the largest by fleet size is air asia group. tony fernandez is betting big on asean's plans for economic integration. >> reporter: tony fernandez is already a legendary figure in the airline industry. in 2001, he bought an airline in malaysia with only two aging planes. 12 years later, the air asia group has the largest fleet of any low-cost area in southeast asia. >> when i started the airline, it was all about survival. i never thought about ten years' time. if you had told me i would have 140 planes and carrying 50 million people, 45 million people, whatever, i would have said what drugs are you taking? not real. but i always felt the potential was there. people love to travel. people want to travel. people want to move around. but it was too expensive. we're looking at about 24 planes a year. that's lower capacity by any stretch of the imagination. but the market is booming. established air asia will begin service this year. fernandez also sees myanmar as a key destination as the former military regime continues democratic r

the newly established air asia india will begin service this year. fernandes also sees myanmar as a key destination as the former military regime continues democratic reforms. >> i see a lot of potential. if you think of myanmar if i can get traffic to india and china, this country sits on the border of 2 billion people, it would be a very natural place to develop tourism from china to myanmar, from india to myanmar. so lots of flows right now into myanmar's adventure. we started with one flight to yangon. there's a lot that can be done. the beauty of what we've created in air asia is a lot of inter-asean travel. so a lot of kids who never thought of going to thailand, going to myanmar or vietnamese, they can go to malaysia. >> low-cost carriers are quickly increasing their market share. they now account for more than 50% of seat capacity in the region according to the center for aviation. last year fernandes established air asia asean and moved to jakarta where the association's secretary general is based. fernandes expects that the asean economic c

asia, tremendous things going on. indeed there are those of us who think we are seeing in some ways the return of history to asia. the united states has talked about a pivot making a greater emphasis of this part of world. how does it look from up close, how does it look, if you will, from down under? >> well, as you know, australia is probably america's lost reliable apply. we fought beside the united-- so you guys always look good to us. we see you as a very important force for stability. of course our strategic situation is getting more complicated. our largest economic partner is how now a competitor of the united states, china. and region is become more intense. that is change the debate in australia. but i think a strong majority of answers see the alliance with the united states critical to our security. and i think if we have any concern it is that america doubles down on asia. we know that u.s. policymakers are drawn to the middle east like irons following to a magnetment but we're here to tell you many of ma

asia. in this week's episode -- 10 bombs dropped. and a growing presence of militants in pakistan. pin the first of its kind attac, a temple was attacked. 10 medium intensity bombs were detonated in a coordinated strike. who is behind the attack and what was the motivation of reason behind is not yet clear. i's international investigation agnes -- investigation agency is on the attack. collects a series of explosions in and around buddhism's holiest shrine injured to persons. the government described it as a terror attack. the mahogany temple complex is located in a place where purists -- where the buddhist is believed to have attained enlightenment. 10 bombs struck. the nia is probing the explosions. at least two months -- at least two monks were injured in the coordinated terror attack. a total of 13 bombs were placed there. to live bombs were detected and diffuse at the complex while a third bomb was recovered near tha hotel. this is the first time gas cylinders have been used as containers for explosives. investigators believe th

kerry addressed foreign ministers from the association of southeast asia nations at their conference in brunei. some asean members have criticized china for increasing its activities in the south china sea. kerry says the u.s. interests are with remaining international interests. >> as a nation, we take our pacific relationships and responsibilities and we will continue to build an active adherence in every respect. >> he met with counterparts from japan and south korea to go over their united approach on north korea. they say they'll work together to push authorities in pyongyang to stop developing nuclear weapons. kerry sat down in brunei with fumio kishida and south korean foreign minister yun byung-se. >> translator: this is the right time for representatives of the three countries to exchange opinions over north korean issues. >> yun called the meeting significant. the first of its kind since japan and south korea elected new governments and president obama entered his second term. kerry said the three nations have been coordinating responses to the north's provocations. north k

