welcome to "newsline," i'm michio kijima in tokyo. the yen hit a record high against the dollar on thursday. in london, trading the dollar fell below 75.70 yen. that comes a day after the dollar marked the previous record high on wednesday, dropping to 75.71 yen. investors are buying the yen out of worries over the u.s. economy outlook. and expectation that the u.s. central bank will take additional monetary easing measures. the dollar is currently trading between 75.69 and 75.72 yen. japan's central bank has decided to take additional monetary easing measures by expanding the amount of its asset-buying program. we report from bank of japan.

>> reporter: the bank of japan held its board meeting on thursday and decided to raise the amount of the current scheme by five trillion yen to 55 billion tren. that's about $720 billion. the bank said the economies that recovered to the level prior to the march disaster and it's picking up. however, a slowdown in the overseas economies due to the european debt crisis and the appreciation of the yen are having a negative impact on japanese economy and the economy. the central bank said the expansion of the program is intended for buying long-term japanese government bonds. the major objective of today's move is to stem the strong yen. but the impact on the currency market is so far limited. whether this new measure is effective enough to help the japanese economy remains to be seen.

nhk world's yamagishi. bank of japan, masaaki shirakawa said the downside risks of the global economy and the negative impact of the stronger yen are behind the decision to take further monetary easing measures. >> translator: the strong yen is not the only factor that affects prices. we also considered how the european economy and sovereign debt problems influence the japanese economy in making our decision. some of the risks that we anticipated have become a reality. the bank of japan took additional monetary easing measures this time, believing that the downside risks should be taken into account in light of the current economic outlook. eu leaders agreed in principle to a comprehensive plan to deal with the debt problems on thursday. our correspondent, hitoki suzuki

reports from brussels. >> good morning. good morning. >> reporter: after nearly ten hours of discussions, eu leaders have finally reached an agreement. the time was around 4:00 a.m. the comprehensive measures to prevent the european sovereign debt crisis from spreading have three main pillars. the major sticking point was a so-called haircut, a write-down of debt. at the 11th hour, german chancellor angela merkel and french president, nicolas sarkozy negotiated with banks personally and persuaded them to accept 50% of greek bond debt and asked them to raise their capital ratios to 9% by the end of june 2012. the third pillar is to reinforce

the bailout fund known as the european financial stability facility, as a firewall. the leaders agreed to form a special investment vehicle to raise funds from outside the eu. they say this mechanism could raise the potential amount of aid from the fund to one trillion euro. >> translator: it was a complicated decision. but it needed to be made by all members. even though it meant long negotiations. i believe the result is welcomed with relief by people around the world. everyone has been waiting for an authoritative decision. >> reporter: the eu leaders may be thinking all's well that ends well. but it remains to be seen whether this actually marks the beginning of the end of the european debt crisis. hitoshi suzuki, nhk world, brussels.

the u.s. economy grew by an annualized 2.5% in the third quarter of this year. suggesting a halt to the recent economic slowdown. the u.s. commerce department released the advanced figure for gdp for the july-to-september period on thursday. the figure is a jump from the 1.3% growth recorded in the previous quarter. the pace of growth has now picked up over three quarters in a row. here are the latest market figures.

rescue crews have spent four days in the rubble of the earthquake in eastern turkey. they've had many successes, saved many lives, still, the number of dead keeps climbing, it's nor mow than 500, and to make matters worse, survivors face freezing temperatures. the quake hit sunday in the eastern province of van. turkish government spokes people confirmed, more 523 people are dead, more than 1600 are hurt. rescuers have pulled more than 200 people from the rubble of collapsed buildings. crews work day and night using heavy machinery. rain and snow started falling in the area on wednesday making survivor's lives more difficult. government spokespeople estimate the quake affected up to 600,000 people in van province. relief supplies are reportedly not reaching everyone in need. the turkish government declined foreign aid immediately after the quake but has changed course and international aid workers,

including a medical team from japan have started their work. the mass exodus from bangkok has started. the thai capital is getting more deserted by the hour as floods spread throughout the city. nhk world's nathaka reports. >> reporter: i'm standing here as one of the biggest bus stations in bangkok, where people trying to escape from the floods in bangkok. people are rushing to leave the city. heading for rural areas. there's a long like at the terminal. >> translator: we wanted to evacuate quickly, buff we've been waiting for a bus since the morning. >> reporter: as the five-day emergency holiday started on thursday, the state-run flood relief operation center advised people to leave the thai capital for the weekend if possible.

