welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, november 1st. i'm catherine kobayashi. parts of bangkok were inundated with flood water on monday as the water surged on the out skirts of the city. the flooding came within two kilometers after surging parts of don muang airport.

the city has been using drainage canals. the water is spreading to the western and eastern suburbs. the runoff is approaching the bangchan estate where many foreign factories are located. >> translator: i'm not sure how much water will come. i'm worried if we can keep operating. >> thailand's relief headquarters says the situation is under control and the flooding in central thailand will not occur elsewhere in the country. the japanese government will give a grant of $12.8 million to thailand to assist in flood recovery efforts. the government says thailand urgently needs the aid as the flooding is spreading. japan has sent experts to help flood the drain waters from y r

urban areas. the government has allowed thai workers to work in japan. the government says it will offer further support to thailand after assessing its needs. unesco voted monday to give palestine full membership. it is the first u.n. organization to do so. >> ladies and gentlemen, the general conference has voted to adopt the draft resolution and deciding to admit palestine as member of unesco. >> the motion which required two-third approval passed with 107 votes in favor, 14 against and 52 abstentions. unesco can grant full membership to states. the paris-based body has been classifying palestine as an

observer entity. a debate on the u.n. membership is under way at the u.n. general assembly. israel's foreign ministry called the bid a unilateral move by palestinian that goes against the road to peace. it was an unnecessary hurdle to middle east peace talks. the united states, the closest ally says it will halt a $60 million payment to unesco. >> today's vote by the member state of unesco to admit palestinian is regrettable and premature and undermines our shared goal of the comprehensive just and lasting peace in the middle east. >> the u.n. walked out of unesco and withdrawal funding in 1984. it returned to the organization

in 2003. south korea has postponed the ratification of the free trade agreement with the united states due to protests from opposition parties. the government had hoped to approve the treat i by the end of october. the ruling party tried to convene a parliamentary committee to ratify the agreement on monday. the meeting was canceled for fear violence might break out. ruling party decided to postpone the decision. u.s. president barack obama signed an agreement with free trade. the fta will gradually remove duties to benefit south korea's exports such as automobiles. the country's agriculture sectors and small businesses oppose the treaty as they expect increased competition from imported goods. opposition parties also argue that the deal includes elements

unfavorable to south korea and needs to be renegotiated. japan finds itself at odds with many other industrialized nations when it comes to children in cases of divorce. the legal system grants custody to a single parent, usually the mother. courts in other nations grant joint custody. parents here abduct children across inter nationnational bor. >> human rights. >> reporter: these parents say they are being cut out of their children's lives. they are demanding joint custody and visitation rights. >> my wife took our children and has rarely let me see them. i have even considered suicide.

nothing is worse than having your own children kept from you. >> my husband took our son five years ago and disappeared. i don't know where they are now and i can't do anything about it. >> reporter: kevin brown also fears divorce. >> children need both parents after divorce. >> reporter: brown is an american citizen. he married a japanese citizen in 2002. they had a child, but separated in 2007. brown said his wife took off with their son. he contacted the police who told him they could do nothing. he finally found them six months later. now, he can see his son, but only about once a month. brown says that's not nearly

enough time. not only can he not see his son more often, his wife was granted sole custody by the court. >> children are kind of shaped or molded by how their parents treat them. and i won't be -- so far i have not been a big part of my son's life. >> reporter: others are in a similar situation. this man says he spent less than 15 hour was his young son for the past two and a half years. he was working in the u.s. in 2009 when his wife took their 5-year-old back to japan for a holiday. they never returned. his wife asked for a divorce. >> i hardly see my son.

who, for me, is the most important thing in the world. our ties have been cut. it's sad and heart breaking beyond words. >> reporter: he returned to japan last year and moved into an apartment near his wife and son. he's ready for his child to visivic vis visit, but the boy never comes. he petitioned for full custody, but the family court sided with his wife. the child shouldn't have to endure a change of environment. >> i'm not part of my son's life. i can't even walk hand-in-hand

with him. i'm so sad. i feel like everything's been taken away from me. >> reporter: some lawyers say many parents who cannot see their children are suffering from depression. while some in the middle of the custody battle with his wife, he ended up committee suicide. these parents will continue to appeal with the separation of the husband and wife. reporting for nhk world, tokyo. >> studies of family issues at women's university. we have a professor there. we asked her about the current situation in japan with respect to custody disputes.