>> hello and welcome to "news week south asia." in this week's episode -- rapid rise in target killings. anguish and fear among youth due to increasing kidnap incidents in pok. and now for all the details. she is in baluchistan -- shias in baluchistan are forced to live in fear and panic. before elections, sharif promised protection. he also promised protection against militant groups, but nothing delivered. >> this is an emergency ward in quetta, where there are no doctors or attendance, -- attendants, only mutilated bodies of young boys, men and children lying unattended. those dead, minorities of the shia community, killed by none other than pakistani's spy agency. >> [speaking foreign language] >> this is the story for shias living in quetta. every day an attack is launched against the minorities here, a community which is compelled to leave a life full of fear and panic. -- to live a life full of fear and panic. this recent attack in which many children and women lost their life, is not an isolated incident. such attacks are o

the recall is making headlines across asia. malaysian blogger says whitening products are a big seller among asian women. >> historically and culturally, among asians, there is this perception that if you are whiter skinned or fairer, then you have a higher social standing. that's why most people go for whitening products. >> kanebo executives still don't know how many people have been affected, but they face a tough task of rebuilding consumer confidence at home and abroad. nhk world, tokyo. >> the operator of the fukushima nuclear plant admission days after the utility recognized ground water contained high levels of radioactive particles had seeped into the ocean. it took more than one month for the company to admit the leak. tepco officials told a panel of outside experts they had opted to wait until final confirmation of data before recognizing the problem. they say they didn't want to disclose what they called an unconfirmed risk because they feared the information would deal a blow to the local fishing industry. the firs

biz asia america. we are cctv america. >> welcome back to biz asia america. china's top economic planner has invested an investigation in price-fixing by five for an infant milk manufacturers. >> the investigation came as quite a blow to for an infant milk companies that now account -- four and -- foreign infant milk companies that now account for about half of sales. they all said they will cooperate with the investigation. analysts expect fines and tougher rules governing imports into china's infant milk market. the official xinhua news agency says finds could range from 1% to 10% of sales in china. foreign brands have gained increased popularity in china after a series of tainted milk scandals created mistrust of local rivals. some chinese infant formula companies have started forming partnerships with foreign companies. the latest one being in -- inner mongolia, the second-largest dairy producer by revenue, joining hands with area farmers of america. that company represents one third of u.s. raw milk producers. also part of government goals to encourage c

♪ >> hello and welcome to "newsweek south asia." in this week's episode -- china warns israel -- india not to create trouble on the border. attack on foreign mountaineers -- a setback for the tourism industry. and congress promotes an ordinance on food security. opposition turns it undemocratic and a gimmick. and now for all the details. the dragon has once it again shown its true colors. despite commitments of peace by china, the people's liberation army has displayed its real intention. just a few hours before the minister embarked on his trip, the chinese general provoked india by warning it not to provoke and create new troubles for china. here is a report. >> tensions rose between israel and china when just before the indian defense minister's visit to beijing, a top chinese major general, also the executive resident of china strategy culture promotion association said, "the indian side should not remote new problems and increase military deployment on the border and start new trouble ." strategic community defense and foreign

>> hello and welcome to "news week south asia." in this week's episode -- rapid rise in target killings. anguish and fear among youth due to increasing kidnap incidents in pok. and now for all the details. she is in baluchistan -- shias in baluchistan are forced to live in fear and panic. before elections, sharif promised protection. he also promised protection against militant groups, but nothing delivered. >> this is an emergency ward in ncncncncncncnce, -- ndants, only mutilated bodies of young boys, men and children lying unattended. those dead, minorities of the shia community, killed by none other than pakistani's spy agency. >> [speaking foreign language] >> this is the story for shias living in quetta. every day an attack is launched against the minorities here, a community which is compelled to leave a life full of fear and panic. -- to live a life full of fear and panic. this recent attack in which many children and women lost their life, is not an isolated incident. such attacks are often orchestrated by sunni military g

