armed forces will use them if foreign troops intervene in the conflict. foreign ministry spokesperson jihad responded to speculation by anti-government fighters and other countries that the syrian military could resort to using weapons of mass destruction. he acknowledged his country has chemical and bacterial weapons. he says they're in storage and under the supervision of armed forces. >> translator: any unconventional weapon that the arab public possess would never -- would never be used against civilians or against the syrian people during this crisis. >> he says syrian forces will only use the weapons country faces external aggression. syria has not ratified the chemical weapons convention. officials from western countries suspect the assad government has stockpiles of mustard gas. they have expressed fear the

turmoil in syria could allow terrorist organizations to take possession of these weapons. european union foreign ministers say they're concerned about the potential use of chemical weapons in syria. they're also trying to choke off the supply of conventional weapons to the country. they've decided to strengthen their arms embargo. e.u. foreign ministers released a statement monday after meeting in brussels. >> we have to continue to be very, very clear in our belief that assad has to step aside. >> the e.u. banned weapons exports to syria in may 2011, but the tighter arms embargo now requires all e.u. security officials to inspect vessels and aircraft heading to syria if they suspect the cargo contains arms or equipment for president assad's forces. foreign ministers hope this new policy will have an impact on russian vessels that have been carrying weapons to syria. the e.u. has also frozen assets

and imposed travel bans on three more entities and 26 more individuals supporting the assad government. senior syrian army officers are among those targeted. turkey's leaders are closely monitoring the conflict in syria. they're also bolstering their border defenses, sending more soldiers and surface to air missiles to stop the violence from spilling into their country. nhk world reports. >> reporter: i'm at the turkish border checkpoint about 50 kilometers from the city of arrapjo. the surgeryish authority has limited the movement of humans and traffic in this town. local sources say opposition fighters have captured a syrian checkpoint just beyond three kilometer wide buffer zone between the two countries. they're now in a standoff with syrian government forces seeking to retake the checkpoint.

persons here say they hear gunshots and explosions from the syrian side at night. turkey's military has positioned commandos in the area to stringent security. i spoke to a truck driver who just fled syria. >> an opposition fighter pointed a gun at me and me to leave the country. i also saw them detain a turkish truck driver. >> reporter: some syrian anti-government forces are based in turkey raising concerns that the violence might cross the border. japan's defense ministry has sounded a warning about china's military build-up. its annual white paper says recent activities are a grave

concern for east asia and the rest of the world. this year's report says china's defense budget has increased by around 30 times over the past 24 years. officials believe much of the growth is from building aircraft carriers. the ministry also said china is sending warships more frequently to the south china sea and east china sea. the latter is home to japan's islands which are claimed by china and taiwan. the white paper expresses concern over china's reluctance to disclose military information. the report will be released to the public after being submitted to the cabinet by the end of this month. chinese leaders are making another move in their campaign to assert control over disputed territory in the south china sea. a mayor is now in charge of the new city that consolidates the country's administration of three island chains. southeast asia nations also claim sovereignty over the

islands. chinese authorities established samcha city which includes the separately and parasail islands. the news agency says the district's ledges laifshg congress appointed a deputy, deputy mayor, and directors. the director says the new government is fully aware of its historical importance. he restate china's claims over the islands and pledged to contribute to the management development and protection of the territory and the surrounding waters. analysts say the philippines, vietnam, and other countries that also claim the islands may intensify their protest against the chinese government. the south china sea is believed to be rich in natural resources. it's been a year since a high-speed train accident in china claimed 40 lives and injured 190. many chinese at the time criticized the government's response, but the government and media have since been largely

silent. nhk world reports. >> reporter: on july 23rd, 2011, one high-speed train crashed into another in the city of wenjo. investigators quickly buried some of the wreckage, but they received criticism on the internet. on monday many police officers and local government officials were deployed to keep an eye out for demonstrations commemorating the event. you can hardly tell this is where the accident occurred. the site of those resti here reminds us of what happened. >> translator: i'm here to express my condolences as a citizen of china.

>> reporter: no official memory or services were held to mark the day. the wrecked trains were left at a nearby station for a year. construction of high-speed train lines were suspended throughout china after the accident. a chinese government report released in december said the accidents were the result of a number of human errors. the government is once again promoting high-speed rail as a way to accelerate growth. the chinese media barely mentions last year's accident anymore. had suggests the government wants people to forget about it to prevent another wave of criticism, but criticism of the government has appeared on chinese internet bulletin

boards. this could mean the chinese government still has a long way to go to win back public trust. maria, nhk world, wenjo, china. investigators weren't looking for more reasons to worry about the euro zone, but that's just what they got. we are joined from the business team. what now? >> yeah, catherine. credit ratings. investigators are worried that even the most fiscally stable nations could be downgraded in the near attorney general, and that's because analysts at moody's downgraded credit rating outlooks for the sovereign debt of germany and two other major european countries, and that's due to growing uncertainties over the region's debt problems. the major u.s. credit rating agency said on monday that it lowered its medium term outlook from stable to negative. that's where the government bonds of germany, the netherlands, and luxembourg. the move suggests possible