water from the inundated provinces up north continues to flood into bangkok. and the water level of the chao phraya river keeps rising. streets were submerged on thursday morning, in one of the city's most popular tourist areas, where many of the world's most famous buddhist temples are located. at the entrance to wat phra kaeo, floodwaters have breached the sandbagged walls. >> translator: i've never seen such damage. it's gotten out of control. >> translator: i don't know what to do. i can't get any visitors. >> reporter: the situation in bangkok is expected to worsen over the weekend. with floodwaters reaching a depth of 1.5 meters in some pla places. thailand's prime minister said the crisis has reached a

critical point for the capital. nhk world, bangkok. researchers from the butterfly society of japan have seen something unseen since the 1930s -- they trekked deep into the himalayan country of bhutan and found a rare swallowtailed butterfly and an nhk crew travelled with them. scientists preserve specimens of bhutan's swallowtail at britain's natural history museum in london. >> this was collected in 1933. >> researchers found this insect in a valley in eastern bhutan 78 years ago. these five specimens are the only that remain. no one has reported seeing the butterfly since. so researchers called it a phantom butterfly. >> it's a very, very extraordinary butterfly. it's sort of the holy grail for swallowtail butterfly

collectors. >> then, reports came in two years ago that a bhutanese officials had come across the butterfly that looked like the species. the butterfly society of japan negotiated with the bhutanese government for six months. japanese researchers obtained special permission in august to conduct a field survey. they hiked through a forest about 500 kilometers east of the capital, tempu, to the foot of the himalayas, the same area where the butterfly was found 78 years ago. they found what they were looking for. the bhutan swallowtail. the butterflies are about the size of an adult human palm, they have a bright red pattern on their wings and three tails on each wing. >> translator: this is one of the biggest discoveries of the century in this field. it is very important that we continue studying the ecology of

the butterfly and the evolution of swallowtails. >> now that the researchers have found the butterfly, they're eager to protect it. prime minister yoshihiko noda and the governor of okinawa remain at odds over the proposed relocation of u.s. marine airization in the prefecture. noda met governor hirokazu nakaima on thursday in tokyo for the first time since the prime minister took office. in the meeting, nakaima expressed disappointment that the japanese and u.s. governments are pushing ahead with their plan to relocate futenma air station to the henoku district in nago city. he suggested that the marine corps base be moved out of okinawa. noda said the government plans to submit an environmental study to the prefecture by the end of the year. this will lay the groundwork for a relocation based on an agreement between the u.s. and japanese governments. he also expressed hope for smooth communication with okinawa's residents. he cited the issue of security as a matter of national concern.

but the okinawa governor remained unconvinced. >> translator: it was very disappointing to learn that the government is pushing for relocation to henoku and not outside of okinawa. this must be resolved based on the wishes of the people of okinawa. they have been struggling with the u.s. bases for the past 66 years. >> meanwhile, the mayor of nago expressed his opposition to the two governments' plan to relocate the marine base to his city. >> translator: as a matter of fact, the people of okinawa disagree with any relocation to henoku. it's not realistic. it's impossible. in this regard, i would really implore the government to reconsider the u.s./japan agreement. >> the futenma issue is considered to be a major problem area. at a forum in tokyo to exchange ideas on the state of the alliance, former u.s. deputy

secretary of state, richard armitage conveyed the sense of urgency that is being felt in the united states. nhk world reports. >> reporter: i'm at the venue where forums from u.s./japan relationship is about to take place. the longstanding alliance has been under pressure recently and exports are expected to have lively discussions on how to put the relationship back on track. the forum was titled "the japan/u.s. relationship after the great east japan earthquake." in this post march earthquake. the united states and japan spontaneously launched joint relief efforts in the stricken areas. the operation created a positive atmosphere between the two countries. but there has been no progress on the major factor putting pressure on the alliance -- the relocating of the u.s. base within japan.

