again turkey has been struck by another quake, even as it struggles to recover from a deadly tremor two weeks ago. hello. you're watching nhk world "newsline." i'm shery ahn. a magnitude 5.6 earthquake has hit turkey's eastern provincial capital of van just two weeks after it was struck by another quake that killed 600 people.

amid a grim replay local media say at least three people are confirmed dead. the u.s. geological survey says the earthquake struck around 9:20 p.m. on wednesday local time and its focus was five kilometers underground in eastern turkey. state-run tv says 18 buildings, including two hotels, collapsed and at least three people have been confirmed dead with dozens more trapped under debris. footage from van province near the epicentral shows concrete buildings completely flattened and streets covered in debris. it also shows people scrambling through the rubble, searching for survivors. the region was hit by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on october 23rd. in the hardest-hit van province more than 2,200 buildings were destroyed, killing at least 600 people and injuring more than 4,000. we spoke with a member of a turkish disaster search and

rescue organization, member of the istanbul-based ngo also worked fwin the rescue operatio in van last month. >> we have got the information from the region as well as the capital of turkey, ankara, which they have the emergency management presidency there, that 25 buildings have the possibility to have some people living underneath them, and we are trying to reach them at the moment. and there are two hotels that have some occupants, and we expect in one of them there are 27 people under the collapsed building. so people are trying to reach there. these two hotels are the priority for the search and rescue team. 15 days ago in north part of van, which is -- it's a city next to the biggest lake in turkey, there have been a 7.3

earthquake. today on the south part of the lake, which is another line of -- earthquake line where the plateaus meet differently to the previous one, it's 5.6 and it's another region of van. the south of van. and we believe that the collapsed buildings were actually damaged in the first earthquake and now the damaged buildings got collapsed because of -- >> and with the latest in biz ai uchida joins me in the studio. ai, europe's debt crisis doesn't seem to be getting any better, and this is a spooky market. >> absolutely, shery. in fact, wall street took a dive yesterday. the dow jones industrial average tumbled nearly 400 points on wednesday. investors are concerned about italy's worsening fiscal crisis. the dow jones ended the day at 11,780. that's down 3.2% on the day. sources say investors remained cautious due to a sharp decline

in european stock markets. stock markets around the world are overwhelmed with sell orders, mainly for bank shares. major european stock indexes showed declines of about 2% each on wednesday. and that is one day after prime minister silvio berlusconi announced that he would step down. tension increased after the yield on italy's benchmark government bonds topped 7%. at that level most analysts believe it will be difficult for the debt-ridden country to rebuild its finances without help. after the italian markets took a beating, president giorgio napolitano said the pressure on the country's bonds was alarmingly high. he added that berlusconi would resign after the passage of the government's austerity package. >> bond markets took yields up to 7.2% today. why? because they realized that berlusconi resigning does not solve the problem that italy is growing too slowly and has too much debt. and now let's get a check on

tokyo markets. as you know, the dow jones average shed over 3%, with markets gripped by events in the eurozone. to see how things are kicking off here in jrnapan, we go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning to you. what is going on over there? >> reporter: very good morning to you. with italian two and ten-year bond yields breaking above that 7 level as you mentioned there, a lot of market concern is about t contagion for other eurozone economies and the euro itself. 8,553. down over 200 points for the nikkei. now the topix also down about 18 points. we've had a lot of activity here in japan also as the earnings season is coming to an end soon. but one standout stock which we have been following has been olympus, which has been down around 80% since the corporate bookkeeping scandal broke out just a couple of weeks ago. and in fact in the last two days

it's been down around 40%. we've been following the price action very closely. now, the tokyo stock exchange is also now voicing concerns about olympus being able to correct any past earnings which may reflect a concealment of losses. now, olympus is going to be due to come out with delayed earnings next monday, november 14th. and if it delays that again, then there's going to be heightened concerns about olympus, even to the point where there's a strong possibility it may be delisted. now, looking at currency markets there, the euro actually falling back a touch against the dollar about 2% and also falling back against the yen. you can see there 105.29-34. it was trading around 107 yesterday. and 77.82-83 dollar-yen. now, also we need to keep track of namura holdings after moody's placed it under review for a possible downgrade citing losses are from investment banking