rating cuts in the future. the debts of these three nations are currently rated triple-a, which is the highest rating. now, this is the first time germany's ratings outlook has been lowered to negative since greece's fiscal crisis brought about the european debt woes. germany is the driving force of the euro zone economy. well, euro zone nations outstanding debts continued to grow in the first quarter of this year despite efforts to reduce them. the e.u. statistical office said on monday that total government debts of the 17 members stood at 88% of the region's gross domestic product from january to march. that is up from 87% in the previous quarter. greece's outstanding debt stood at over 130% of its gdp. it was a remarkable recovery from 165% marked in the previous quarter. however, the nation remains the highest indebted nation in the euro zone.

now, this is followed by italy at 123% of its gdp, portugal at 111% and ireland at 108%. their debts rose from the previous quarter. now, spain is another country with financial problems. its outstanding debts rose to 72%, and that's up from 69%. now it's time to get a check on the markets. u.s. stock prices ended lower due to renewed concerns over spain's debt load with bond yields rising to a record high of over 7.5%. the dow jones industrial average closed at 12,721, down more than 100 points. let's see how stocks are trading this tuesday in japan. we're going to go to ramine at the tokyo stock exchange. weak corporate earnings here in japan, moody's lowering its outlook in europe. how are tokyo stocks responding to all this?

>> a good morning to you, and really as if the markets really needed any further bad news. as you mentioned there, moody's lowering its outlook for germany, luxembourg, and the netherlands. of course, it has been playing into the markets. overseas will cam to how its opening here in tokyo in a second. of course, the euro also having a negative -- for the meek neek and topix here, and a micked picture. the meek neek flat at 8,50le, and the topix up marginally at 721 right now. the benchmark nikkei actually ended lower yesterday for second day in a row on triple digit losses, in fact, and really weighed down by concerns over corporate earnings in the u.s. as well as upcoming earnings here in japan. this week from the likes of nissan. also, later today nidek, a major

supplier of specialized precision motors from optical disk drives to disk drivers, and also some of the major clients include ibm. they'll have earnings later today for the period through june, so that's going to be a key focus as well. japanese companies, of course, are key. manufacturers of components which go into major products for global companies and, of course, the precision engineering sector is a major one, and it could be affected really by the global downturn that we've seen in the high-tech area. that's going to be a focus there. now, switching, of course, to one of the main drivers of the market today, and that is currencies. let's have a look at how the yen is playing out following the moody's investors lowering of it outlook, and the bottom of the screen, 94.93 to 98. dollar-yen relative unchanged. the euro really the main story today. it's hit a fresh lower at the lower 94 yen levels and at one

stage yesterday and that's for the first time in nearly 12 years. that's really going to be a focus, and, of course, we'll see how that affects euro sensitive stocks today. >> ramin, you said there are key earnings out in the u.s. rsh how might that affect sentiment? >> definitely. of course, major focus today, and it's going to be apple coming out with earnings after the bell today. of course, a lot of japanese companies make components that go into products for apple from the likes of mirada manufacturing, attorntoshiba, a those that carry the iphone here in japan. it's going to be a ripple effect. we'll keep an eye on it. >> thanks for that update. ramin from the tokyo stock exchange. it looks like the nikkei is dipping into negative territory now. i'll leave you with the latest market figures. ♪

traditional modes of transportation across southeast asia are under threat. from the cyclones of hanoy, taxi drivers aren't rolling like they used to. consumers are getting wheels of their own. now people in a historic island in malaysia are aiming to reverse this trend. they're trying to save a three-wheeled taxi known as from extinction. here's the story. >> reporter: it's located in western -- this is the ambience of the period and the 18th

century. this site once thrived as a threat between the east and the west. three-wheels taxis hold tourists. the driver sits behind the passengers giving them a view of the sights. >> this is a new experience for me. this experience is very unforgettable. >> reporter: but they're not as popular as they once were. until the 1970s these were important means of transportation nationwide, but as cars and motor bikes increased, the number of passengers drop off.

at the peak 3,000 tricycles fill the streets, and that number has gone to less than 300. 65-year-old has been driving a tricycle for more than 50 years. peddling is a tough job under the bright sun. he also said the job is -- >> translator: i can't recommend my son to do the same job. successors keep dwindling in numbers. >> reporter: however, the government is stepping in to -- as a tourist attraction. sundays are designated as a car-free day. motor bikes are banned, and

pedestrians, bicycles, and tricycles hit the streets. >> we can walk around and look at the beautiful building around this area. i think this will be continued. >> reporter: a new amusement park building built where also gives tricycles a boost. 15 of the people have a means of transport. >> since we are actually already listed as the part of the site, yes, definitely, it will be something that we have to take a look at. if we lose tricycle, we are actually losing one of our living culture. >> reporter: the slowly moving tricycle is the best way to take in this town under its rich heritage. that's why they're stepping up

efforts to keep people on the road and invite more tourists to hop on board. nhk world, hannan. cherry farmers in yamagatta are sharing cherries grown in a virtual orchard. they do this by teaming up with a company that makes apps for mobile phones. in doing so, the farmers are able to sell more of their famous cherries. with more, here's nhk world. >> we're in kawasaki city next to tokyo.

