flood waters are getting closer to central bangkok. the thai government is on high alert. >> translator: be cautious and don't panic. welcome to "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thailand's prime minister has warned residents to prepare for flooding, saying water levels may reach up to one and a half meters. she gave the warning on tv on tuesday. >> translator: the government cannot drain all the excess water. be cautious, and don't panic. >> the prime minister urged people to store their important possessions above the second floor.

floodwaters began flowing into northern bangkok after severely damaging industrial complexes in the central province. there is concern about further damage as some protective barriers have already been breached in bangkok and high tides are expected over the weekend. japanese travel agencies are canceling package tours to bangkok due to the floods. thailand is one of the popular destinations for japanese tourists. about 1 million people visit the country every year. on monday japan's foreign minister upgraded the travel advisories and warnings for the thai capital from the lowest on a scale of 4 travel caution to the third highest recommendation to consider whether or not to travel. jtb and nipon travel agency have suspended tours to bangkok until november 15th. another will stop them until the end of november.

tourists had cancelled package tours to the city until the end of october, but they have decided to extend the extension to mid-november saying it appears the flood damage will continue for a long time. rescue efforts continue in eastern turkey after sunday's major earthquake. the workers racing against time as the chances of anyone surviving beneath the rubble are said to fade dramatically after 72 hours. the turkish government says 459 people are confirmed dead, and more than 1300 injured. the magnitude 7.2 earthquake also destroyed at least 2200 buildings. in the hardest-hit town, crews use heavy machinery to search for people buried under the debris, but they're hampered by a series of strong aftershocks.

a two-week-old baby and her mother have been pulled from the remains of a building following sunday's powerful earthquake in eastern turkey. a ten-year-old was also rescued. >> it is incredible. i hope other people will be found alive. >> with overnight temperatures dropping to freezing point, many survivors are sleeping in tents and huddling around fires to stay warm. emergency supplies respect reaching all the effected communities and electricity and water remain cut off. the united states and north korea end add two day meeting. the meeting produced no breakthroughs. the special envoy steven bosworth spoke tuesday. the gathering held at a north korean mission to the u.n. in geneva, switzerland.

>> we narrowed differences on several points and explored our differences on other points. we will need more time and more discussion to reach agreement. >> the u.s. side is believed to have urged the north to end the uranium enrichment program and accept inspectors from iaea, but bosworth's comment shows they have different views on the north's denuclearization. >> translator: some progress was made, but there are points on which we didn't agree, so we will review these issues and hold another meeting. defense chiefs from the japan and united states say their countries must make progress on relocating a u.s. basin okinawa. defense minister and the defense secretary leon panetta met tuesday in tokyo.

ish could you a says the government is preparing to submit an environmental impact report on relocation to local officials in okinawa within this year. the report is the final step in the environmental assessment for the relocation of the u.s. marine corps air station. the base expected to be moved from a densely populated area to a location closer to the coast. >> this is a critical initiative in our effort to maintain a strong, forward deployed presence in the pacific region. and it's also important to reducing the impact of our bases in okinawa. >> panetta says it is necessary

to make progress on the relocation plan. the u.s. and japan signed an agreement in 2006. itch could you a said japan hopes to strengthen alliance with the u.s., faces security issues related to north korea and china. the u.s. is a pacific country and intends to maintain its presence as a military power in the region. he added the united states hopes to strengthen ties with japan as much as possible. the bulk of american forces in japan have been stationed in okinawa prefecture since the end of world war ii. thousands of serviceman work at the base. but many local residents say they're tired of having them as neighbors. u.s. aircraft have been involved incompetent accidents and some servicemen have committed crimes. >> in 2006, japan and the u.s. agreed to relocate the base to a less populated area in okinawa

prefecture. it is part of the broader realignment of u.s. forces to move some 8,000 troops to guam. but residents are opposed to the move because relocating the base to another area in the prefecture does not lessen its burden. on the other hand, u.s. lawmakers are under pressure to trim defense spending. they could find the cost of transferring the marines to guam, attempting target. they expressed deep concerns about the affordability of the plan. the u.s. is irritated because the base relocation has been delayed too long due to local opposition. it urged japan to follow through with the accord. after taking office in september, japanese prime minister noda recommitted to the 2006 agreement. >> but it won't be easy.