trading. but namura's already come out and said it's put in place a plan for about a billion dollars in cost cutting and it's going to be going through with that. now, the stock was up 4% yesterday. but year to dade namura holdings has been down about 53%. another one to watch out for. >> that was ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock xsh. let's take a look ate japanese indicator. machinery orders fell sharply in september. the cabinet office said major machinery makers received more than 738 billion yen's worth of domestic orders in september. that is about $9.5 billion. this marks a decrease of 8.2% in yen terms and is the first decrease in two months. the figure excludes volatile orders for ships and power plants. analysts say companies still have plans to make capital investments.

they expect an increase in the future mainly due to the restoration from the march disaster. time to get your recap of the latest market figures. ♪ ♪ tokyo markets down 2.5% so far this thursday. now it is back to shery. >> ai, thanks. an ongoing investigation has revealed that japan's scandal-ridden olympus corporation began covering up losses as early as 2001. olympus apparently carried out the move because of a revision to accounting standards that

changed the method for evaluating the firm's assets. olympus was recently found to have covered up losses from speculative investments during the economic bubble era in the 1980s. a third-party panel investigating the wrongdoing is said to have found that olympus started resorting to illegal accounting around 2001. 2001 is the year when a new set of accounting standards were introduced for japanese corporations. the new standards are known as the market value accounting. before the revision the value of a company's stocks and other assets was recorded on the accounts settlement documents in terms of the price paid to acquire them. this is what's known as the book value. however, under the new standard of market value accounting, the value is given in terms of the market value at the time of account settlement. take a case where stocks were acquired for 100 million yen but their market value has fallen to 60 million yen at the time of account settlement.

under the old system the stocks would be listed at 100 million yen, and no losses would appear on the books. however, under market value accounting they are listed at their current market value of 60 million yen. this results in a visible loss of 40 million yen. market value accounting is aimed at accurately reflecting the increase and decrease of assets that companies could previously keep concealed. >> translator: after the bubble burst there was a big discrepancy between the original price and the current market price of assets. as a result japan's accounting system had to change. >> but some firms illegally stuck to the old system, believing that the economy would pick up again someday. >> translator: companies found it hard to adjust. some firms thought they could keep losses hidden, believing that future profits would make up for them. >> olympus had massive losses that would come to light under

market value accounting. and it's said to have begun illegal accounting because of this. this happened in 2001 when former president tsuyoshi kikukawa took office. the securities and exchange surveillance commission suspects kikukawa and two other former executives of olympus were deeply involved in the illegal practice. a third-party panel including an attorney plans to interview those involved in the illegal practice and file a report by the end of the month. toshiro shimoyama, who was olympus president until the mid-1990s, spoke to nhk on wednesday. shimoyama was also the company's chairman through 2001 but said he doesn't recall such a practice. >> translator: i never imagined anything like this would happen. so i'm very surprised and disappointed. i feel sorry for the employees.

>> meanwhile, he has this to say about former president kikukawa, who's said to be involved in the wrongdoing. >> translator: president kikukawa was eloquent. he was active. and he was good at business. i think he was a good president. but he may have gone too far in some areas. >> on the tokyo stock exchange on wednesday there was a rush of sell orders for olympus pushing their share price down to the 20% the daily limit. the stock price closed at 584 yen, down 75% from its level before its scandal. a plan by south korea to stage a concert for security guards on disputed islands has not been received warmly here in japan. for the second time this week japan has called on south korea to cancel the show. the japanese foreign ministry

says the concert is scheduled to take place on friday is being arranged by a group of south korean lawmakers to entertain the guards stationed on tack shooema in the sea of japan, known as dokdo in south korea. the ministry has asked south korea to cancel the event. it says it cannot allow a concert to be held on japanese territory. foreign minister koichiro gemba told reporters on wednesday that japan had asked the south korean government to stop the concert on both tuesday and wednesday. last week japan asked south korea to cancel plans to construct a research and visitor center on the islets. islands in the south china sea have left-wing been the source of tension to several countries that lay claim to the archipelago. nhk world's charmaine recently boarded a naval vessel for a visit to the region. she filed this report. >> reporter: day 4 of a journey with the philippine navy.

