this edition of "newsline." it is friday, october 28th, 8:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. military and police personnel remain on alert in thailand as seasonal high tides increase the risk of flood damage in the center of the capital, bangkok. massive amounts of flood water reached northern bangkok after damaging industrial complexes in the central province. it has a period of seasonal high tides friday. more water may overflow and inundate additional parts of central bangkok when the tide level peaks twice each day. thursday, water flooded the

hospital in central bangkok where the king is receiving treatment. troops were seen piling sandbags to minimize the damage. in western bangkok, a huge traffic jam occurred when flooding caused people to evacuate to the suburbs by car. >> translator: at first i didn't expect the flood to get so bad, but now i decided to take shelter. >> seasonal high tides will peak saturday. military troops and police have been stationed along the river to monitor water levels. the mass exodus from bangkok has started. the thai capital getting more deserted by the hour as floods spread through the city. our reporter has the latest. >> reporter: i am at one of the biggest bus stations where people are trying to escape the flooding situation in bangkok. people are rushing to leave the

city, heading for rural areas. there's a long line at the terminal. >> translator: we wanted to evacuate quickly, but we've been waiting for a bus since the morning. >> reporter: as the five day emergency holiday started thursday, the state run flood relief operation center advised people to leave the capital for the weekend if possible. water from the inundated provinces up north continues to flood into bangkok and the water level of the river keeps rising. streets were submerged on thursday morning in one of the city's most popular tourist areas where many world famous buddhist temples are located. at the entrance flood water reached the sandbag 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 business. >> reporter: the situation in bangkok is expected to worsen over the weekend, with flood water reaching a depth of 1.5 meters in some places. the prime minister says the crisis reached a critical point for the capital. the yen hit another high against the dollar in new york thursday following a record set in london with investors reacting positively. the japanese currency briefly rose to 75.67 yen against the dollar, surpassing the record high set on the previous day. this comes as investors reacted positively to the fiscal measures adopted by the european

union designed to contain the region's debt crisis. moves to buy back the euro and dollar followed by leaders to write down greek bonds and expand the european stability facility. market sources say investors were relieved by the eu package and the focus of attention is on whether the bank of japan will intervene in the currency market. speculation that the u.s. federal reserve may take additional measures to ease monetary policy is spurring moves to buy the dollar and yen. now that it is changing hands between 75.95-99. u.s. stock prices surged after eu leaders agreed on comprehensive measures to deal with the debt crisis in europe.

another supporting factor was data on the u.s. economy released thursday. gross domestic product from july to september was up 2.5% from the previous quarter. let's check on the european stocks. you can see the three indices ended in the positive. in london, up 2.89%. germany up 5.35%, and in france, up 6.28%. "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan, post march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and

tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings information on the impact of the crisis and "the road ahead" examines efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." tokyo electric power company is set to request public funds to pay compensation to victims of the fukushima crisis. sources say tepco is about to in tur $7.6 billion for losses through next march. the major reasons are sharp rises in fuel costs for thermal power generation. the firm plans to ask for $11.8 billion in assistance from a government backed institution to help pay compensation to people and businesses effected by the nuclear accident. they plan to lower pension benefits for retirees as part of restructuring efforts. the government will receive tepco's plan on friday. it will then scrutinize whether the amount of financial

assistance is appropriate and determine if the proposed compensation system will work. proper court governance at oish u for major japanese companies. a billion dollar scandal with the acquisition of other firms shaking olympus. sources say the paper's company investigation team discovered that the former chairman personally directed the money transfers. >> the president took office wednesday after his predecessor resigned to take responsibility for the sharp decline in share price of olympus. the resignation two weeks after assuming the post.

