>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." an explosion at moscow's domodedovo airport killed at least 30a 35 people on monday afternoon. investigative authorities suspect it was a suicide bombing. the blast occurred in an crowded international arrival hall near the baggageanin ar. russia's emergency ministry says at least 35 people are dead and more than 160 people, including foreign nationals, are injured. >> a spokesperson for the investigative committee, vladimir markin, talked to nhk and other reporters. >> president dmitry medvedev convened an emergency meeting and vowed a thorough investigation. >> more than 22 million people used domodedovo airport last year. the hub is located about 20 kilometers south of moscow. 's russia's largest international airport, serving 77 carriers. >>> u.s. president barack obama and u.n. secretary-general ban ki moon both condemned the bombing. white house press secretary robert gibbs read obama's statement at a press conference on monday. >> i strongly condemn this outrageous attack of te

thanks for joining us on nhk world. jj

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." tension remains high in egypt at anti-government protests continue across the country. security authorities detained more than 500 people on wednesday alone. >>> at least three citizens and one police officer were killed in clashes between demonstrators and riot police on tuesday during the country's biggest protests in years. the rallies follow an uprising in tunisia that ousted the country's long time president. on wednesday, about 3,000 demonstrators occupied streets in central cairo demanding an end to president hosni mubarak's nearly 30-year rule. riot police fired teargas and protesters responded by throwing stones. egypt's government is cracking down on the demonstrations. among those detained 24 cameramen from a british tv news agency covering the rallies. calls for further protests are continuing online. the security authorities have blocked access to some websites. in washington, u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton voiced concern over egypt's response to the protests. >>

mostafa fathy, nhk world, sharm el-sheikh. >>> hi there.now again for your world weather update. well, in japan a low pressure system to the north of the country will be impacting northern end with strong winds and more snow. and along the western flank of the country too dealing with significant snow while down toward the south the pacific edge looking at good spells of sunshine today. but come the week and the weather's going to turn really wintry stormy. do brace yourselves for that. across the korean peninsula a chance for light snow showers here and then to china looking at coastal rain just to the south of shanghai. inland areas looking at light showers. that should be about it. looking at mostly dry conditions throughout the country. as for southeast asia, we're looking at more active rain clouds to pop up over the philippines. that's going to continue into the week. and the ground here already quite saturated. so that could certainly trigger more flooding and landslides. another area that's been dealing with severe flooding is of co

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." tokyo stocks rebounded on thursday morning, reaching the 10,500 mark for the first time in about eight months in intraday trading. in foreign exchange -- the nikkei rose 1.17%, or 121 points, and ended the morning session at 10,502. that as exporters including auto and electronic makers are leading the gainers. the rise in tokyo comes as upbeat u.s. unemployment data pushed the dollar higher against the yen overnight. taking a look now at foreign exchange market, the dollar is being bought against the yen on expectations for a u.s. economic recovery. the dollar has gained more than one yen on thursday morning. the greenback is trading between 83.28 to 30. the euro now at 1.3132-3134. market sources say the dollar buying was encouraged by better than expected u.s. job figures on wednesday, which raised hopes for a u.s. revival and gave tokyo traders their cue. >>> u.s. president barack obama is going to have a tougher time working with congress now that republicans have a majority in t

nhk world, washington. >>> confusion continues in tunisia. the interim government failed to hold its first cabinet meeting on wednesday due to protests over key members of the former administration retaining their posts. the interim government was formed earlier this week. former president zine el abidine ben ali was ousted after 23 years in power after protests over high prices and unemployment. but four ministers from the opposition bloc resigned from the new government to protest ministers from the old administration hold key posts. more demonstrations are being held in tunis. on wednesday, fouad mebazaa and mahmoud ghannouchi. left the governing party to share their resolve to break with the past administration. ghannouchi is consulting with the opposition parties about convening the meeting on thursday. tunisia's security authorities say they've released political prisoners arrested by the ben ali administration and detained the former president's guards for allegedly assaulting civilians and police officers. the country aims to hold a d

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." u.s. president barack obama gives his second state of the union address. he told americans democrats and republicans have a shared responsibility for the country's future. >> thank you. thank you so much. with their votes, they've determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties. new laws will only pass with support for democrats and republicans. we will move forward together or not at all for the challenges we face are bigger than party and bigger than politics. >> obama's speech was heavily focused on job creation. he said the country has reached another sputnik moment. >> this is our generation's sputnik moment. i will be sending a budget to congress that helps us meet that goal. we'll invest in biomedical research, information technology and especially clean energy technology. an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet and create countless new jobs for our people. >> thousands of egyptians clashed with riot police, demanding an end