the ship enters an area where the chinese military is increasingly active. in february a chinese warship fired warning shots at a philippine fishing boat. >> reported harassment of local fishermen. we should be very watchful, vigilant. that is to avoid also to be caught unaware. >> reporter: this footage from june last year shows an indonesian patrol ship investigating a chinese fishing boat near the southern edge of the south china sea. an armed chinese fishery surveillance vessel suddenly appears. >> do you have a map of is this area? because in our map, this is an indonesian area. an exclusive economic area of

indonesia. >> reporter: southeast asian countries face a difficult situation in the south china sea. the philippines decided to beef up its bases in the area. work is under way to build a new facility to protect this tiny island, which is about 400 meters long and 30 meters wide. small islands like this are susceptible to waves and strong winds. the military personnel stationed there are cut off from their families. living in such an environment puts them under a lot of strain. >> translator: if i see their pictures, i'll just be sad. that's why it's better if i don't have any pictures of them with me. i just read to keep my mind off them. >> reporter: on some islands civilians play an important role.

pagasa is second largest among the islands. nine families, a total of 53 people, live on the island. the philippine government asked them to live here. it pays them a monthly allowance of about $130, an average salary in a provincial city on the mainland. it also provides them with free rice. residents keep livestock and grow farm produce. they're very aware of their role protecting the island. >> translator: it would be very difficult for china to take this island because many civilians are living here. we'll continue protecting this island. >> reporter: no matter how hard for the people, it's about living for free, and for the government sustaining it. all these disputed

territory. charmaine deogracias, nhk world, pagasa island, in the spratleys. "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 you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." next, the power of grandmothers. yuko aotani talks one on one with a social entrepreneur who helps light up india. >> reporter: india still has

work to do in bringing electricity to all of its people. but it's made real progress thanks in part to a project that trains older women, many of them with little formal education, to be the solar engineers of their communities. a small farming village in india. electricity has reached it for the first time thanks to solar power. >> translator: this light lasts longer than kerosene. >> reporter: village women who once lived in poverty install the solar-powered units. they're solar engineers. they trained at a college run by an ngo in tilonia, raj stn province. to be eligible for training you must be a poor and illiterate woman and you must live in a remote village that has no electric power. the age of the participants is between 30 and 50. most are grandmothers. in just six months they learn

how to put together and install solar lamps and panels. they're also trained to repair and maintain the system. when they return to their home villages they install a solar power generation system for each household. so far the engineers of barefoot college have provided solar energy to 130,000 people in 600 villages across india. this man founded the ngo after seeing many people suffer and die in the 1965 famine in northeastern india. the experience motivated him to help the poor. roy believes adult women are indispensable for helping rural india's poor become self-sufficient. >> translator: before becoming a solar engineer i didn't do anything. but now i'm a respected person in my community. >> reporter: solar lamps also light up communal facilities like schools. the women have brought big changes to people's lives.

the founder of the barefoot college, banka royce, is with us today. thank you very much for coming. >> thank you very much for calling me. >> it's quite an accomplishment, training people, the older women, to become solar engineers. and in just six months as well. >> you should never underestimate the grandmother. never. never. you have this -- they have such -- they're so gutsy. they come out of a village for the first time. they're on a plane for the first time. they come to a strange land, strange people, strange food, can't speak the language for six months. you're illiterate. and on top of that you become a solar engineer. how much guts do you need for that? >> and what's wrong with men, young men? >> men are usually untrainable. they are restless. they're ambitious. they're compulsively mobile. and they want a certificate. and the moment they have a certificate they want to leave the village within days looking for a job in a city. so you actually lost them. >> how does the system help

these women to become financially independent? >> the community has to take an immediate decision in how much they're willing to pay for the solar panel, for the solar unit. and they usually pay the amount that they already pay for kerosene, candles, and diesel. about $5 to $10 a month. this is put into a village committee, and the committee manages this fund. and the 30% of the total contribution goes into the salary of the woman, grandmother, solar engineer. so she is supposed to look after about 100 houses and she gets paid by the community for looking after these 100 houses. so she's financially independent. these are the first technically and financially self-sufficient solar electrified villages in the world, where you don't depend on any engineer from outside. we asked a woman what was the benefit she had from solar energy, and she thought for a moment and said, "it's the first time i can see my husband's face in winter." in the dark when it's minus 40

