Welcome to newsline. Its friday, february 1st. Im Catherine Kobayashi in tokyo. An explosion has torn through the headquarters of mexican oil company. 14 workers were killed. At least 80 people were injured. The building shook and lost power. Workers evacuated the building. Emergency crews rushed to the scene. They helped moved the injured through debris that had been thrown out on the street. The explosion took place in basement garage. Officials are still trying to find out what happened. Journalists are being allowed into a natural gas complex. 150 journalists from domestic and foreign media were given access to the gas facility. If facility consists of a natural gas plant with living quarters about three kilometers away. Along the roadside near the living quarters is a line of vehicles destroyed when helicopters attacked the militants as they tried to flee with the hostages. After coming under attack militants made their last stance some the algeria government invited media to the complex in a bid to show its now safe to restart operations. However, reporters were not given full access to the compounds. They stayed for only about two hours and were barred from getting close to the living quarters where several of the japanese hostages leaders in pyongyang have tried for years to shield others from seeing what happens inside north korea. But they do reveal their intentions from time to time, and theyve suggested theyll carry out another nuclear test. U. S. Military personnel in japan are preparing themselves for whatever happens. Flight crews are moving Surveillance Aircraft to an air base in okinawa. A wc135 plane arrived at kunida in midjanuary. The aircraft can carry radioactive particles that can be released into the atmosphere by a nuclear test. Crews are running it through takeoff and landing exercises. Pilots also have been reported to carry out test flights on an rc135 reconnaisance plane. They use that aircraft to gather and share information. Theyve converted a business jet into a surveillance plane. Flight crews would be able to use its radar to detect information on the ground. Diplomats from other countries are urging the North Koreans not to follow through. Some from japan and russia are scheduled to meet next week to coordinate their efforts. Diplomats are finalizing arrangements for a visit to russia by japanese Prime Minister shinzo abe. Russian politicians have some influence with their counterparts in north korea. The diplomats are expected to explore ways to dissuade leaders in pyongyang to carry out what would be a Third Nuclear test. Theyre also expected to discuss a dispute over islands off japans northernmost prefecture, halkido. The japanese are expected to restake their claims to the four island and discuss a peace treaty. Two trains have collided in south africa. At least 150 people were hurt, the Treasury Department needs to be able to pay their bills. They have to have enough money to operate otherwise they face a possible default. The bill was passed on thursday. The u. S. Government needed to pass the bill. Thats because the debt already reached a ceiling of 16. 4 trillion set by law. The bill is putting pressure on both chambers of commerce by midapril. Republicans are expected to continue pushing the government to cut the fiscal deficit by reviewing Social Security spending. The budget is a lingering concern for lawmakers. They must come up with measures to resolve the issues of spending cuts by early march. Here in japan the jobless rate in december has gotten worse. The number of jobs on offer for people seeking work has seen the first increase in five months. The latest data from the internal Affairs MinistryShows Unemployment for december was 4. 2 . Thats up. 1 of a point from december. The number of people without a job increased by 70,000 to 27. 8 million. Those with a job fell 350,000 to 62. 6 million. As for the whole of 2012 the job situation improved. The average Unemployment Rate last year stood at 4. 3 . Thats down. 3 of a point from the Previous Year. The Labor Ministry announced that the ratio of Job Vacancies to seekers improved slightly in december. It says 82 position were available for every 100 job seekers. The weak yen and rising share prices are behind an increasingly attractive japanese equity market. They have seen earnings swing back into black. Japans largest Security Company has announced a rurn to profit for the april to december period last year. Theres a net profit of 270 million. Period last year. Theres a net profit of 270 million. For the april to decembd last year. Theres a net profit of 270 million. Thats quite a sdifs from ithe Previous Year loss. Lets get a check on the markets. The dollar is gaining ground against the japanese currency to the upper 91 yen level. Market sources say traders are buying the dollar as they expect a recovery. Thats after a key manufacturing figure came in above what many analysts have expected. The euro is gaining ground against the yen. That pair is trading at 124. 87 to 89. Now to stocks. A weaker yen is prompting investors to buy export related issue. The nikkei average trading at 11,180. Thats a gain of almost. 4 of a percent from thursdays close. They sense the market may be overheating. Lets look at other markets in the asia pacific region. The kospi down half a percent. 