steeply lower crude prices will be a big help for oil importing nations. they say the effects will lift global growth about half a percentage point for the next two years. but they warn that the trend could hurt oil producing nations. they say the lower crude oil prices could destabilize the

economies and financial markets. they predict, russia for example, will contract this year by 2.9%. the decline in oil price continues, crude futures in new york briefly fell below $45 a barrel. for the details on tokyo stocks ramin mellegard joins us. he has a full update for us. hi there, what can you tell us? >> thank you very much. lower crude oil price weighed on wall street and that gave a weak signal for tokyo stocks as well. so let's have a look at how the wednesday morning session wrapped up. the nikkei at 16,901 down just over 1% and the broader topix, 1,362 down 0.86%. amid the diminished risk appetite, investors are taking a risk off stance in the financial

markets especially in the energy and metal sectors. cosmo oil, showa shell, suffered and some japanese trading companies as well which specialize in energy-related products such as itochu also trading down over 2%. as crude oil price fall and growth in china remains a concern also focusing on shares in the construction sector. heavy machinery makers down 1.43%. and the yen also gaining against the dollar during tokyo hours which weighed on exporters here. the blue chips coming up now. nintendo and mazda motor weighing on the nikkei. talking about currencies, let's have a look at the key dollar/yen pair. 117.41-43.

the euro is also fallen to nine-year lows against the dollar and the single currency is at a level not seen since october against the yen. concerns mount ahead of a court ruling that could ease or complicate the central bank's plan to adopt more aggressive easing measures. a bit of a mixed picture. hong kong and shanghai trading higher. but seoul, indonesia and sydney trading lower. now market participants around the world are paying close attention to the u.s. central bank's monetary policy. as the country continues its economic recovery. in our ongoing series of major economies in the world i did speak with professor takatoshi ito of columbia university for his views. >> takatoshi ito is an expert on

finance. he has also taught at harvard. ito said the u.s. economy will remain firm this year. >> i think last year's third quarter growth rate was 5.0%. and this momentum will continue. so gradually, that employment situation will become better and housing still so-so but we'll gradually turn better. and consumption has been very strong. so i expect that to continue. so i think 2015 will be a good year, another good year. >> reporter: the u.s. is shifting its policy toward tightening. while japan and the eurozone promote large-kale monetary easing measures. market participants expect officials at the u.s. federal reserve to end the near zero

interest rate policy this year. what is your view on the timing of an interest rate rise? >> i'd say the benchmark would be june meeting. so june plus/minus one meeting. i think that's the time that we expect the interest rate will rise. the federal reserve has to be very careful not to surprise the market. so you know, there will be a dy di -- digestion of expected interest rate rise before it really happens. so i think that will be a smooth process toward normalization of the interest rate. >> reporter: however, ito points out that falling crude oil prices could influence the timing of an interest rate rise.

>> the weaker risk for the economy which will mean that the decision will be delayed is the oil prices. the u.s. is now an oil-producing nation. and soon to be exporting nations. rather than importing nation. so oil price decline whatever the reason is, is bad news for the u.s. in terms of production. but of course for the consumer it's good news and on the balance i think it's slightly negative but not hugely negative. >> reporter: the interest rate rise is expected to increase the risk of a reverse flow of funds from the global financial markets to the u.s. >> some of the weaker emerging market experiencing capital outflow.

and this is combined with the problem of the russia, ukraine, and so there is a risk of the -- some -- not all but some emerging market economies which has their own problems may experience more than the capital outflows more than they want to or they deserve to. >> reporter: amid the murky global economy, the u.s. continues its recovery. stocks are at an all time high. some people are concerned that the u.s. economy is already in a bubble. but ito doesn't share that view. >> i don't think it's a bubble i think it's a reaction to the global easing of the money and u.s. has not tightened yet. so it is a -- and u.s. -- most

u.s. corporations are doing well. so it's still within the range that fundamentals can explain. and -- but, you know, it's -- it cannot go on forever. so i -- the best scenario is to plateau somewhere. and that's -- i expect to happen this year. >> in our next series on world economic report we'll focus on the eurozone economy as well as the euro and what may lie ahead in 2015. that's all for me. back to you. >> look forward to that ramin. thanks a lot. ramin mellegard reporting on the morning market moves and his interview. official at the tokyo metropolitan government have decided to set up a hydrogen

fund. it will be used to promote hydrogen as a source of energy. the officials have set a goal of achieving what they call a hydrogen-powered society ahead of the tokyo summer olympics in 2020. their plan includes the use of 6,000 fuel cell vehicles and setting up 35 hydrogen fuel stations to fuel them. to ensure the plan is not affected by swings in the economy, the tokyo officials decided to establish the fund next fiscal year. it will be used to subsidize buyers of fuel cell vehicles. the tokyo officials are also considering subsidizing enterprises that use hydrogen energy in their urban development projects. that's all for business in this hour. i'll leave you with a check on markets.