outside. and they are with candles for six months of the year because it's so cold and they have no light. so the light has been a blessing for them. it's been a total blessing. we have found that if you solar electrify a village you find the population going down because there are other things to do other than producing babies. they have income generation has improved. the quality of life has improved. the children have improved. they read at night. they can't read at night. they do their homework at night. we found that some of the children who have gone through schools their performance is better in schools. so solar light has been a great boon. >> you make it sound as if everything has been very successful. but for the last 40 years you've been working on this project it must have been very difficult to begin with. for people to understand what you're doing. >> we're always learning all the time. you're always exposed to new ideas that come from the field all the time. and it makes eminent sense when you listen to these people in your hours with them speaking to them. they come up with some incredible ideas which are

innovative, fundamentally different. for instance, you should never call anyone uneducated. just because he's illiterate doesn't mean he doesn't know what's happening around the world around them. it's really the people on the ground who may not know how to read and write. but where is it written that just because you can't read and write you can't become an engineer or you can't become an architect or you can't become a communicator? this is a myth. so the barefoot college is exploding myths. >> fascinating story. thank you very much, bunker roy, the founder of barefoot college. thank you. >> thank you very much. >> the barefoot approach has now spread well beyond india. grandmothers in over 30 developing countries are lighting up their villages. now let's go to the weather with sayaka mori. hello. welcome to your weather update. let's start off in east asia. the southern half of japan is looking at wet weather. this low pressure system is bringing rain across the

southern islands as well as kyushu. the rain will also spread to kanto and western japan today. but -- and we also have a tropical depression over here, and this one is producing heavy rain across the southeast coast of china as well as much of taiwan. the system is moving eastward. so the southeast coast is looking at much dryer conditions. but instead taiwan will see rain developing over the course of today. meanwhile, vietnam, deadly floods occurred yesterday. but things are getting dry. so that's good news. the rest of the indo-china peninsula is also looking at dry conditions. tokyo will be dropping down into 16 degrees, and 18 in seoul. we're expecting 21 in hong kong. ulan bator will be dropping down into the freezing marks. only minus 1 degrees expected with heavy snow. heading over to the americas, then, we are keeping an eye on

tropical storm sean. sean is moving in a northerly direction but could veer to the northeast, aiming for bermuda. it's still developing. so could become a hurricane within the next 24 hours or so. we have tropical storm warnings in effect across much of this country. torrential rain and strong winds are going to affect this area by thursday night. and strong winds are creating dangerous rough conditions across the southeast coast of the u.s. as well as much of bermuda. and the stormy conditions will likely continue for the next couple of days. meanwhile, an active low pressure system is producing heavy snow across the great lakes, and that will also move to the northern portions of quebec and ontario in the next 24 hours. meanwhile, the associated cold front is producing rain and thunderstorms across the mid-atlantic region and the deep south. and that will gradually weaken and move eastward. but will regenerate across the northeastern states on thursday.

but it stays dry and settled across the central and western parts of the u.s. but british columbia will see another round of heavy rain and mountain snow on thursday. temperatures are shaping up like this. vancouver will be seeing 12 degrees. and 14 degrees in seattle. dropping down into the single digits. only 5 degrees in chicago and 9 in toronto. stays still warm in new york with 17 degrees. finally, let's go over to europe, then. still unsettled across the british isles and the iberian peninsula. you'll continue to see on and off showers throughout thursday. but stormy conditions have finally eased across southern france as well as northern parts of italy. but some of the areas will continue to see severe thunderstorms into thursday morning. but southern portions of italy and the western balkan peninsula are looking at severe thunderstorms throughout thursday. but it should generally be dry across central europe and

scandinavia. temperatures are looking like this. we're expecting 15 degrees in london and 16 in paris accident dropping down into the teens in rome and athens. that's all for me now. here's your extended forecast. ♪ that's all for this edition of "newsline."

i'm shery ahn. thank you for watching.