"newsweek south asia." in this weeks episode -- militants and foreigners. and taliban launches attacks at the presidential palace, endangering the peace process. in the first of its kind, militants have attacked mountaineers. 10 foreigners, including chinese, were killed in the gruesome attack. pakistani taliban on has claimed responsibility for the attack. locals are taken aback i the gruesome killing of foreigners. the attack would spell a disaster for the already faltering tourism industry. >> a once thriving mountaineering industry is reeling from the killing by militants of 10 foreigners. a massacre likely to drive away all but the hardest of visitors from the world's car lists and most pristine peaks. just as police, they ordered tourists out of tents on that fateful night and then shot them and a pakistani guide. the attack has been claimed by both the pakistani taliban and the smaller radical islamist group. the attack was seen as a fatal blow for efforts to attract more climbers to the himalayan ranges . [chanting] >> widespread protests by the loc

our ambition is to get asia back on track. >> six months? >> my prediction is it will happen within a six-month timeframe. how do i know that? i asked the people. i reviewed the entire business with the asia pacific japan management team in great levels of detail. and they seem to have gotten the memo. >> if you think china can come back, i saw things in europe that i liked. is spain coming back? spain was the hardest hit, has bottomed. >> believe it or not, jim, we're growing double digit in spain, portugal, italy, and greece. in fact, greece had very good growth. europe in the aggregate is still not robust. you know that and i know that. so i'd like to see europe in double digit growth territory as opposed to single. but here's a nice benchmark for s.a.p. germany grew 9%. >> right. >> the most mature market we have in the world. and southern europe is starting to come back. and the middle east and north africa has huge growth potential. i think we're in a cycle in the macroeconomic environment that will right itself, and the key is as long

this company is making cosmetics upon orders from southeast asia. it's good at making cosmetics from natural ingredients like herbs and rice and responds to customer requests. on this day the firm has a visitor. the owner of a tv shopping company in thailand. he wants to develop cosmetics from herbs and other natural ingredients from thailand. >> translator: really good over high quality. please make our product. if we use japanese technology with thai ingreedients, we can have goods in the world market. >> in yet another move, companies in different industries are coming up with new ideas for novel products. this is a new brand started two years ago by a consultant company. with the help, the company put together a strong team to develop a new cosmetic. the out come is this cream that is effective in keeping skin smooth and elastic. the core ingredient made from the heart of blue fin tuna. the heart is known for a lot of good quality protein. it is difficult to process. the expertise from the recycling company made this product possible. >> very in

army soldiers in the asia-pacific is not a whit -- 82,000 u.s. army soldiers in asia-pacific, not a widely known statistic. i will open up for questions now. favor and wait for the microphone. let us know your name, state your question -- and a if you want toes submit. >> >> last year, the question came the national guard and you said we got what we got right now and of future cuts come out, everything is on the table. been a initiatives of cutting back on the guard and all those decisions. last week, the language came out that was the cancellation of the army's initiative retiring big c-23. former chief of staff last week said we need to look at a militia construct, increasing the national guard and reducing active duty forces. what are your comments? >> my job is to make sure we are prepared for the next conflict and we have to have the right balance between active guard and reserve. they all play an active role. a large majority of the cuts will come out of the active component. the talk of any increase in any part of our force now, to me, is

there's more american investment in southeast asia than china. southeast asia nations like singapore and indonesia have become important partners in everything from counter proliferation. that's why i'm going singapore. the core of our strategy in the region are our alliances to pan. south korea, philippines, thailand. across the board in these alliances, we're in a high water mark with the leader both military and political and the support of our people. closer to home our intensified engagement within the western hem is not just part but -- you see that very concretely in the transpacific partnership which includes five countries in the western hemisphere. you can see it in the initiative within the hemisphere like the alliance for the pacific, a group of free market orient countries that are integrating their economy and looking west for trade and investment. as i said in a speech not long ago for the first time at least the first time i can remember, the first time in history, it's possible. it's not poly anish to envision an america and amer

of the key markets in asia region. the construction of the new plant assembly plant is a key part of this strategy. >> the plant is being built at an industrial zone east of bangkok. operations are scheduled to begin in 2015 with output reaching 120,000 car ks a year including smaller models. honda also intends to expand production at another factory in thailand taking its toll output to about 420,000 units a year. >>> competition in the thai auto market is fierce. sales rose to a record of 1.43 million units last year fueled by rising demand for middle income households. >>> sri lanka's elephants are special animals according to buddhist's tradition. they're supposed to feature prominently at celebrations that are in full swing at this time of year. but the mood isn't what it used to be. the number of elephants has seen a worrying decline prompting one village to craft a replacement. >> reporter: this is sri lanka's traditional festival. it means a procession in the local language. people parade along the streets wish