75% of the u.s. military bases in japan are concentrated in okinawa prefecture. the people there think this is an unbearable burden. the u.s. has agreed that a base in futenma, which is close to the populated area, is the most dangerous. and should be relocated immediately. but the japanese political party that came to power two years ago wavered on the issue of where the base should be relocated. and there's a strong anti-base movement in okinawa. so, a relocation site was not set. and this is in turn, affecting america's global military reorganization plans. richard armitage delivered the forum's keynote address. he was once at the center of u.s. efforts on the futenma issue. since then, he has continued to speak on the ires concerning the japan/u.s. alliance and remains influential among those involved

with the negotiation on the security issues between the two countries. >> we've got do create the conditions, i believe, where we can have this longlasting, stable and deep relationship. both of us are challenged with the rerise of china. >> reporter: strategically speaking, the united states considered the asia pacific region to be the most important in the 21st century. the u.s. defense secretary, leon panetta visited japan this week and asked that the japanese government to try to make some progress on the base relocation issue. armitage explained the significance of the issue in terms of the u.s./japan alliance as follows. >> the governor of japan told the united states they were going to resolve this issue. if it's unable to be resolved. it won't break the alliance, but it certainly introduces some

questions of trust in the ability of the government of japan to deliver. >> the united states seeks to deepen its cooperation with japan. its most important ally with asia, to deal with china's growing presence in the region. armitage's message indicates a growing frustration within the u.s. government on this issue. ukon, nhk world, tokyo. maukon, . . . . . the muslim cust omg of women wearing scarves and veils sometimes causes problems in western nations. citing reasons like personal safety, gender equality and public security, france and belgium forbid veils. some muslims denounce the ban as discrimination. now the dispute has reached the football field. nhk world's sunati has a report

from tehran. >> reporter: the iranian women's football team is a force to be reckoned with. even though it was formed only six years ago. its uniform is distinctive. it completely covers their hair and the body. since the islamic revolution 32 years ago, iranians have had to strictly follow muslim traditions. the government lets women vote, and they are said to be making headway towards social equality with men. but they must wear the scarf, called a hejab, whenever they go out in public. the uniform for the iranian women's football team was designed to observe muslim values. the team was hoping to make its first olympic appearance in the 2012 london games.

but in june, during the second round of the asian qualifiers match, fifa ruled they would not be allowed to play. they were told their uniform violates the rules of fifa. the players were devastated. fifa says they cannot take part in the olympics, because their uniform could make them choke during a game. barred from the second round, their olympic dreams turned to dust. up to the day of the ban, the iranian women's football committee and fifa had been discussing a uniform design, but they had yet to reach an agreement. >> translator: we must wear these uniforms according to the laws of our nation. they're made of soft material, so even if someone yanks on it during a game, we move quickly, there is no danger of injury.

this woman is the team captain. she believes the squad could have made it to the olympics. she says the shock of being disqualified is difficult to get over. >> translator: it was really frustrating. we trained so much, but then, we weren't allowed to play. after the distressing decision, i didn't feel like playing football again. >> reporter: many iranians also feel despondent about the issue. as the hejab is a symbol of their faith. >> translator: when i heard the news, i couldn't stop crying. >> translator: i think that people should have more respect for religious values like ours. >> reporter: what reawakened the

team's desire to play was the japanese women's squad winning the world cup in july. >> translator: i'm so thrilled that the japanese women's team won the world cup. you know, we're both asian teams, hopefully our team will also play in a world cup someday. >> reporter: today fifa and the iranian women's football committee are still trying to agree on a uniform. at the moment, though, the two sides are a long way apart. even so, the iranian women's national team continues to practice, hoping to one day play in front of world football fans. sanati, nhk world, tehran. time to check on some of the stories we've gathered from broadcasters around asia. we begin tonight with this item sent by cna, singapore. an international conference of public broadcasters kicked off in singapore on thursday. for the next four days, the city will host some 200