he was put in the position following dismissal of michael woodford, a british national. wo woodford says he was fired for challenging excessive fees paid in buyouts. >> they are so extraordinary in the payments and the way they have been made, i can't understand how that could have happened unless there was some type of issue behind them in relation to more sinister matters. >> current management and dismissed british ceo disagreed on two points. in i-20, they purchased a medical equipment maker for $2 billion. but it reportedly paid over $687 million to investment advisers. equivalent to 30% of the deal. they are under fire for the payment which some say is outrageously high. they also acquired three

domestic firms. they say price of the deals could have been vastly inflated. experts on corporate mergers and acquisitions say companies need to disclose more information to show why the payments had to be so large. major japanese paper manufacturer daio plans to file a criminal complaint friday against the former charp for his unauthorized withdrawal of over 10 billion yen or 145 million u.s. dollars from affiliates' accounts. sources say the paper company's in-house investigation team discovered the former chairman personally directed the money transfers. the investigations report says board members claimed they couldn't refuse the chairman's request. the report also says the team's investigation was limited in scope and not able to determine how he spent the funds in question. daio is considering reprimanding

board members. they plan to file a criminal complaint with tokyo prosecutors against the former chairman for breach of trust. rescue crews spent four days in the rubble of the earthquake in eastern turkey. they had many successes, saved many lives. still, the number of dead keeps climbing. it is now more than 500. to make matters worse, survivors face freezing temperatures. the quake hit sunday in the eastern province of van. turkish government officials confirm 534 people are dead. more than 2,000 are hurt. rescuers pulled 200 people from the rubble of collapsed buildings. crews workday and night using heavy machinery. rain and snow started falling in the area wednesday making survivors' lives more difficult. it effected up to 600,000 people in van province. relief supplies are reportedly

not reaching everyone in need. the turkish gft declined foreign aid immediately after the quake but it has changed course and international aid workers, including a medical team from japan have started their work. we have seen the muslim custom of women wearing veils and scarves 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 and discriminatory. now the dispute has reached the football pitch. nhk world 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 the 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 toward social equality with men. but they must wear the scarf, called a hijab, 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 the 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, or we move quickly, there is no danger of injury. >> reporter: this 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. the hijab 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 re-awakened 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 the world cup some day. >> 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 sew, the iranian women's national team continues to practice, hoping to one day play in front of world football fans. the united states and asia pacific countries are negotiating the transpacific partnership free trade agreement that will eliminate import tariffs and minimize non-tariff barriers in the region. the united states is calling on countries such as japan that are considering joining the trade pact to decide quickly. >> we welcome that participation. we aren't going to slow down the current process to wait on them to make that decision. >> u.s. trade representative kirk said the country is aiming to forge an agreement on an

outline of the treaty in time for a summit meeting of the economic cooperation forum in hawaii in november. he said the u.s. is waiting for japan to make a decision. japanese industry is divided over whether or not to join the free trade negotiations. many japanese farmers are against the tpp agreement because they are protected by high tariffs. governing democratic party lawmakers who oppose the tpp are asking prime minister yoshihiko noda about his vision for the country's future. on the other hand, many in the business community say japan should join the negotiations. >> translator: i want japan to join the tpp to ensure fair competition. >> translator: japan will be left behind if it doesn't observe international rules. >> prime minister noda says japan will decide its policy on the tpp by the apex summit. >> translator: i'm sure there are many meaningful proposals. so i will study them thoroughly before attending the upcoming apec summit.

researchers from the butterfly society of japan have seen something unseen since the 1930s. they trekked deep into the himalayan country and found a rare swallow tailed butterfly. an nhk crew traveled with them. scientists preserved specimens at the britain national history museum in london. >> this is collected in 1933. >> they found the insects in a valley in eastern buton 78 years ago. these five specimens are the only that remain. no one has reported seeing the butterflies since. researchers called it a phantom butterfly. >> they are very, very extraordinary butterfly.

it is a sort of holy grail for swallow tail butterfly collectors. >> then reports came in two years ago that a butt and east official came across a butterfly that looked like the species. they negotiated with the government for six months. the japanese researchers finally obtained special permission in august to conduct a field survey. they hiked through a forest about 500 kilometers east of the capital to the foot of the himalayas, the same area the butterfly was found 78 years ago. they found what they were looking for. the butterflies are about the size of an adult human palm, have a bright red pattern on the wings and three tails on each wing. >> translator: this is one of the biggest discoverys of the century in this field.

it is very important that we continue studying the ecology of the butterfly and the evolution of swallow tails. >> now that the researchers found the butterfly, they're eager to protect it. japan considers is alliance with the united states to be the cornerstone of its international security policy. the japan, u.s. alliance which has a history of more than 50 years is today facing one of its most difficult times. at a forum in tokyo to exchange ideas on the state of the alliance, former u.s. deputy secretary of state richard arm tang conveyed the sense of urgency felt in the united states. >> reporter: i am at the venue where the forum on the u.s., japan relationship is about to take place. the long-standing alliance has been under pressure recently.

