maximum alert. the chao phraya ririses in ngk,ndorra cld kehis much worse. >> it's 10:00 p.m. in tokyo, welcome to "newsline," i'm michio kijima. thailand is facing up to the consequences of its worst floods in half a century. the threat to the capital has eased somewhat.

nhk world reports. >> reporter: the feared weekend deluge in bangkok was averted but people living near rivers and canals remain vigilant as rains continued on monday. thailand has been ravaged. by floods since july. at least 307 people have lost their lives, and more than 2.3 million have been affected. in the suburbs of bangkok, the situation worsened on monday and now the major industrial estate is inundated, on the northern edge of the city. waters from a canal breached sandbags and flowed into the

nava nakorn industrial zone. authorities suspended producon and ord employees to evacuate. >> translator: i feel teible. i'm afraid we can't handle it. there might be lots of damage. >> reporter: nava nakorn is the old est industrial yeaanthailand sixth to fall victim to the floods. the central banks estimates that the economic damage from the floods could exceed $3 billion. in neighbors cambodia, the situation remains serious. waters have begun to recede, but many homes in phnom penh are still swamped. 17 of cambodia's 23 provinces have been affected. according to reuters, that covers about 1.5 million people. the floods are the worst to hit the country in more than a decade.

at least 247 people have lost their lives so far. and with rainsti falling, thisegionadist istl fafr over. for nhk world, bangkok. a massive flooding is seriously affecting japanese car makers' operations in not only thailand, but other asian countries as well. honda motors says it will slash production in malaysia as the company can no longer secure enough auto parts from thailand. honda produces about 40,000 units annually at its malaysia factory. the company closed its factory in the thai province of ayatthaya last week. other factories are experiencing delays, toyota is halting production until saturday, eye suzi and nissan, too. parts are shipped to toyota

factories inndesnda ysia and indonesia factories in japan. and japanese car makers are concerned about the effect of further parts shipments and are looking into alternate supply sources. rachel ferguson from the weather team is standing by with the forecast. >> hi michio, thank you very much. these are some of the totals we've been looking at across indochina in the last 24 hours. some places in thailand towards the north are picking up about 100 millimeters in the last day or so but it is going to be a lot heavier out here towards central vietnam. where some areasave seen in excess of 300 millimeters in rain just ihe last day. now, what's happening is we've got a low sitting out here towards the east and another one in the bay of benga as well. this is a developing system that's going to be spreading heavy rain in across western myanmar and bangladesh. it doesn't look like it's going to be coming in across thailand, actually and neither does this system. but we're still seeing heavy rain across cambodia, too, which

is dealing with just a crippling flooding situation at the moment. some of the good news is that towards the north of thailand, things are looking a lot drier into the next few days, we still see scattered showers across the area and some heavier rain down towards the south. but it is going to take some time for these floodwaters to run off eventually. anyway we'll bring you more weather news later in the show. >> thanks, rachel. tonight, nuclear authorities in japan say they're ahead of schedule in their work to control fukushima daiichi. they say the damaged reactors will be in cold shutdown by the end of the year. that's a month ahead of schedule. cold shutdowneans the mperaturesf the reacto stays below 100 degrees celsius and of course, stays stable. the details are included in their revised timetable for containing japan's nuclear crisis. the report states that the temperatures around reactors one, two, three dropped below 100 degrees at the end of last month.

it also says that the latest readings shows fukushima daiichi is emitting about 100 million becquerels per hour of radioactive material, about o - one-eight millionth the level it was a month ago. and the radiation levels outside the plant should be about 0.2 millisieverts per year at the most. the goveme aiming to lift the evacuation orders forhe 20-kilometer no-entry zone and e retous b inol that ne utwnndhe levs of raion stlower. w, ctrli fusma dachis o clni uhealutromhe cint is ath. partfha pss is temporarily storing contaminated materials, such as soil and that's sparking a backlash. senior officials from the central government and fukushima prefecture met on monday to talk about that issue. the local officials say they can't set up temporary storage

sites for contaminated material unless they know when it will be moved to mid-term storage facilities. japan's nuclear cris minister, goshi hono, says the governntill rease a timetable this month. >>ralar:he issue of how long the wasteileep a temporary dumps and h it will be storeft that e th ve dfilt. the japanese geren wl make its disiond expin it in a way that will be cleato >> aerhe meetin fukushima governor sato talked abouthe compensation plan for people affected by the accident. he said the procedure puts victims at a disadvantage. they he to complete long apicion foubmi t tokyo electric power company. the reconstruction minister, hirono said the process is not fair and must be revised

somehow. the accident at tokyo electric power company's fukushima daiichi power plant is having an impact on farmers who produce rice. fukushima prefecture, one of japan's leading rice-growing areas has been inspecting its rice crops for radiation in the wake of the march 11th disaster. as a result, all of the rice grown this year cleshme. onhethha, t nle is pd t geren ailoan r pduio in certain zones in the prefecture's 12 municipalities affecting about 7,000 farms. but one farmer refused to knuckle under. despite the ban. >> reporter: kauchi village lies 21 kilometers southwest of fukushima prefecture's crippled nuclear power plant. even though an evacuation advisory was lifted for the community late last month, 90% of the residents have not returned.