critics in okinawa say they're determined to fight to the end. we have that story. >> many people in okinawa won't accept any move by two governments to relocate the base within the prefecture. rally against the plan was held in the prefecture tuesday. it sharply divided the people for more than ten years. >> we must make our opposition known to the japanese and u.s. governments as well as u.s. military to drop the plan as soon as possible. >> the central government has repeatedly try to pacify people in the prefecture to accept

relocation plan by offering generous economic packages as an incentive. but the situation took a drastic turn in 2009 when this party won the election. they promised they would relocate the base outside okinawa, local people's hopes. options had been considered by the former administration. many began to wonder if the administration really understood the division and pain. then with that much, the government reversed and divide the old front to relocate the base to another district.

outside okinawa opposition is growing stronger than ever. >> earlier, we talked about the relocation. >> what does the promise by the japanese government submit a final environmental suspense actually mean? >> central government hopes to file request for reclam agency project with the government of okinawa by next summer. that doesn't mean the relocation project will be achieved easily because there are still a lot of problems or obstacles. with convincing locals. >> why did they promise the assessment. >> they want to show the u.s.

that progress is being made towards breaking the stalemate. the u.s. government has long been irritated with the delayed progress of the relocation issue. noda's predecessors have frustrated japan's biggest ally by failing to follow through on various promises. with next year's presidential election in mind, obama wants to remove as many obstacles as possible because the race is expected to be very tight. so the japanese government needs to come up with some sort of pledge before noda meets obama in november. >> has the situation in northeast asia had anything to do with the u.s. and japan's wish to keep u.s. forces in okinawa? >> i think so. the stalemate stalled restructuring of u.s. military forces in asia.

moving the days is ee exception part of washington's grand plan. that includes repositioning about 8,000 marines from okinawa to the u.s. territory of guam. the territory said to become a crucial regional hub for the u.s. marines, navy, and air force. japan also needs u.s. help to counter china's growing military power. china has become very increasingly vigilant over territorial claim in japan's southern waters. japan does not want north korea to take advantage of the stall in negotiations either. noda promise to the u.s. does not represent progress on the relocation issue. so it remains the issue.

>> thank you for joining us. the yen surge continues in the market. the yen climbed tuesday on the basis of the prolonged crisis in europe and concerns about the u.s. economy. it touched 75.73 at one point, breaking the previous high. the dollar sold following reports following a slump in u.s. consumer confidence. investors sold on concerns european leaders may not be able to come up with a comprehensive solution to europe's debt problems at a summit wednesday. currently, the dollar trading 76.14-15 yen. traders are likely to continue buying the yen on speculation the u.s. federal reserve may

further ease monetary policy. the flooding in tie land is having a serious impact on japanese companies. it forced major precision machinery make or canon to lower forecast profits. it said the floods damaged its main factory for ink jet printers and disrupted parts for digital single lens reflex and compact digital cameras. as a result, canon said they revised downward the sales plans for digital slr cameras by 100,000 units to 7.2 million, and compact digital cameras by 1 million to 19 million. the bank of japan is stepping in to work with the

thai capital bank to help japanese firms repair plants damaged by flooding. they plap to provide japanese companies with funds and local currency to pay for repairing and building damaged facilities. they are working out the details of the plan. they decided to offer low interest loans to those manufacturers, the loans totalling more than $6.5 billion will be made available from next month through march 2013. india's central bank raised its key interest rate for the 13th time since march last year in an effort to combat inflation. the reserve bank said they lifted the rate by a quarter percentage point to 8.5% effective immediately. rbi took a step against the backdrop of rampant inflation in the country. last month, wholesale prices

climbed nearly 10%. the bank also revised this year's growth forecast downward to 7.6% from initial 8%. it cited impact of europe's debt crisis as a major reason. now let's look at the market figures.

one of the biggest sports in china at this time of the year is cricket fighting, putting two crickets in a ring and watching them battle it out has been popular with the chinese for more than 1,000 years. nhk has the story. >> reporter: go for it. fight. people in shanghai are into cricket fighting in a big way. male crickets instinctively fight over territory at this time of year. so putting two in the ring together is a sure-fire way to get exciting action. the crickets fight each other fiercely. the winner is the one that stands its ground. >> translator: this is how we spend our leisure time every autumn.