representatives from 43 media organizations who will discuss how to get the most from modern technologies to attract new media-savvy markets. one participant from singapore said broadcasters need to be more innovative and need to improve their story-telling techniques. u.s. public broadcaster pbs described its use of videos, interactive features and lesson plans for classrooms to spice up children's educational content. the bbc said it plans to launch an internet tv platform called youview next year. the debate continues in hong kong on granting permanent residency to foreign domestic helpers. on september 30th, a court ruled that overseas workers could apply for resident status, provided they have worked in the territory for seven years. on wednesday, a court upheld an historic verdict, asking the government to process the application of a philippina who has worked in the territory for 25 years. but the court also ruled that

the order applies only to this particular case. and not to other domestic helpers. the ruling has ramifications for about 120,000 other foreign maids who wish to apply to live in hong kong indefinitely. bangladesh's national carrier added a new boeing 777-300 aircraft to its fleet on wednesday. the bangladesh airlines will acquire nine more of the aircraft between now and 2019 at a total cost of $1.2 billion. the prime minister unveiled the aircraft at the international airport in dhaka. the twin-engine jetliner is equipped to carry 365 passengers. a senior airline official said the aircraft, which is capable of flying up to 16 hours at a stretch, will begin long-haul flights to europe and western asia. mai shoji is up next with

weather. >> hi there and welcome back. let's take a look at your weather conditions. starting off with asia, we've got a trail of high pressure system that will be predominant in much of the eastern continental asia. as you can see, a few showers here in northeastern china. the korean peninsula looking very dry and sunny and dry conditions will prevail in japan. a little bit of showers here in the western, southwestern islands, so to say and southern japan. but nothing too significant here. we will see some showers here in southern and southwestern china. that will be tapering off into the next 24. but the wet weather will be remaining just here in northern indochina peninsula. and also the northeastern monsoon will be picking up those moisture surge and will be very wet here in east coast of vietnam as well as southern thailand. now, we have reports of 15 millimeters in the past 24 hours

in southern thailand. so we are very concerned with further flooding in and around bangkok. ulan bator at 9 degrees, just in single digits here. beijing, 16, seoul at 18 and we're looking at tokyo at 20 degrees for our friday high and bangkok at 34. heading over to the americans, we've got a hurricane we have been monitoring. now this is hurricane rina, a category 1 hurricane. it's moving now in a northwesterly direction at the speed of nine kilometers per hour. the winds are picking up. 120 kilometers per hour. but it looks like it's going to be downgrading its intensity into a tropical storm. we do have hurricane warnings just in the eastern coast of yucatan peninsula and mexico. and the storm surge s as well a, are very concerning and also the heavy rain. heavy bulk of rain passing through the eastern coast of the yucatan peninsula. it looks like it's not going to be hitting directly cuba and havana area, but we'll be

looking at wet conditions. we'll keep a close eye on the system for you. a winter storm is descending towards texas, the snow will turn into rain as it does so. we may see some snow to accumulate here in the texas panhandle, as well as oklahoma, up to about eight centimeters. showers from the appalachians up to new england, however that will be tapering off into our friday. denver, 7 degrees, oklahoma city at 11 degrees. now this is about 12 degrees below the seasonal average temperature. very cold in denver. the low is actually about minus for our thursday. houston, 28 degrees and we're looking at new york at 12 degrees. heading over to europe, while the british isles on and off showers will be tapering off. but the scandinavian peninsula, we'll still be seeing the remains of wet weather, as well as windy conditions. in southern france, we'll be looking at a heavy bulk of rain that will be persisting in

towards the weekend. but the system that led floods in italy, as well as northwestern balkans, this is going to be tapering off for you. and out towards the east, looking dry and calm in the eastern continental europe. we're a little bit concerned about van, this is where we're going to be seeing sleet and snow. the quake-hit region of turkey. degrees for a temperature. stockholm at 9 and lisbon at 20 degrees. here's your extended forecast.

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.