a new poll by nhk suggests one third of people in japan support amending the constitution. they outnumbered the number of respondents who are against the idea or undecided. nhk interviewed people over three days. prime minister shinzo abe suggested making changes to the constitution. 33% of the respondents say they think the move is necessary. 29% said it's unnecessary and 31% said they're undecided. few of those sur vader said they sport another initiative. members of abe's administration are preparing a legislation for the next diet session to allow japan the right to collective

self-defense. about 25% of people polled approved. 30% said they disapprove and the majority disagreed with the government's policy on nuclear plants. japanese leaders want to restart those that regulators declared safe. 42% disapproved. japanese researchers are pitting their hopes on an unusual energy source. they've extracting oil from algae. and they say it could eventually be used to make fuel. this shuttle bus runs on oil made from algae. >> reporter: it's just like a normal vehicle. it runs quite smoothly. >> the oil comes from analogy known as botryoccocus. it's been out to -- touted as a potential energy source. the tiny drops are oil. its makeup is similar to that of petroleum.

oil accounts for 30 to 40% of this dried algae's weight. it's hoped that it will produce biofuel 700 times more efficiently than corn, now a major biofuel source. right now some obstacles prevent the algae substance from being used as fuel. botryoccocus is sensitive to temperature change and unwanted organisms. it must be cultivated in special facilities that ensure a stable environment. oil extraction also requires special treatment. >> translator: i think we'll have to find ways to cut the cost at every step, from cultivation to oil extraction. >> reporter: this start-up has been breeding improved botryoccocus for eight years. they researched more than 7 million algae in order to select and grow stronger specimens.

the firm has bred a type of algae that withstands bacteria and temperature changes. it can be grown easily outdoors. the firm has been collaborating with a major manufacturer of heavy machinery. now they're looking for ways to mass produce it. >> translator: we want to keep working to overcome all the obstacles and lower costs by increasing the scale of production by ten times and then ten times more. >> reporter: researchers working on ways to extract algae oil are making progress too. this laboratory studies the makeup of botryoccocus. the algae is formed by groups of cells or colonies. the oil is found under each colony's thick outer layer. previously the algae had to be dried out before the oil was extracted.

besides weakening the outside layer, the process required a lot of time and money. but this lab discovered that if the algae was grown in diluted sea water, there was no need to dry it before extracting oil. >> translator: this algae was grown in the culture of diluted sea water. the oil comes out without us doing anything. >> reporter: these researchers think that it will be easier to extract the oil of algae grown in sea water because the colony's outer layer will be thinner. >> translator: i think this method will dramatically reduce energy consumption and cut cost. in my opinion we're one step closer to practical application. >> reporter: algae has the potential to become the energy source of tomorrow. scientists hope it can be used not only as fuel but also to make tires, plastic bottles and other materials. it's time for a check of the weather.

people in tokyo are enjoying a mild winter so far. meteorologist robert speta tells us what's up ahead in world weather. >> at least for the next 24 hours, tokyo is going to be seeing some decent weather and the mild winter we are seeing is going to be remaining in place. unfortunately that's not going to be the case in the extended range. what we are seeing -- you can already see it on the satellite imagery. coming in from the west, we have more cloud cover. this is a new storm system that is developing. this is going to bring rough weather across all of japan and portions of south korea as well. already seeing some wet and windy conditions there. ushering in warm air from the south combined with cold air we are seeing aloft out here. looking at unstable conditions in kyushu and kagoshima. you could see a threat of tornados here on your wednesday evening into thursday morning. but then eventually this whole storm system is going to be

working its way off there to the northeast. if you are in tokyo, thursday, have an umbrella with you throughout the day. it is going to be either raining or possibly farther inland after sunset, a threat of some snowfall as this does continue to push overhead. this is something we really want to watch over the next 24 hours at least near the coast you are going to be looking at some windy weather as well. in yamagata prefecture, look at snowfall. definitely in the higher elevations here on your thursday. tokyo, that rain will be setting in as i mentioned, it could be mixed in with flurries there. and osaka looking at rain showers. wednesday in naha storm systems already impacting you will be clearing up. temperatures remaining around the average point. do want to mention this as well. i know this is going to be a big topic this weekend. it's a big weekend in the philippines. we have a tropical depression likely to become a tropical storm pull off here to the west. already tropical storm warnings

are in effect for yap look at windy conditions and showers heading to saturday and sunday. across the philippines. manila for now, partly cloudy skies, high of 29 for you. let's move over toward europe and see what's going on here. the rough weather is in the west. in parts of germany you could see 120 kilometer per hour winds. that very tight pressure gradient setting up. you is the high down to the south and the deep lows rolling across the north. one is moving off and another one is coming in right behind it. we are look at wet and windy conditions and snowfall in northern portions of ireland and scotland with that next storm system. as much as 8 centimeters could fall out there. a threat of tornados and excessive rain. in greece, 145 kilometer per hour winds for you on your tuesday. now the storm is drifting farther off there. the conditions are going to go downhill for those of you in turkey. let's wrap things up into australia a lot of you are

watching the asian cup over here towards the southeast. a low pressure system pushed through in the morning hours. heavy rain showers in parts of brisbane and melbourne. this is going to move off. i think by the afternoon and the evening hours there is a threat of an isolated shower or two for some of the matches setting up here but it's for the most part we are looking at some fair conditions out there on the fields. i'll leave you with your extended forecast.

that's all for now on "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo.

good evening from los angeles. i'm tavis smiley. five years ago today haiti was hit with a massive 7.0 earthquake devastating the island nation. first up, a conversation with pierre labossiere, co-founder of the haiti action committee. we then turn to a conversation with academy award winner marion cotillard starring in the new movie "two days one night." we're glad yowl join us for those conversations, coming up, right now.