mubarak from power. monsour named the head of the international atomic energy agency of vice president. mohamed al ba rad eye is popular among liberals. not proving popular among morsi supporters in the muslim brotherhood. they gathered near the presidential palace to protest. >> translator: the military has completely ruined our votes for morsi. i won't accept the interim president or vice president. >> military leaders overthrew morsi last week. his supporters have faced off security forces in the days since. the soldiers opened fire on monday at a gathering outside the army barracks where morsi is believed to be held. 51 people were killed. still, members of the muslim brotherhood say they'll stay on the streets until morsi is returned to power. a car bomb has rocked a stronghold of shia militant group hezbollah in a bustling district in the lebanese capital, beirut. at least 30 people are reportedly injured. local reporters filmed the aftermath of tuesday's incident. sunni and shia muslims in lebanon have experienced raised tension as sectarian strife spills over from syria. hezbollah members are fighting there in support of president bashar al assad. and the syrian rebels have threatened to target the shia group in lebanon. investigators are piecing together the moments before a plane crash-landed in san francisco. two chinese high school girls died when the asiana airlines passenger jet went down at the city's international airport. the head of the national transportation safety board, deborah hersman, said the jet was traveling too slowly to land. she said it was moving at about 190 kilometers per hour, just before making contact with the ground. the target speed for landing is about 250 can kilometers per hour. hersman said the pilots were trying to pick up speed to make another attempt at a landing. a u.s. television network aired footage of passengers escaping from the wreckage of the airliner. the footage shows people using two escape chutes on the left side of the aircraft. black smoke is pouring from the fuselage as they flee. a cabin attendant said it seemed like the plane was trying to climb at the moment of impact. >> translator: it felt like we were taking off again when there was a huge crash. then i felt another jolt and the plane swayed strongly from the left to the right. >> she said a fire broke out as the crew was trying to evacuate the passengers and that she escaped after making sure everyone else was off the plane. economists at an international finance organization are revising their outlook for the economy and not upward. tell us, what are they saying? >> catherine, they're saying they're seeing more problems than they had expected. the imf caught its global growth forecast for 2013 due to a slow down in emerging markets, and a deeper than expected recession in europe. in a report released tuesday, the international monetary fund said the global economy would grow 3.1% this year. that's down 0. 2 percentage points from its previous forecast in april. the imf says many of the major emerging economies are slowing. it lowered china's growth forecast by 0.3 percentage points to 7.8%. it also predicted a contraction of 0.6% for the eurozone economy, and cut its growth estimate for the u.s. to 1.7%. but the fund expects higher growth in japan. it raised its forecast for the nation from 1.6 to 2%. that's the highest among the group of seven industrialized countries. it explains that japan's economic policies, including a massive monetary easing program, will help boost consumption and exports. imf chief economist olivia black char said growth is stronger than expected but urged the nation to implement fiscal and structural reforms as soon as possible. >> on this, the second arrow, which is the fiscal stimulus, is soon complemented by credible medium-run fiscal plan. and the third arrow, which is structural reforms, reflects substantial reforms. i think the risk is that investors will become worried about that sustainability, and then ask for higher interest rate on japanese government bonds. >> stock prices in the u.s. climbed on tuesday. the dow jones rose half a percent to end at 15,300, extending for a fourth consecutive day. investors were encouraged by a positive start to the earnings season. for more on the japanese markets, we go to the tokyo stokes. the bank of japan begins its two-day policy meeting today. investors keeping a close watch on its outcome due thursday. how are markets opening in light of this? >> good morning. looking at quite a cautious start this morning. here are the opening levels for wednesday, july 10th. the in this case kay is down 0.18% at 14,447 points. the topix is slightly higher by 0.08%, moving in and out of gains and losses. so as we can see, investors are really taking a step back, ahead of the conclusion of the boj meeting. and as you mentioned, ai, the earning season in the u.s. has just started and aluminum giant alcoa kicked off results that were better than most analysts expected. the next focus could be the earnings releases of banking giants like jpmorgan and wells fargo on friday. and we'll see how this affects japanese financial companies here in japan. and now let's have a look at some major currency starting with dollar yen now at 101.11 to 13, with the