1,951. In australia the benchmark index is trading higher at 4,912. Major Electronics Makers are counting on greater strength in numbers. Theyre about to merge the struggling semiconductor businesses and looks like they will be partly funded by a government affiliated bank. Sources say the two firms are wrapping up preparations to launch a joint company by march 2014 for the design and development of system lsi semiconductors. They are also in talks with the Development Bank of japan over a possible investment of several hundred Million Dollars. System lsis are widely used in appliances and automobiles. Japanese makers are struggling to make costs because of production and development. The two plants are planning to launch an adventure. Thats the latest in business. Ill leave you with a check on markets. The man at the center of a sports scandal in japan has apologized for his win at all costs attitude. Hes admitted to abusing topes. He says he might resign. Translator i think it is difficult for me to continue teaching judo. Im going to submit a document to the alljapan Judo Federation asking whether or not i should resign. 15 judo applicants sent a complaint to the company. He said sonoda and other coaches slapped them in the face and used other forms of physical abuse and power harassment. He said he just wanted the athletes to go the extra mile. He never considered it as violence. He was involved in five incidents of violence between august 2010 and february 2012. They reprimandsed him and the other coach. He hit athletes that failed to follow his instructions. Ed him other coach. He hit athletes that failed to follow his instructions. A panel will be set up to investigate the allegations. Translator the scandal has underscored a gap between sport circles and society about whats accepted as discipline and what constitutes violence. Its our mission to eradicate violence from the world of sports. Goc executives and lawyers will make up the investigation team. Theyll interview 15 female athletes including some members of the olympic judo team. Theyll try to determine if other sports organizations have similar problems. The international Judo Federation has condemned the training methods. The federation posted a statement on its website. It refers to late judo master. He devoted himself to developing the martial art. The methods contradict the spirit and philosophy of the discipline kano taught. Judo should develop physical and mental capabilities. They will banfully action contrary to that principal. Criminals in japan have raked in a record amount of money using fraud. Con artists stole about 400 Million Dollars last year from victims due in part to more sophisticated techniques. They have pretended to be family members of their targets. They phoned to ask for money and convinced their victims to make Bank Transfers. Con artists visited their victims at home. They posed as representatives of relatives and in some cases walked away with cash. National Police Agency spokesperson say criminals are duping people with fake financial products. They say returns from this kind of fraud have nearly tripled to around 200 million. Investigators say con artist target individuals using Fake Products such as the sale of stocks in nonexistent companies or they claim bogus transactions could amount to Insider Trading and trick victims to paying to hire lawyers. People in japan saw the first rash of bank fraud about a decade ago the victims usually fall for a scan. Reporter it happened to this victim in her 80s. It happened from her grandson. He said he forgotten a bag on the train in the equivalent of about 20,000. The woman had been ware of this kind of fraud. Her husband warned her about it that same morning. Still she says she was convinced the caller really was her grandson. Translator i thought to myself, oh, no. My grandson is in trouble. Ive got to help him. Reporter some pretend to be covering personal things, such as abortions. They ask their victim, who are usually elderly, to transfer large amounts of money to a bank account. Con artists stole about 47 million. A year later they stole about 312 million. Police crackdowns and awareness campaigns led to a drop in fraud cases in 2009. For example, authorities worked with banks to freeze suspect accounts. But criminals changed their tactics and fraud took off again. Some now pose as operators of Adult Websites claiming fictitious fees. Others pretend to represent family members and attempt to collect cash or bank cards. These money scams are happening elsewhere in asia. Authorities announced in 2011 that they arrested nearly 600 members of a cross border criminal group on Bank Transfer fraud charges. South korean Authorities Say the number of Money Transfer frauds increased ten fold between 2007 and 2011. Police say they are trying to stay ahead of the con artist but note individuals need to play a role. Earlier he started by asking him why people are still falling victim to these scams, even though most people are aware of this type of crime. Criminals are using more sophisticated techniques when a con artist pretends to need your money. Awareness campaign has been credited. But the number of Bank Transfer fraud cases has increased by more than 1500. Some criminal groups are moving away from Bank Transfers because of limits on the amount of money that can be moved. An increasing number of them collect cash from victims in person, aiming for a bigger payout. This is reflected in the