>> the number of newly filed visitation cases exceeded 8,900 in 2010. that is more than four times the number in 1999. there are many reasons for this increase. number one is more fathers are involved in their child rearing more actively. however, the system is still sole custody. that's quite clearly behind the times. japan is one of the few developed countries throughout the world to maintain this system. before 1980, most of the world's countries had sole custody, but imperial and studies showed that maintaining contact with

non-custodial parents is beneficial for children's well being. that has prompted the change. one measure is why japan sticks to this system. it's because there is a strong belief that it is in the best interest of the child to be with one parent after divorce. so, it's quite common for courts to limit visitation for non-custodial parent to just several hours per month. some people are really worried about divorce cases involving domestic violence and the child abuse. so in those cases, we have to be really careful and have to take precautions. the system must be modified in

many ways in japan to meet the needs of children of divorce. first of all, the current visitation system should be changed. parents with no custody should be able to spend a substantial amount of time with their children like weekends and long vacations with overnights. not just several hours a month. secondly, you shouldn't be allowed to separate or divorce without a parenting plan in place. finally, couples should be able to choose between sole custody and joint custody. >> that was the professor at women's university. the world is becoming more

crowded than ever. united nations forecasters say the earth's population hit a milestone on monday. 7 billion. they will celebrate the birth of all babies born on october 31st as the 7 billion members of the human race. a number of the 7 billion babies were born in japan. including an infant girl in tokyo. >> translator: i knew today was historic, but i never imagined my baby would be born on this day. >> she was pregnant when the march 11th tsunami raced through her house. >> my baby girl survived the

disaster. i believe she can overcome anything. i want her to grow up strong and healthy. >> human kind has more than doubled over the past half century. from 3 billion in 1959. the forecasters expect the global population to continue to grow. the number of people in asia, the most populous continent is projected to reach 5.2 billion by mid century. the population of africa is expected to hit 3.6 billion, triple the current number by 2100. industrialized nations, like japan and europe, have low birth rates. their populations are expected to drop. u.n. experts point out population growth with overpopulation in major cities. a senior government official has drunk a glass of water from the fukushima daiichi plant to

demonstrate safety after being asked by a reporter. on october 7th, the tokyo electric power company sprayed tons of water on the compound. the water is taken from the number five and six reactor buildings. the firm and the government's nuclear safety agency says the water is below the government standard for bathing. cabinet office secretary drank the water at a press conference on monday. he said he drunk the water because he was asked to. but he said he doesn't believe the act proves the water's safety. he disclosed the results of the scientific tests and they proved there was no issue with water

quality. why did he feel compelled to drink the water? we spoke with the expert who watched the news conference. >> translator: government and tokyo electric power companies insufficient explanations have resulted in widespread public mistrust. it's pathetic that all they can do to explain an ongoing and urgent safety issue is to drink a glass of supposedly decontaminated waste water. "newsline" is the place to turn to for all of japan. we have two segments offering two perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami.