in this game they click on the or hard and grow cherries. they buy various things for the trees. they also give the trees a generous dose of pesticide to kill pests. regular spraying is essential. >> translator: there aren't any fields near here, so we can't grow real plants. it's really fun to grow things through this virtual game. >> reporter: if she succeeds at growing cherries, they receive real ones. she accepts a two kilogram package from a farmer. this is how the game works. she uses real money to buy products for their cherry trees. when the digital cherries have grown, the game company gets the

farmers to send the real ones to the players. the shipments are at the player's front door. the game company pays the farmers for the cherries. for two kill grams of cherlys, they paid about 70 thirds. >> translator: during the game i worried that i might do something wrong, like use too much fertilizer. so i'm really happy to have successfully completed the process. >> translator: until now the virtual and real worlds were kept apart, but we think it's great to unite them. >> reporter: farmers like this man here benefit from the game

many several ways. now she says a quarter of his cherries are sent to the players. >> translator: medical now i always had to work with uncertain market prices, but in the game the price is set, so there is much more stability. >> translator: it allows him to cut labor costs before he had to give out many small packages to supermarkets. now he can ship one kilogram boxes of cherries to players. he saves money by -- moreover, the player sent for more cherries.

>> i would definitely like to use more i.t. as a way to improve sales. cell phone games connect players to farmers in a marketplace that sells real cherries. >> really interesting. virtual farming, in a sense. the game company works with more than 80 farmers across japan as well as cherries, players can grow potatoes, lettuce, and corn. people in southern china are feeling the effects of a strong typhoon that made landfall this morning. here's the latest in your world weather forecast. >> typhoon made landfall just west of hong kong a few hours ago, and he is now moving inland. right now a strong typhoon packing sustained winds of 144

kilometers with gusts of over 215 kilometers per hour. it looks like it's going to move through over the next couple of days and then reach northern vietnam as a tropical depression status by thursday morning local time. right now anywhere within this red line winds of 90 -- over 90 kilometers are blowing and strong winds are causing high waves along the coastal line. now, in terms of a rainfall, the heaviest rain can be found mainly across the coastal areas. as much as 250 to 300 millimeters is likely in the next 24 hours. that's certainly enough to cause flooding and landslides. not only southern china, but also taiwan and the northern philippines affect by heavy rain because bisenti will enhance the southerly flow and bring a lot of the moisture to this area, so, again, southern china will be affected by stormy weather for the next couple of days. we'll keep you posted on the

situation. meanwhile, a line of thunder showers is stretching from north korea down towards eastern china and that will be shifting towards the north. as for the beijing area, which was hit by excessive rain over the weekend, it's now staying dry. however, thunder showers are on the cars on your wednesday, so it's not good news here. as for japan staying dry and hot, we may see thunderstorms across the mountain areas today. temperature-wise, 31 degrees in tokyo. temperatures will be rising to 33 degrees as we head into tomorrow. 32 in seoul, and 33 degrees expected in taipei. all right. moving into the americas across the u.s.-canada border. this is where we're going to see lots of active weather. severe thunderstorm warnings are in place in the western canada area, and parts of the northeast states and there is a tornado watch warning in place in parts of eastern ontario and, unfortunately, it's going to be the same story as we head into

tuesday. down towards the south, monsoonal moisture is creating some pop-up thunder showers in the central and southern portions othe rockies. of course, it's been on the drought side over the past few months. however, brief heavy rain could certainly cause flooding here. temperature-wise, heat is still building across the lower great lakes -- across the lower great lakes region down towards the southern plains. 40 degrees expected, and 34 degrees in houston. all right. finally, let's take a look at what's happening across europe. a large low pressure system in front are affecting northern europe. the heaviest rain can be found in northern ireland as well as ntral norway, and, unfortunately, wet weather will likely continue for the next couple of days. down towards the south, a stationary low pressure system will bring thunder showers and heavy rain in italy and the western balgan peninsula. staying dry in the london area, temperatures should be getting up to 29 degrees on your tuesday

and 30 degrees expected in -- here's your extended forecast.

>> that concludes this edition of "newsline." thanks for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

>> california's gold is produced in association with kcet, los angeles and is seen statewide on california public television. this series is endorsed by: well, hello, everybody. i'm huell howser. and i'm about as cold as i've ever been in my life. this wind chills you to the bone. but that's okay, because look at this view. we have hiked in about a mile from the main road to get here. and the reason we're here that makes this place so signifi