experts are expected to have lively discussion on how to put the relationship back on track. t in response to the march earthquake, united states and japan spontaneous launch joint relief efforts in the stricken areas. this created a positive atmosphere between the two countries, but there has been no progress on major factor putting pressure on the alliance, relocating of the u.s. bases in japan. 75% of the u.s. military bases in japan are in okinawa prefecture. the people there think this is an unbearable burden. the u.s. has agreed that a base 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 where they should be relocated. there's a strong anti-base movement in okinawa. so a relocation site was not found and this is in turn effecting america's global military reorganization plans. richard arm tang gave the key note address. he was once at the center of u.s. efforts on the issue. since then, he has continued to speak on issues concerning the japan, u.s. alliance and remains with the security issues between the two countries. >> we've got to create the conditions, i believe, where we can have a long lasting, stable, deep relationship. both of us are challenged with

rerise of china. >> strategically speaking, united states considered asia pacific region to be the most important in the 21st century. the u.s. defense secretary leon panetta visited japan this week. he asked the japanese government to make progress on the base relocation issue. he explained it in terms of the alliance as follows. >> the government of japan told the united states they were going to resolve this issue. if it is unable to be resolved, it won't break the alliance, but certainly introduces questions of trust in the ability of the government of japan to deliver. >> the united states seeks to deep encooperation with japan, its most important ally in asia, to deal with china's growing presence in the region. his message indicates a growing

frustration in the u.s. government on the issue. time to look at the global weather forecast. hello. time for the weather update. let's start with east asia. dry weather across most of japan. the exception here under rain. out to the east, some moderate to light precipitation can be found across inland china that will gradually weaken as we head into saturday. down to the south, monsoonal rain effecting vietnam, southern thailand. you will see scattered thunderstorms throughout the day. temperatures are looking like this. tokyo has experienced the coldest morning of the season, but the high will rise to 20 degrees, 18 in seoul, 34 in

bangkok with a slight chance of thundershowers. heading over to central america, hurricane rina has been downgraded to a tropical storm. it is moving in a northerly direction, expected to make landfall in yucatan peninsula tonight and move to sea by friday. looks like it will turn to the south, turn to the south quickly and stay off the coast of the peninsula for the next several days. it is on a weakening track. however, it is still bringing heavy rain and strong winds across the eastern half of the yucatan peninsula. rainfall could total as much as 150 millimeters. some areas could see as much as 250. so definitely watch out for coastal flooding. meanwhile, a rain band stretching from new england down towards the southern plains. severe thunderstorms erupting across texas.

and a mix of rain and snow tonight. that should ease as it moves eastward. to the west, another round of coastal rain and inland snow effect british columbia. temperatures shaping up like this. it is dropping down to 18 degrees in houston, which is about 10 degrees lower than yesterday, but still warm in los angeles with 28 degrees. finally, let's go over to europe. a series of low pressure systems continues to bring wet and windy conditions across the northern british isles and scandinavian peninsula. some rain moving northward and turn to snow in the mountain areas. to the south, another system brings heavy rain and gusty winds across southern france and eastern spain. the wet conditions will likely continue into saturday. temperatures shape up like this. we are expecting only 8 degrees in van, turkey. that was hit by a major

earthquake on sunday. and you'll see a mix of rain and snow, and it will be 12 degrees in vienna, 24 in rome, and 18 in madrid with rain. all right. that's all for now. here is the extended forecast.

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

the first of three picks this week is a special program documenting a charity project by world renowned pianist bob james. in northeastern japan, iwate prefecture where the tsunami caused severe damage, bob james played with a local big band. he composed a new piece of music in the hope of raising the spirits of the people of iwate. our second pick looks at how the active participation of women in society is stimulating growth in mongolia. mongolia is known for gender par it ee in law and other professions.

out of 800 small and medium enterprises, 80% are owned by women. this program studies how women are supporting the country's economic growth. and finally, we meet a japanese ballet dancer that received global acclaim. we'll explore the world view of this artist with the royal ballet, still aiming high, desp