the road ahead on the efforts to rebuild. don't miss nuclear watch. the march earthquake and tsunami has prompted many japanese on how to live their lives. we show how people not directly affected by the disaster are looking for ways to reshape their lifestyle. many have awakened to t ee eed importance of relationships. we go to a woman who is trying to make new connections. >> last month, an apartment building for elderly people opened in tokyo. 75-year-old kiku inspects the unit she is about to move into. the rent is more than $1,300 a month. part of it pays for the full-time staff on call 24 hours. if residents have a problem, they press an emergency button

and quickly people come to their aid. >> if something happens, someone will be there. >> reporter: her old condo is three kilometers away. her husband died seven years ago and she has no children. she lives on a pension. she had a relative living downstairs, but they only got together once a week. her sisters are her family. she doesn't often get together with them. kiku tried to make friends with other residents in the building, but most wanted to keep their privacy so she rarely had a chance to befriend them. >> translator: it's strange that even though there are more than 100 units here, you hardly ever

run into the same person in the elevator. i don't have the chance to talk to people, so i feel like my speech is getting rusty. >> reporter: after the march 11th earthquake and tsunami, kiku could not stand the isolation. she stayed with relatives for two days, but then had to go back to living alone. in the days that followed, she had trouble sleeping. she often listened to the radio all night. she lost weight and nearly lost the will to live. >> translator: i felt like i was going to a deep depression. i really did. it reached the point where the loneliness was so bad. i started drinking every day. >> reporter: on this day, kiku moved into the new apartment

hoping to make friends with the neighbors. she used her savings to move into the apartment. kiku looks forward to a new life. this building is set up so residents can get to know each other. next to the apartment building is a cafeteria where the residents can gather. people in the neighborhood are welcome to drop in. unlike at her old apartment, it's not hard to start a conversation here. it's easy to meet new people. for kiku, that's a huge relief.

at least, the lifestyle she has been looking for. >> translator: i don't know if i made any connections yet, but i know i will. i want to live a long life. >> an association that helps elderly find housing says it received 35% more requests for an accommodations since the earthquake. tomorrow, how the march 11th disaster changed many people's attitudes toward marriage. the dollar is losing ground against the yen in new york on monday after jumping nearly four yen on the tokyo foreign exchange on an intervention.

all right. we will keep a close eye on the currencies for you today. we will get to the weather foreca forecast. >> hello. let's get a look at the weather

conditions across the globe in east asia. things are looking quiet. high pressure system covers japan and the korean peninsula and expands into eastern china. all throughout the area, we are talking about dry skies with a bit of sunshine. especially for japan. showing a warm up happening for the southern half of the country. for china inland areas, they are on the wet side. more precipitation developing over the course of today toward the north here. that rainy area could be turning over into snow as it is getting chilly. now from the southern islands of japan and taiwan and philippines, we will talk about tropical moisture in place. for the indo-china peninsula, and parts of cambodia may be picking up on showers.

for thailand, not too bad. dry. down to the south across the peninsula, that is where we will see showery activity today. tuesday's highs are 33 in manila. 33 in bangkok. there are largely sunny skies with a bit of clouds. it should remain dry today. 28 in hong kong. cooler in beijing with highs at 15 degrees. 21 for tokyo. cooler than yesterday, but still very pleasant. over in the united states, it is calmer today as residents are digging out from the snow from the weekend. we are looking at the low pressure system that is moving up north along the atlantic seaboard bringing showers to the carolinas and mid-atlantic region. in eastern canada will see precipitation moving through ontario and into northern quebec.

then the rainy area showing signs of developing across the rockies. that is turning to snow in the upper elevations. highs on tuesday, 27 in houston. warm in oklahoma city, but cooler. winnipeg is 8 degrees. lastly, a look at europe. still a bit of activity out to the west. we have the cold front that has been bringing rain and wind to the u.k. as well as the peninsula. it will sweep east over the course of tonight bringing in lighter showers across western europe and then a bit more ample amounts of rain for the scandinavian peninsula. as we look over the peninsula, we could see snow rather than rainfall. for western sections, especially the british isles, another round of rain coming in the next 24 hours. it will be staying quite unsettled here. temperatures look like this for tuesday, 10 degrees in

stockholm. 15 in berlin. single digits for kiev. the warmest will be in rome with the high of 23 degrees. turkey is looking at a high of 8 degrees. again, more sunshine should be returning. chilly nights for those survivors. that's a look at the weather conditions for now. here is your three-day outlook.

that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thank for joining us.