dollar firm against the yen on improved outlook for the u.s. economy. but movement here is rather limited, as investors are refraining from making the big trades as we wait for the boj meeting outcome, even as most of them expect the central bank to keep its easing policy unchanged. and we may get some direction from the u.s. federal reserve as chairman ben bernanke is scheduled to make a speech later today. and the u.s. central bankers will release the minutes of their latest policy meeting. and now let's have a look at euro/yen, now at 129.23 to 28, with the euro lower against the yen. investors sold a common currency overnight as major credit rating agencies downgraded italy's credit rating. they also sold the euro following reports that a european central bank policy maker expressed ideas that the bank intends to keep its interest rate low, beyond 12 months. the ecb later clarified that the comments were not meant to give any guidance to the duration of its policy, and the euro managed to recoup some of its losses. so the big focus here today and tomorrow will be the boj meeting, and we'll continue to keep track of any developments there. back to you, ai. >> all right, eileen, thanks for that update. eileen lee from the tokyo stock exchange. well, will soon see another country joining the eurozone. european union finance ministers officially approved the baltic state of latvia to become the 18th nation to adopt the euro, starting next january. the ministers gave the green light to latvia at a meeting in brussels. the latvian government said the conversion rate of its currency, the lat, at 0.7028 for one euro. it will be the first time in three years that a new member joins the eurozone. in 2011, latvia's neighbor, eston estonia, started using the euro. >> it will facility economic development. we believe it's good news, not only for latvia. we believe it's good news also for the europe and eurozone. >> latvia joined the eu in 2004. the country's gross domestic product has grown at more than 5% since 2011. delegates from russia are the new faces around the table at the world trade organization. they joined the group less than a year ago. and they're already facing a trade dispute with their counterparts from the eu. eu delegates have criticized the russians for what's called a recycling fee on imported vehicles. they say the russians are overcharging to protect domestic carmakers. they say the maximum fee for new cars is $3400. for vehicles older than three years, $22,000. eu officials say the tariffs have caused imports from the eu to fall by 7% while russia's domestic market expands. >> we have such recycling fees here in europe. the fact is, russia doesn't impose that same recycling fee on its own cars. so that's where the problem lies, is a discrimination against the european manufacturing. eu representatives want to meet with those from russia to discuss the issue. they say if they can't find a solution within 60 days they may ask wto officials to decide whether the tariffs are legal. more headlines for you in business next hour. i'll leave you with a check on markets. japanese officials are looking for ways to reduce their dependence on rare metals from china. they're getting ready to carry out a survey of deposits in koering stan. officials will conduct their first survey in the central asian nation next week. they're scheduled to visit a mountainous region to look for deposits of ant moany and tongue stan. ant moany is used in electronic devices and housing materials. tongue stan is mainly used by the auto industry. japan's nuclear regulator will begin processing applications filed by four power companies to restart their nuclear reactors. the utilities submitted their applicatio applications on monday to restart ten reactors. the five include the tomari plant, the ohi and tack ahamma plants operated by konsai electric and the others are ikata and sendai. three teams will be in charge to three to four reactors. representatives will explain the safety measures to the nra at a meeting july 16th. they'll also relay their assessment of possible quakes and tsunami. japanese earthquake researchers are going deep to create a faster, more precise warning system. a large-scale underwater network of size mow graphs and tsunami recorders is being installed in the pacific ocean along the country's eastern seaboard. a ship began placing size mow graphs and recorders off chiba prefecture in tokyo. the instruments are contained in metal tubes. these will be installed at 150 locations on the sea bed, along the japan trench. this deep sea trench runs off the coast of eastern japan. observation data will be sent via an underwater cable nearly 6,000 kilometers long. if a quake occurs near the trench, the size mow graphs will enable the meteorological agency to issue faster warnings. the tsunami recorders will also offer quicker detection. >> translator: i hope the improved data gathering will help save lives and reduce damage by giving precise information. >> the national research institute for earth, science and disaster prevention plans to complete the project in about two years. politicians in japan have been crisscrossing the nation, selling their platforms ahead of this month's upper house election. for voters, it's a chance to