statistics and the amount lost will increase by 16,000 per case last year compared to 2011. That pushed out the total amount as well. You mentioned Police Awareness campaigns. Police have tried to stop this for years. What else can they do . Well, and they managed to obtain a target list circulated among criminal groups with names of elderly and vulnerable people. Lets hope contacting potential victims directly will prove more effective in fighting fraud. They are also urging people to use answering machines or services because the evidence could be used against them. And people can take their time deciding what is genuine and whats fake. Police say commonsense can often be the best defense. A japanese ballerina in egypt has found life more difficult since the start of the arab spring two years ago. On the street affects what she does on the stage. Nhk world has her story. Reporter the Cairo Ballet Company was funded more than 45 years ago. They contain many dances from europe and even further away. Three years ago, 24yearold liza ocha became the first asian to hold a position of prima ballerina. She came to egypt six years ago, when she was just 18. She chose the company because of its strong reputation. People here are friendly. I feel comfortable. Its my sixth year. Now i feel like this is the place where i belong. Reporter however, two years ago protests occurred in egypt. The upheavals have affected the ballerina dancers. Translator when there are demonstrations, its dangerous to go outside. Sometimes there are curfews. When that happens, all rehearsals are canceled. It can be hard to stay motivated with all that is going on. Sometimes the principal male dancer misses rehearsals to join rallies in times square. Hes worried about the growing islamic influence. Translator lets get together on the anniversary of the revolution. All egyptians are all dancers from my company. Sometimes i say, sorry, i cant make that tomorrow because i must be at rehearsal. Reporter some dancers were unable to participate in the companys most important performance of the year. There were many changes, and ocha had to learn new moves quickly. Translator i cant get it right. Ocha had to learn new combinations, and there were times she felt she would not make it. But she was inspired by the attitudes of the young egyptian dancers. Translator its been difficult because of the Political Climate and villages turmoil. When i look at the young people out there, i realize i have to work really hard, too. I learn from watching the young people here that you can never give up. Reporter the day of the performance arrived. Reporter ocha danced beautifully to a packed house. [ applause ] translator shes come here all the way from japan. Id like to thank her for her wonderful performance. We hope shell continue to perform here. Reporter despite the upheaval, ocha intends to carry on. She hopes that the Ballet Company can come to japan and dance ieta, a famous story that takes place in egypt. Nhk world, cairo. People in japans capital are enjoying sunny blue skies this morning. Will it stay that way . We have world weather. Thick clouds are blanketing the peninsula and creating windy conditions. You could be seeing as much as 80 millimeters of rain in the next 24 hours. It will spread to the whole of the nation as we head into saturday. Rain could raise the risk of flooding. Even the tokyo area we could see rain showers during the midnight hours. This system is pulling ample warmth from the south. Springlike warmth is anticipated for much of the nation the for example, in tokyo our high is expected to be 14 degrees. It will go up to 19 on saturday. It will cool down to 11 on sunday. Take advantage of the warm weather for the next couple of days. As we take a look at a bigger picture, Rainy Weather for the peninsula but that should be gone by this evening. Very strong winds will pushing down temperatures. Well show the figures in a moment. The beijing area where weve been focusing on this area because of dense smog. Conditions were not bad yesterday because of snowy conditions yesterday. Down towards the south scattered showers for the physic philippines and temperatures will be in the 30s across manila as well as bangkok. Well cool down to only 3 degrees on your saturday. You do want to bundle up. Now in north america we talked about Severe Weather in the eastern u. S. We had numerous reports of Car Accidents and several tornadoes in the southeast killing two people. Conditions have improved across most of the u. S. But south Eastern Canada is a different story. Youre still dealing with persistent winds as well as heavy snow showers. Winds could hit as high as 100 kilometers per hour. Strong enough to topple trees and damage structures. Looking dry across the rest of the u. S. To the southwest a very dry and very warm 26 degrees in los angeles. To the north very chilly minus 26 degrees in winnipeg which is about 15 degrees cooler than seasonal with the wind chill factors you could feel minus 45 degrees or so. Cover your exposed skin to reduce the risk of frostbite. Conditions will stay the same to the north over the next couple of days. Temperatures are looking like this getting back to normal with a high of 7 degrees on friday and 8 degrees in burling. Snow showers are liking over the weekend here. Here is the extended forecast. Thats all for this edition of newsline. Thanks for joining us