that is causing yet another different kind of problem here in eastern asia. on we go into the americas and thunderstorms for you in the deep south. through the southeastern quarter of the united states, you'll see plenty of thunderstorm action, hail the size of ping pong balls possible as well as gusty winds. up towards the north, another storm system also capable of bringing pretty severe nasty storms. this will be pushing through central canada and the front moving through the northern plains into the upper midwest. dry cooler conditions and quite pleasant here in that northeastern corridor. in the other side of the jet stream it stays hot and also you have the threat of flash flooding, the monsoonal flow in the southwest and potential for flash floods here. the heat as well will be pretty unbearable in some areas. 41 degrees in phoenix and the next few days are going to be around about that, very hot indeed. even seattle getting up to 27 degrees with the strong high pressure in place. on into europe, things are all changing here. we had that streak of hot

northeast asia is now th cockpit of the global economy. and if that relationship goes off the rails, it's very hard to imagine a future of peace and prosperity in asia going forward. >> what are the biggest challenges for him, richard? >> well, obviously the third era that curt was talking about, structural reform, you know, the monetary policy has gone off with a bang. fiscal policy in some respects is threatened by the possible increase in the consumption tax. but you know, structural reform in china and also in japan has always been a massive problem. the interlocked business groups, the entrenched business interests, the everyone ehe agriculture as inte well which mr. abe is trying to take on, i guess, from the back door, from the outside by joining the transpacific partnership. i think that's where the really hard political work is to be done. and martin would know more about this at the moment but i think that's always been diffilt with the political system they've got at the moment which has become progressively more unstable, more

the united states is also present as it takes a bigger interest in the asia-pacific region. dhra dhirakaosal reports from brunei. >> hello from brunei. the latest series of meetings kicked off here on saturday. the climax will be the forum that brings the foreign ministers of china and the united states together with their counterparts from southeast asia. u.s. secretary of state john kerry met with asean member nations on monday. this is kerry's first asean meeting since he took the job earlier this year. he said the united states hopes that efforts to maintain peace in the south china sea will keep moving forward. >> we very much hope to see progress soon on a substantiative code of conduct in order to help ensure stability in this vital region. >> asean has been calling on china to sign up to a legally binding code of conduct to resolve maritime disputes peacefully. on sunday before kerry arrived in the region, china tried to secure some early diplomatic victories with asean. they agreed to hold high-level talks in september to discuss the code of conduct. but differences

nokia has so many different devices and been trying to target consumers across asia. we had numbers out from sap, concerns about the pace of growth and the likes of china. a company like nokia that is focused on timing in the markets as well, doesn't this raise concerns down the track that perhaps the earnings growth that has been priced in is not going to be forth coming anymore? >> the other guys who are suffering at the hands of chinese manufacturers are suffering because those products are better or cheaper and what nokia is doing now is they're trying to step ahead of everybody. >> this is not a competition story. it is about a slowdown on the macro front in china. >> i think people are migrating to smartphones and there is a long-term trend for people to move up to these devices which become, you know, the center of your universe. as i said before, the pc previously was the main port of call for access to e-mail and internet and so on. that's now moving to the phone. the traditional phones, the sort of feature phones as they're known can't do all of the capabili