weigh in on prime minister shinzo abe's first six months in office. abe has tried to consolidate his power. he and his liberal democratic party control the lower house. but opposition parties hold the majority of seats in the upper house. and that's created a divided diet, where passing legislation can be tricky. in the days leading up to when japan decides, we'll be looking at some of the key campaign issues and hearing from voters about what matters to them. candidates from these nine parties are running in the election. these groups qualified for political party status. they include long-established parties and others that were recently founded. self groups that failed to meet the standards are still fielding candidates. in all, 433 candidates, including independents, are running in this election. and they'll be talking about a number of different issues during the campaign. one that's come up again and again is the tvp or transpacific partnership, a free trade agreement. prime minister shinzo abe pushed for japan to join the negotiations after he took office. he won the approval of all participating nations in april. >> translator: it's our last chance. if we miss it, we'll be shut out of the establishment of global standards. >> nhk world's koni nagao tells us about the ttp and why the prime minister wanted to get japan on board. >> reporter: delegates from the u.s. and ten other pacific rim nations are involved in the ttp talks. they want to free up trade in 21 areas, including the nation of old tariffs. if they succeed, the free trade zone would account for one-third of the world's economic output. japanese leaders have lacked behind on trade talks, and they have watched other nations enter various partnerships. south korea has concluded agreements with the eu and the u.s. japan is trying to catch up and started many negotiations. in march, with china and south korea, in april with the eu. and in may, japanese officials began talks on the regional comprehensive economic partnership with includes asean and five other countries. japanese leaders are focusing on free trade for a number of reasons. the domestic market is expected to shrink, because of the declining birth rate and growing number of elderly. the rise in cheaper imports is expected to increase in consumption. and japanese companies need to be more globally competitive. government officials say the trade agreements will pay off. they project joining the ttp alone will boost real gdp by $32 billion a year. japan takes part in the tpp talks later this month. the nations involved plan to reach an agreement by the end of the year. >> that was nhk world's kauda nagaou. just because japanese negotiators are joining the tpp discussions doesn't mean everyone in this country supports the free trade deal. our keiko aso takes a look at some of the opinions. >> reporter: this company produces precision parts for automobiles, including pure injection devices. it's the number-one market in the united states. the president says the tpp could help increase tariffs abroad, where demand for vehicles is expected to grow. >> translator: we have to watch not just the domestic market with a population of 120 million, but the global market of 7 billion. >> reporter: komatsu says tearing down trade barriers will help his company better compete against rivals in europe and south korea. >> translator: our technical abilities and the quality of our products are very high. we can beat the competition if we can offer goods with better prices. >> reporter: many goods sent overseas from japan's exported economy are subject to tariffs. for example, automotive products sent to participants amount to more than $2 billion a year. business leaders are welcoming the government's decision to join the tpp talks. >> translator: the government should show strong leadership in the discussions. >> reporter: but some see the tpp as a threat, including japan's association. members say the duty is on the rise, and the tariffs allow cheap imports to flood the markets. they argue the cultural sector could collapse. >> translator: we cannot allow the government to make the decision to join the talks without a full national debate. >> reporter: his family has been farming for more than four centuries. he's heard government leaders will try to win concessions for japan at the tpp negotiations. they want to be able to maintain tariffs on some cultural projects. but he is skeptical they'll get their way. >> translator: the government has not disclosed information to us. i think nobody knows what the tpp will really mean. >> reporter: he says it's difficult for japanese farmers to further improve productivity, because most farmland is small in scale and not geographically suitable to consolidate. he argues, they cannot compete with large-scale farmers in countries who have lower production costs. >> translator: many japanese farmers are already hard up. cheap imports could drive us to quit farming, because we would not be able to make ends meet. even if we persist, we would only be piling up losses. >> reporter: the tpp negotiation would be unlike any talks japan has been involved in before. the agreements reach over a wide range of sectors and would affect different people in different ways. keiko aso, nhk