. >>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." >>> japanese prime minister naoto kan met with u.s. defense secretary robert gates in tokyo. they agreed to continue working together to bring stability to east asia, including north korea. before the meeting kan told gates he is determined to deepen the japan-u.s. alliance. kan added that he is looking forward to expressing the sentiment to u.s. president barack obama when they meet in the spring. gates agreed with kan. he said sustaining strong relations between the two countries is important amid the unstable situation in the region. prior to the talks with kan gates met with foreign minister seiji maehara and defense minister toshimi kitazawa. >>> u.s. president barack obama has mourned the victims of the shooting rampage in arizona. six people died, and a congresswoman was left in critical condition. obama spoke at a memorial service in tucson on wednesday. >> we mourn with you for the fallen. we join you in your grief. and we add our faith to yours that representative gabrielle giffords and the other living victims of this traged

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline". >>> chinese president hu jintao is hoping to seek trust showing that stronger economic ties will create jobs in the united states. hu on his first official visit to the u.s. in five years spoke at a luncheon with corporate executives in washington on thursday. >> hu stressed china has contributed to the u.s. economy and u.s. consumers by providing low-priced products. he said consumers saved $600 billion over the past ten years by buying chinese goods. the united states has faced massive trade deficits with china in recent years. >> i think they were addressed, but many of the issues have a great deal of work that remains to be done. >> during his visit, the u.s. and china have agreed on export deals worth $45 billion. they include china's purchase of 200 boeing aircraft over the next three years. but there is persistent criticism in the united states of china's policy of keeping the yuan's exchange rate low against the dollar in an attempt to boost chinese exports. critics say the policy has hurt the u.s. manufacturing sector. business people say

nhk has obtained official myanmar government documents that outline legislation for mandatory military service. the documents show that the mandatory military service legislation was enacted on december 17th last year. the government will introduce a draft for men and women age 18 and older. men between ages 18 and 45 and women between 18 and 35 will be drafted into the army for two to three years. the government requires citizens of eligible age except those physically challenged to register with local authorities. those who fail to register or try to evade the draft face imprisonment of up to five years. following the country's first general election in 20 years last november, the new parliament is expected to convene as early as this month to establish at least an appearance of civilian government. the last-minute decision to introduce the draft system before the new government's integration is likely to set off protests from the public. >>> top officials from japan and the united states have reiterated they will resume talks with north korea after it takes steps to abandon its nucl

it is time for nhk world's news update. i'm james tengan. >>> seiji maehara is considering visiting china in spring as part of efforts to fix frayed bilateral relations. in an interview with nhk, he said his trip will come before or after his trilateral meeting in japan with the chinese and south korean foreign ministers. japan-china relations soured in september after a chinese trawler collided with japan coast guard ships offer the senkaku islands in the east chainia sea. maehara reiterated china's position on this matter. >> translator: there is no territorial problem between japan and china. japan will continue to exert its control over the senkaku islands. >> reporter: he also referred to economic relations between the two countries. >> translator: it is vital for japan and china to build a win-win relationship. we can do this by advancing discussions on free trade agreements and by further boosting trade. >> maehara said he expects he and prime minister naoto kan will visit china in 2011 and chinese leaders will also

nhk has obtained official myanmar government documents that outline legislation for mandatory military service. the documents show that the mandatory military service legislation was enacted on december 17th last year. the government will introduce a draft for men and women age 18 and older. men between ages 18 and 45 and women between 18 and 35 will be drafted into the army for two to three years. the government requires citizens of eligible age except those physically challenged to register with local authorities. those who fail to register or try to evade the draft face imprisonment of up to five years. following the country's first general election in 20 years last november, the new parliament is expected to convene as early as this month to establish at least an appearance of civilian government. the last-minute decision to introduce the draft system before the new government's integration is likely to set off protests from the public. >>> top officials from japan and the united states have reiterated they will resume talks with north korea after it takes steps to abandon its nucl

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." japan's current account surplus fell in november for the first time in three months. that came as imports surged due to higher prices of natural resources such as iron ore and liquefied natural gas. the finance ministry said in a preliminary report on wednesday november's trade surplus stood at just over $3 billion. that's down by nearly 47% from a year earlier in yen terms. imports of flat-panel televisions from china also soared. consumers rushed to take advantage of government subsidies for ecofriendly appliances before they were reduced in december. meanwhile, the income surplus came to just under $10 billion. that's up 13% compared with a year earlier. these figures result in a current account surplus of $11.2 billion, which means a 15.7% decrease year on year. the ministry says, wel while th effect of the government subsidies is temporary caution is needed over the strong yen's impact on trade balances. >>> the united arab emirates