. >>> the asia pacific region is one of the fastest growing for air travel. more established airlines are going the other way and taking luxury to new heights. >> reporter: this is singapore airlines new first-class seat. when it's pulled down, it becomes a full, flat bed with a length of 82 inches. and it's very comfortable. the new first class seats were designed by a subsidiary of german automaker bmw. singapore airlines is investing nearly $150 million to upgrade the cabins of eight aircraft. the planes will go into service in september on flights between singapore and london. airlines can make many times more profit on premiere plus passengers compared with those traveling in economy. this contribution to profitability is driving competition. emirates has started offering a new range of premium services. they include onboard showers for first-class customers and chauffer-driven car transports for passengers in business class or above. local carriers have managed to capture a significant portion of the business from middle-class customers. so full-service

but growth has slowed in india, china and many places in asia. and each country faces distinct and different challenges. but from our perspective, the way forward is fairly clear. to spark new growth, there has to be fewer barriers at and behind our borders, protections for intellectual property to reward innovation, new commitments to make sure everyone plays by the same rules because that's what attracts investment and jobs, as well as greater economic integration. that's what we're pursuing right now, today in malaysia as our team negotiates the trans- pacific partnership with countries as diverse as vietnam, chile, new zealand, mexico, very soon, japan, and at which point the group will account for 40% of the world's gdp. the tpp has potential to set new standards for collective commitments to fair competition on state-owned enterprises, fair competition on investments, labor, the environment, open markets for automobiles and other industries. and we firmly believe this will create a strong incentive for other nations to raise their standards

northeast asia is now the cockpit of the global economy. and if that relationship goes off the rails, it's very hard to imagine a future of peace and prosperity in asia going forward. >> what are the biggest challenges for him, richard? >> well, obviously the third era that curt was talking about, structural reform, you know, the monetary policy has gone off with a bang. fiscal policy in some respects is threatened by the possible increase in the consumption tax. but you know, structural reform in china and also in japan has always been a massive problem. the interlocked business groups, the entrenched business interests, the everyone entrenched agriculture interests as well which mr. abe is trying to take on, i guess, from the back door, from the outside by joining the transpacific partnership. i think that's where the really hard political work is to be done. and martin would know more about this at the moment but i think that's always been difficult with the political system they've got at the moment which has become progressively more u

. >> we were talking about the heavy rainfall in towards northeastern asia. but down to the south we have a tropical depression moving across the philippines. it is triggering up heavy showers, even the risk of flooding and landslides out here. you can see on the satellite, the broad area of cloud cover pushing to the northwest. not really an intense storm system, it's not organized at all. but there is the center of circulation and it is continuing to push the moisture onshore across portions of luzon, down towards versai, risk of flooding, landslides, 100 to 200 millimeters could be expected in the next 24 hours. also bringing in the southwest monsoon over the indochina peninsula. portions of northern thailand will be seeing the risk of flooding as it pushes to the west and the tropical depression works to the north. north of that things are on the hot side across chongqing, shanghai, 37 and 38 for you. northeastern china, on the other hand, some areas could see about 100 millimeters of rainfall going into tuesday. even out towards wednesday, even seoul wil

the system will cover india and south asia. it's designed to be accurate to about 20 meters, precise enough to locate cars and ships. the indian system is scheduled to begin operating in 2015. it will serve as an alternative to the united states global positioning system. russia, china, the european union and japan have either completed or working on their own networks. >>> in russia a rocket carrying communication satellites crashed seconds after launch. emergency teams immediately sealed off the site. the rocket was loaded with a large amount of toxic fuel. the russian space agency launched the proton-m booster carrying three glonass-m satellites. but 17 seconds after blast aufr it ignited and burst into flames midair. the wreckage fell about 60 kilometers from a residential area. the agency is blaming engine trouble. three years ago the same type of rocket carrying three satellites failed to reach orbit and plunged into the pacific ocean. >>> executives overseeing the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant want to restart reactors

not happy with asia pacific. >> that's correct. i was not. the asia pacific should never be in negative territory. that's not acceptable. you look at the root causes. what is the root cause? you have a china effect because china is now forecasting 7.5% gdp. i tell people it's still pretty good compared to most other places. but it does impact the trading partners in australia and japan. china is focused on domestic innovation, in china, for china, as opposed to manufacturing and exporting. this is a blip in the radar screen. this is big. very simple. jim, i think it's a simple metric. i look at asia pacific as a region. the pipeline keeps increasing. decisions didn't go away. they simply got postponed. >> six months? >> my prediction is it will happen within a six-month timeframe. how do i know that? i asked the people. i reviewed the entire business with the asia pacific management team in great levels of detail. and they seem to have gotten the memo. >> if you think china -- i saw things in europe that i liked. is spain coming back? spain w