world, tokyo. political parties in japan are divided on joining the tpp. even the ruling liberal democrats are not necessarily united. some ldp members worry about losing support from farmers. one of the party's major backers. we'll be looking at a number of stories and issues ahead of the upper house election. our coverage continues on wednesday. we'll speak to survivors of the 2011 disaster to find out what they'll be thinking about before they cast ballots. prime minister shinzo abe has worked to reach japan's economy and get back to growth. now he's setting his sights an amending the constitution, but his party must make a strong showing in the upper house election so it can push its policies forward. less than a year after putting abe in power, japanese voters have a chance to judge him on his record. don't miss our special coverage leading up to the july 21st election, right here on "newsline." time now for a check on the weather. there is a powerful typhoon heading towards southern japan and taiwan. mia shoji joins us with the latest. >> we have been tracking quite a serious system. this is the typhoon. you can clearly see the defined eye heading towards taiwan and the southern islands off japan. all right affecting the okinawa prefecture and likely to bring waves of 5 meters and 7 meters high into tomorrow. and then it will start to intensify over the warm sea surface water. it looks like it will become violate typhoon status, which is the highest level of any of these typhoons before it approaches these countries. so taiwan is also in the line of fire, already packing wind gusts of 234 kilometers per hour. it will be about 270 kilometers by thursday or friday local time. it's already a very strong typhoon, already going to be intensifying. so we will keep a very close eye on this system. now, apart from the stormy conditions that will be brought from this storm, it is actually feeding the heat to japan, indirectly. yesterday the record high temperatures hit 39 degrees in cats pneumoniaa and tokyo at 35 degrees. we have been seeing these digits for the past few days. some areas are seeing close to 40 temperatures -- 40 deg level. but about more than 600 locations saw above 30 degrees. and this is likely to continue for the next few days, which means that there is a high -- very strong high pressure system cresting overhead and the daytime heating will create thunderstorms in this sudden burst of showers. talking about the rain and showers along this rain band we will see additional amounts of 50 millimeters. we have already seen about 500 millimeters of rainfall. the flooding condition is very disastrous. but on top of that, more rain to come, and just in the span of a day, about 256 millimeters has fallen in the western sichuan province. so no more rain is welcome there. across these countries, seeing temperatures in the 30s. take a look at shanghai. 38 degrees, well above your average, with plenty of sunshine there. now to the americas. we are looking at chantal, a tropical storm system. it looks like it's going maintain its intensity as a tropical storm. and it is already bringing hurricane-force winds. so we do have hurricane watches posted in some of the countries, especially espanolia. looks like it will be tracking towards the countries and into florida peninsula. talking about the east coast, we're seeing lots of rain and severe thunderstorms. we have several reports of tornadoes already falling from this phenomenon. to the temperatures, as we see, death valley reaching 48 degrees, quite hot there, or sizzling willing hot. some people are actually -- they know how to cool off, especially in new york. let me show you a picture coming up from there. some new yorkers are escaping from the blistering heat at this newly opened bar called minus 5. the temperature remains minus 5 degrees celsius. everything here made out of ice, including the bar, glasses ask tables. the admission fee is 20 u.s. dollars, which includes eskimo gloves and a parka. back to the temperatures. looking at 31 degrees, so it's a good idea to enjoy cooling off around there. all right. i'll leave you now for the extended forecast. that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thank you for joining us. maybe you have some energy- saving appliances, like an energy star-rated washer and dryer. but what about your tv? chances are it's on more than your washer, dryer, and kitchen appliances combined. did you know that if half of us in the u.s. replaced our regular tvs with an energy star model, the change would be like shutting down a power plant? you can find the energy star on everything from standard to high def to the largest flat-screen your heart desires. ow that makes sense. ow that makes sense. we're in the exposition park garden in los angeles, right near the usc campus. now, this garden was first planted back in 1927. there are 15,000 rosebushes here -- 145 different varieties. and this garden is especially beautiful in the springtime, but of course, that's not unusual in california, because our entire state is spectacular in the springtime, all the way from the north down to the southern deserts. and in this particular adventure, we're gonna visit a couple of those places and see those spectacular flowers. so if you love flowers,