a single rice paddy waits for the harvesting season. 68-year-old yoshi takiakamoto never left the village, despite a ban on rice cultivation. >> translator: rice paddies used to be everywhere and would you see the golden waves of the rice plants as far as the residence over there. but now the area is overrun with weeds. >> reporter: until the nuclear accident soon after the march 11th tsunami, more than half the households in kauchi village farmed rice. kauchi village had originally obey t government decision and told akimoto not to plant rice. but he insisted on planting it, anyway.

>> translator: this is a brand of rice that i planted on may 15th. i thought it essential to make detailed data available, such as the exact amounts of radioactive cesium, so people could judge how the radioactivity affected rice farming. >> reporter: harvest day has arrived. >> translator: nothing makes me feel better than harvesting rice. >> reporter: akimoto harvested about one ton of rice this year. but he had to throw it all away, except for a small amount needed for radiation checks. rice in the zone where farming is banned, must be disposed of, even if it's free of radioactive marials. just the same, amoto harvested all the plan.

now after the harvest, not a rice plant can be seen in his paddy. >> reporter: akimoto said he disposed of the crops on his own in the presence of a prefectural official. >> translato i'm very sorry about the rice. on which i lavished so much care for so manmonths. someone had to pave the way for farmers in this remote village. to keep rice cultivation going. doing nothing would leave them with no way to move ahead. i hope my attempt leads to

breaking the stalemate. >> reporter: the results of the radiation checks will be made available in november. normally, anyone who violate the farming ban would be penalized. so far, the prefectural and village offices have deemed akimoto's rice as harvested to check radiation. >> the farmers whose rice cultivation was prohibited have apparently suffered a tremendous loss beyond words. meanwhile, farmers who are able to ship their rice are concerned about how their sales will fare. fukushima prefecture says it will step up measures to stop unfounded rumors and promote the safety of its rice to consumers. time to check on stories we've gathered from broadcasters around asia. we begin tonight with this item sent by tvb hong kong.

hong kong's iconic cross-harbor swimming race has resumed after a gap of 33 years. caused by pollution that has since been cleaned up. on sunday, nearly 1,000 swimmers aged between 12 and 68 took part in the 1.8-kilometer race across victoria harbor. members of hong kong's national swimming team took the winning spot in both the men's and women's division. making it across in less than 25 minutes. >> it's so great, to be swimming here. just do see the other swimmers follow them. >> 30 years ago i think a lot of sewage pipe go to the victoria harbor directly. when i swim the smell is no good. >> the government of a southern india state of pradesh has stepped up efforts to end a 33-d residents of the northern part of the state

who are demanding a separate state. on sunday,ro sepatist leaders called off their strike to stop railway servic teacrs and employees of the state transport service resumed eir duties, but various groups said they will continue protesting to pressure the central government in agreeing state. chinese electricians conducted a live wire repair on an ultra-highmonday. the feat was the first of its kind in the world. one of the electricians climbed the hionometed r tes.d using a robot to do the repair work was ruled out. the electricians were given special training for about half a month to accomplish the risky task. samsung electronics is seeking temporarily court injunctions to have sales of apple's latest smartphone banned

in japan and australia. the south korean electronics giant filed for injunctions in the two countries on monday. it claims that apple's iphone 4s infringes on its patents on data transmission and screen display technologies. in tokyo, samsung is also asking a court to ban sales of apple's latest tablet computer, the ipad 2, as well as existing iphone models. samsung provides apple with computer parts, but the two companies have been competing fiercely in developing and marketing smartphones. they're locked in legal battles in ten countries over smartphone technology. here are the latest market figures.