i want to follow up on the questions on the asia-pacific. what the capabilities for the army contributing. potentially the army developing -- what are the options and ideas that the army -- >> think obviously, missile defense is key as we go forward. the requirements around the world are growing for ballistic missile defense capability. we're working through how we do that in innovative ways and cheaper ways. for the army in the future it's about how we scaling and tailoring our forces in order for us to be globally responsible to move quickly, to meet specific needses. that's what we're working towards now. as you see as we go forward, you will see us deploy smaller packages to meet a variety of motions whether it's missile defense or put small element on the ground to do work to protect some u.s. interests. that's what we're looking to do. i'm not looking to form hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the pacific. that's not the intent at all. it's about having a small scale or capabilities that allow us to gain access and to build capacity

as part of the pivot to asia, the u.s. navy has deployed a new type of high-tech combat ship to singapore. the pentagon is working to increase rotations of u.s. troops through asia much as it rotated troops through europe at the time of the cold war. he also explains china's moves were prompting washington to expand its own ties in the region. he says and example is the recently expanded talks between washington and manila on military cooperation. >>> muslim rebels have attacked an oil tanker truck in the philippines. the attack sparked a gun battle with the military that left at at least three insurgents dead. the break away rebel outfit opposes peace talks between the government and the main insurgency group. the islamic freedom fighters fired on an oil tanker and planted two explosives along the highway on tuesday. government troops closed the highway for several hours as they battled the insurgents and diffused the bombs. the islamic front has been fighting for autonomy for more than 30 years. the conflict has killed a

perceptions of strategy in east asia? >> guest: i think the larger question, what is the impact of the korean war on chinese-american relations and maybe i should talk about the aftereffects of the war, which is the meat of the book. the impact of the korean war for the americans was from 1946 to 1950 american foreign policy was rather incoherent. there was -- truman had announced the truman doctrine in 1947, which most cold war historians mark as the beginning of the cold war, and the threat that truman identified was actually quite incoherent. american defenses were low and rapid demobilization after world war ii. so, it really took the korean war to create all the policy that we now see, we now associate with the cold war, the standing army, huge defense budgets, the perception of the cyno soviet bloc, and is a threat to american national security and all of that came about because of the korean war and because of the coreon war there was collusion between the government and the defense industry. so the birth of the mi

however, it cites weakness in asia. shares of mead johnson shot up 5% yesterday on word that the baby formula-maker stands by its 2013 forecast. it says price cuts in china will even out due to higher sales in the hong kong market. boston scientific shares also surged on word of higher sales of medical devices. and crocs hit the floor, falling 21% after the company missed the mark on its expectations. the outlook may be growing bleaker for blackberry. the company is cutting 250 jobs in its new product testing facility in waterloo, ontario. the layoffs stem from weak blackberry 10 phone sales. however, company officials call it the "next stage of a turnaround plan." shares closed around $9 thursday. 20 years later, the chevy impala is back on top. for the first time in 2 decades, consumer reports ranks the sedan as the best in its category. it's a huge turn-around story. last year, the magazine called the 2013 model not worthy of driving. ouch. the 2014 edition gets high marks for handling similar to a luxury car. tesla

perceptions of strategies in east asia? >> guest: well i think sort of the larger question we are going to is what is the impact of the korean war on sino-american relations as well as the impact domesticadomestica lly so maybe i should just talk about the aftereffects of the war which is the meaning of the book. the impact of the korean war for the americans was that from 1946 to 1950 american foreign policy was actually rather incoherent. chairman has announced that german doctrine and 47 which most cold war historians mark as the beginning of that war. the threat that german identified, the response of the threat that german identified was actually quite incoherent. american defenses were low and there was rapid demobilization after world war ii. so it really took the korean war to create all the policies that we now see and we now associate with the cold war. that is the permanent standing army, a huge defense budget, the perception of the sino soviet lock and the idea that -- is somehow a threat to national security. a