>> reporter: thousands of enthusiasts come to the pet market every day. they want crickets that have what it takes to win in the ring. big, aggressive crickets usually make the best fighters. as the chinese economy grows, so do the prices of crickets. crickets cost $1,300 are selling like hotcakes. >> translator: these days people pay any price for crickets they really like. >> reporter: cricket catchers and producers are rushing to cash in on the craze. in this county they're well-known for tough crickets.

when night falls, local farmers head out to catch them in the cornfield. these are the toughest-looking ones to traders. >> translator: i'll get more than $13 for this one. >> reporter: an evening's catch can be worth as much as $40. some farmers say they make more money selling crickets than they make from farming. raising crickets is also big business. this man has loved crickets since he was a child. he spent a couple of years learning all he could about them, and he started to raise them in 2009.

he's making a fortune. he says the key to raising big, aggressive crickets is to keep them at the right temperature, give them the right food, and protect them from germs. >> translator: raising crickets is difficult. the first couple of years were a complete failure. >> reporter: he now earns about $78,000 a year. he held a demonstration to show off his crickets' fighting skills. the battle begins. the crickets fight each other hard. then this cricket throws the other one right out of the ring.

his crickets won ten fights out of 15. >> translator: his crickets are great fighters. >> translator: my crickets are five times as tough as wild ones. i'll keep working hard to satisfy my customers. >> reporter: the passion and money that chinese people put into cricket fighting are quite amazing. judging from what i've seen, i'd say cricket fighting will be popular here for a long time to come. nhk world, shanghai. time to check on some of the stories we've gathered from broadcasters around asia. we begin with this item sent by

ddi india. the king has begun a nine-day visit to india together with his new bride. the indian prime minister officially welcomed the royal couple to new delhi on monday. in talks they discussed ways to boost bilateral economic ties. they've opened 16 checkpoints along the frontier with the budanese traders. this is the first trip since his wedding on october 13th and the first time he's been to india since his coronation three years ago. a hong kong inheritance case involving the estate of the richest woman. has finally come to an end. the treasury dismissed the case of the woman who died in 2007. the man, tony chen, argued that

she was his lover and she had left the entire fortune to him in the will. a lower court ruled the will was probably a forgery. they court decided in favor of a charitable foundation. the foundation's claim to the estate rests on a will from 2002. let's look at the global weather forecast. >> hello. time for your weather update. a low pressure system is leaving japan and bringing cold and dry conditions across most of the country. northern portions will remain wet and windy, but that should ease by tomorrow. the korean peninsula in eerp china are looking at dry conditions, but some precipitation lingering across inland china. down to the south, still wet across vietnam and southern end of indochina peninsula. as for bangkok, it is not doing

too badly weather wise. waters flow downriver, so the risk of land slides and flooding will remain for the time being. temperatures shape up like this. dropping to 19 degrees in tokyo. 15 in seoul. manilla, 33 degrees with a chance of afternoon showers. heading to central america, let's focus on hurricane rina. it is now a category 2 system packing winds of 175 kilometers per hour. moving in a westerly direction at this moment, but could veer to the north and hit the northeastern tip of the yucatan peninsula by thursday. it will change direction to the east, aiming for western cuba after that. we have hurricane warnings in effect across the east coast of the yucatan peninsula. torrential rain and fierce winds will start wednesday. it could become a major hurricane within a day or so.

rainfall could total 200 to 400 millimeters by friday, and strong winds could create a dangerous surf. so watch out for coastal flooding for the time being. we'll keep you posted on its progress. meanwhile, stormy conditions can be found in the central rockies. heavy snow possible in higher elevations. maybe up to 45 centimeters. we also have another system moving across the midwest states and severe thunderstorms, hail, gusty winds as well as heavy rain possible here. the rain will spread to the northeastern states and mid-atlantic region in the next 24 hours. we have a frontal line stretching across the central portion of the u.s. cooler air above the front. that's why we're seeing snow in some areas. temperatures look like this. it is dropping to 1 in denver, 11 in chicago. southern portions on the warmer side. 31 in houston, 29 in miami.

finally let's go to europe then. still stormy to the west. we have a low pressure system, and this continues to bring severe thunderstorms across much of italy area and the alpine region. wet conditions will continue through wednesday. another system bringing rain across the british isles and spain and france. it will spread to the southern scandinavian peninsula and western europe in the next 24 hours. the iberian peninsula escaping rain at this moment. another round of rain will effect wednesday. temperatures shape up like this. it will be 22 degrees in rome, 19 in athens. chilly in moscow, only 6 degrees. all right. here is the extended forecast.

that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. tokyo. thanks for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com