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." >>> japan's debt has been downgraded by u.s. credit rating agency standard and poor. it's the first downgrade in eight years and nine months for japanese government bonds. standard and poor's said on thursday it has cut the double-a credit rating on japan's sovereign debt by one notch to did you believe a minus. japan has the highest ranking out of 21 notches. it has the same rating as kuwait, saudi arabia and china. >> our level of confidence of the ability of the government to carry through with fiscal consolidation had evaporated to a point where we thought we needed to lower the rating. >> the rating firm says japan's fiscal health is the worth among industrialized nation. s&p said it will consider an upgrade if the government takes steps to reduce the debts. it cited japan's net foreign assets, which are the largest in the world. the yen's role has a major reserve currency. >> japan's cumulative national debt is nearly 200% of its gross domestic product. japan's finance ministry estimates its national debt will swell to mor

she told nhk that in addition to women living in poverty, there is another issue that needs to be dealt with. >> ending violence against women is, of course, another area that is of critical importance. only in the past ten years really has the issue of violence against women come from being a private issue to a public policy issue. and u.n. women has a critical role to play as part of the u.n. system. >> sandler also said aims of the body include having more girls attend school, lowering maternal mortality rates and protecting women from hiv infection. >>> sales at conveyor belt sushi restaurants continue to rise despite the sluggish economy here in japan. and now the market has reached more than $4 billion. for one conveyor belt manufacturer that is capitalizing on this trend, business is thriving. >> reporter: in october, a rotary sushi restaurant in central tokyo introduced a remarkable system that can quickly respond to customer orders. customers place orders via a touch screen at their table. chefs quickly make the ordered sushi and place it on a high speed conveyor system. it the

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." chinese president hu jintao has arrived in washington and will meet with u.s. president become barack on wednesday. the focus of the meeting will be on whether the two nations can narrow their differences in areas such as appreciation of the chinese yuan and security issues. he was welcomed by vice president joe biden at an airport outside washington on tuesday afternoon. this is the chinese president's first official visit to the u.s. in five years. the two presidents are expected to discuss the value of the chinese currency and ways to handle tensions on the korean peninsula. the united states is calling for the appreciation of the yuan against other currency. hu has indicated that it's time to change the international financial order centered on the u.s. dollar and this may also be discussed during the summit. relations between the u.s. and china have been tense since january last year when the obama administration decided to sell weapons to taiwan. china apparently wants to demons

. >>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. >>> the minutes of a u.s. federal reserve meeting show that policy makers agreed to maintain additional credit-easing measures amid a persistently high jobless rate. the fed's move raised criticism that it may lead to higher long-term interest rates, which could delay the recovery of the housing market. critics also said further monetary easing may also cause more inflation than necessary. but the minutes from the december 14th meeting, released on tuesday, showed that the agreement was reached as risks outweigh the possibility that u.s. economic recovery could pick up its pace due to rising consumer spending. the risks include a worsening of the housing market due to continued high employment. state and city governments may cut spending or raise taxes due to deteriorating fiscal health. and the european debt problem may also negatively impact the u.s. economy. the minutes add that u.s. long-term interest rates rose due to an improving economic outlook and because the fed's additional easing fell below some ma

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." u.s. president barack obama led a moment of silence for the six people who died in a shooting rampage in it tucson, arizona. >>> we are speaking directly to our sense of loss but also speaking to our hopes for the future. and how out of this tragedy we can come together as a stronger nation. >>> the president, first lady michelle obama, and his staff gather on the white house south lawn on monday to take part in the vigil. [ bell tolling ] arizona residents also observed a moment of silence. they gathered with investigators at the site of the shooting. the incident on saturday left six dead and 14 injured, including congresswoman gabrielle giffords. she remains in critical condition from a gunshot to the head. among the dead are a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl. at the elementary school where christina taylor green attended, students and teachers put up messages of sympathy. she was born on the day of the september 11th terrorist attacks. the fbi is investigating the suspect, jared lo

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." heavy rains continue to lash wide areas around the world, causing floods and landslides. in the southeastern australian state of victoria hundreds of people have evacuated their homes after rain-swollen rivers overflowed their banks. >> we can keep bagging up, bagging up. you know, we've tried to block off a few of the stormwater pits to make it a little slower to come through. i've got a relative over the road there. it's all part of the experience, isn't it? maybe the first time in a couple hundred years. >> this follows weeks of flooding in northeastern queensland state that caused huge economic damage and affected roads, railways, farms, and businesses. 31 people are known to have died. and more than 30,000 houses and businesses are swamped. torrential rains have also caused major flooding across sri lanka. in the philippines 40 people died in floods and landslides. floods and landslides in brazil caused by record rainfall last week also claimed the lives of more than 600 people.

. >> nhk. gates is going to japan after china. what kind of role do you expect to play for japan in the pacific? the issue [unintelligible] >> i guess in terms of the role of the us/japan alliance, that is something of rather clear and long-standing nature. there is not anything that will chance by the trip that speaks to the deep partnership that exists between the us and japan. the fact that we continue to view it as the cornerstone fo r us policy, we have made good progress in working through the issues. we've been gratified by the comments. >> we have time for one more question. >> what are we expecting on the north korean issue discussions? >> sd numerous officals have commented of the past month or so, we believe china plays an important role. convincing north korea that it need to return to a process by which it lives up to the . >> thank you. this was an important statement. it is a busy time for you in preparing for the visit. we appreciate your taking the time to give the spech here today. [applause] [captioning performe