. >> a tepid session in asia today. ch markets under pressure, but losses are in fact capped by optimism on beijing's measures. it comes two days after the 7% growth comments and yesterday's pmi data showed a further slowdown in china's manufacturing floor. nothing massive, but the muni version includes three asecreta asecretaaspects. railway stocks and industries that are facing with overcompact issues like cement and steelmakers, they reacted very positively to the supportive measures. earnings news also very much in play. japan's canon tumbled over 5% after cutting its 2013 profit forecast by 10%. and lg electronics down 2.4% after reporting weaker than expected q-2 profit. and a quick check on australia miners. they pulled back after the strong winning streak in recent sessions. also tracking weaker commodity prices. back to you, karen. >> thank you very much for that, sixuan, we'll check in with you later on. >>> we can show you instant reaction, fragrancemake r givaudan jumped up. ranstad holdings, we saw the unem

director of the northeast asia policy studies. she has just come out with a new book called brothers at that war. we are right on the cusp of the armistice, which talks about prisoners of wars. one of the interesting way for you have framed this book is that it is not just about the events of the fighting phase of the war itself. but it also talks a lot about the impacts of the korean war on asian history and world history and even on the contemporary positions of the country. how did you decide that you wanted to write a book on the korean war? >> guest: in 2007 i was asked if i would consider and i thought that it was a very good project. because i was interested in the contemporary korean issues and i thought a book about the problems of north korea, i thought that a book about the history of the two countries, beginning with the division in 1945 was particularly active and could serve as a way in which we could understood particular event. so that is sort of the basic reason. then as i started to get into the research for the

now for your -- excuse me, asia, here across continental asia, we have a low pressure system. an upper level low sitting across the southwestern tip of russia. a typical pattern where the southeastern edge of upper level cold brings weather. so the tohoku region in japan with 150 millimeters of rainfall to slam the area. so it's going to be heavy downpours, also some thunderstorms and it's going to be quite thundery across central japan again today. it will be a southern weather change. do carry your strongest umbrellas if you're going to go out today. here across china we have a couple of places where we're looking at very heavy rain to the north and to the south. especially here 100 to 150 millimeters are in the forecast. but between these two rainmakers we have a heat dome still in place. temperatures are scorching hot at 40 degrees in chongqing, do stay hydrated and shanghai at 39 degrees. moving over to north america, we've got a cold front that's still hugging the coastal line. so here across the area, thunderstorms, new brunswick and new england these areas will find 10

it is an honor to be at the asia society. i feel that when i addressed the asia society i have arrived. the establishment has accepted me as the maverick negotiator, especially with ambassador donald gregg, the most knowledgeable person could be in the world on the korean peninsula. i am probably going to defer to a lot of his opinions but let me go into the issue. i am going to answer the five most common questions that are asked about north korea, concluding in the end with how do we improve the relationship? the apocalypse? how can we avoid armageddon with north korea? what do we need to do? is it just us and others? non political actors, etc.? i say this because lately i have been unfavorably compared to dennis rodman and i don't know what i will say on that. why is this issue important? obviously i think we know the answer. that is number one. number 2, i think in the great introduction setting of the event, what are the north koreans up to? what is their strategy with this new leader? number 3, the young leader, is he i

it will be even harder to win it again. >> how important is asia to the nba? what's i think is very important. i have been here numerous times to see the fans, to see their excitement around the game. they love the game. >> what are the challenges for asian players to make it into the nba? >> i think the challenges -- it is much as asian players, it is for everyone. the challenge is where ever you grow up, the extent of the game, how many times you play each and every day. it is not just here in asia. every kid loves the game of basketball, both men and women. they have challenges on a day- to-day basis. >> you have two olympic golds two nba championships. what do you hope to accomplish? >> everything. i am just getting started. >> you are getting married in september. howard going? >> good. >> will be wedding cake be a basketball? >> hell no. [laughter] >> it has long been a popular food throughout europe and the middle east but now it is catching on in the u.s. the biggest hummus producer says they need more chickpeas to keep up with demand. that could be a