an encouraging display of the power of positive thinking. in canada, a 100-year-old man has become the oldes pson to complete a full marathon. indian born-faja singh ran in a crow waterfront marathon on sunday, crossing the finish line in eight hours, 25 minutes and 16 seconds after the starting gun was fired. the barricas at t finish line had already been taken down when singh reached his goal more than six hours after the first runner had crossed the line. he was greeted warmly by family members and friends who had been waiting for him patiently. guinness world records has

recognized singh as the first centanarto c a full-length marathon. singh said after the race he felt like getting married again. he added his secret of longevity is a diet consisting mainly of curry and tea and stressed the importance of avoiding negative people to maintain peace of hiroita isith sports. hello sports fans and welcome in to today's sports report. 108 top golfers, pros and amateurs brought their best games to the japan open over the weekend to zit w's the best player in the country. this time it took a playoff to crown the champion. japanese veteran kuboya was hoping to keep the momentum from the week before. in the way was the number one player, bae sung-moon from south

korea. here's par 4 a bae's second shot. from the fairway onto the green. kuboya had to shoot from the rough. later on he said the shot might have reached the green if he had been just a little better. so he was stuck shooting for long par. no luck, kuboya settles for bogie. as for bae, he sinks the putt for par and wins his first japan open victory and third victory on the tour. >> in ti, ima hi pfeanngoneua al

it tol andas the distinction of being the first man to win the event three times in a row. now, an athlete who knows all about the ups and downs of sports. katayama is a top mountain bike racer in japan with eight consecutive national championships to her ikes nothing better than to adanlyiced the katayam iperiend, but certainly not over the hill. she's en racing professionally foeinu >> translator: the important thing is synchroning yourself with the ride to avoid falling f. >> in cross-country evts, racers compete for time across a

steep, four-kilometer course. the difference between the high point and the low point is 170 meters. it's a real test of endurance and skills such as pedalling, speed control and balance, especially when it's run over five laps. in this particular race, rie got off to a very good start. she dashed out in front. during a steep ascent, she even passed some men. who had staed off five minutes earlier than the women. balance and flexibility are essential when navigating the rocky stretch. 's part of the course that can torment racers who do just fine everywhere else. but rie cleared the hurdle. no matter how well things are going, a rider needs to stay alert for sudden challenges, like not lost to the logs.

e kept an even el and won, finishingeay t minutes ster than the runner-up.cheers and applause >> translator: it was good that i could maintain the lead. but i shouldn't be satisfied with just that. >> bicling wn't rie's original ssion. shwain swiin a wer polo aa teenager, rtiping in junio olympics in national tournaments. the abdominal a back muscles she developed then still help now. e you rie? >>hat' me. >> i'm hiro,lad to m u. are you gng to try riding a mountain bike today? >> yes, it will be my first ride.

>> come on! >> ah! whoa, main bing is a lot tougher than i thought. you need a lot of skill does ride it with balance and create some speed. oh!t up, rie! >> two days after the race, rie visited the person who takes care of her bike maintenance. >> he's in charge of taking care of her equipment. but he also helps keep her state of mind in good repair. >> translator: whatever the condition or the result, i

accept her in the same way. i give her all the encouragement i can and think together with her about what could be done to improve her performance. >> translator: i really apprecia him. he providese with aenf curity, like being at home >> in competitions, though, she has to make herself at home in the mountains. rie says the challenge of performing in the wilderness can be daunting. riders often have to work through a sense of fear. the course s says can teach them a gre deal about themselves. in may of next year, japan will select the members of its team for the london olympics. rie was in the top 20 i beijing olympics, she's hoping for hance t do even better. if you can g to the olympics, what's your goal? >> translator: i want to make it into the top ten. no matter what happens, though, i think i'll still be riding a

mountain bike. when i'm up in years. >> okay, tha s up next with weather. >> time for the weather, let's he asiao tk ou t gogaicrs incha. he colefsts,ne washeas heus or vina anyeanhe o orhe b bga whh e intoee t avr in cin oitr def e niul thgo nss wre srtg s seriontis r rtrn pts othla. thghhe sweil coincrs theoury lileit lht tnhe vebe,ceaiy. bu heflyheor oth ve hvyaisoio ov. rtnluper tar t north and centra ptsf ngyndg nd

juit s l y.ba a 1he l0s in anghai. and warmer in taipei at 27. and we're hitting the warmer temperatures yet again down in the tropics. all right now north america, out towards the west, things are fairly cal. we do have just a small low pressure system dashing down across wyoming and colorado at the moment with some snow. but as it comes dn into the lower midwest, it's going to be bringing some thunderstorms. now heavy rain is on its way to florida. we have this low pressure system heading into along the front. and it's going to be bringing days of downpours. so there will be a high rk of flooding herend we'll certainly be keeping you updated on what's goingon. as for canada, the eastern half iserunab a tme. isug low pressure system just making its way through and 'soi tbeerguy.

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that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline." we'll be back with more news in half an hour.

i'm michio kijima in tokyo. thank you for watching. bye-bye.