the head of a beijing-based newspaper says he will step down to protest against a government order to publish an editorial. welcome to nhk world "newsline." the people in china who report the news are making it instead, a newspaper publisher says he will quit because of the meddling by communist party people.

this recent tug of war has been playing out since last week when journalists at another paper said they had been censored. we have more from beijing. >> reporter: these protesters are angry and not backing down. hundreds gathered for a third straight day of demonstrations in front of the headquarters of the -- they are upset because communist party officials forced them to change an editorial, calling for greater democracy and the freedom of speech. the issue of censorship has flared up across china. another newspaper, one affiliated with the communist party, ran an editorial monday, calling for calm. it says anyone showing open opposition to the government will be considered a loser. associates say chinese authorities ordered other newspapers to publish the

article. many did on news. "the beijing news" did not. the daily eventually ran part of the editorial a day later, after repeated requests by authorities. and an online posting alleged that government officials threatened to close the newspaper if they didn't comply. the publisher of "the beijing news" says he planning to resign. a photo linked to the internet showed employees crying after as they listened to his announcement. postings are often deleted soon after they appear. chinese official seem to be on even higher alert against the spread of social unrest. takahumi, nhk world, beijing. authorities in china are

trying to show the public they are listening to concerns on another issue. they disciplined more than 150 former government and communist party officials for corruption and abusive authority. abuse of authority. this has resulted in mounting frustration among the public. government and party agencies say the figure was up 12.5% from 2011. among those disciplined were bo xilai. and former railway minister and liu zhijun. both were expelled from the party for bribe taking and other violations. the officials also say a full probe is under way to alleged corruption by high-ranking official li chongquing. he was removed from hi post last september. part of the was broadcast live on tv, apparently to underscore efforts by china's new leaders to crack down on abuses. the new boeing dreamliner is proving something of a nightmare for two japanese airlines.

a domestic flight has been due to a brake problem. it's the third technical dplich within 48 hours. it was scheduled to leave a western japan airport, but engineers found a problem within the brake computer system for the wheels under the left wing. two other problems struck dreamliners in -- a battery pack at boston's logan international airport sparked an electrical fire on board. another japan air limes plane at the same airport leaked about 150 liters of fuel onto the runway. a row is browing in venezuela after government

officials decided to postpone the inauguration of ailing president hugo chavez. the president had surgery last month for recurrence of cancer. officials say a respiratory infection will keep him hospitalized for some time. vice president maduro says chavez can be sworn in by a later date by the supreme court. january 10th is the deadline. chavez has appeals to venezuelan to back maduro as successor if he cannot continue as president and a new election is called. prime minister shinno abe has -- the council on economic and fiscal policy is one of his two key pillars of his economic plan, along with a new task force to revive the economy. he chaired the first session of the council which reopened on wednesday after over three years

of suspension. the financial minister, and bank of japan governor and four specialists from the private sector also took part. >> translator: in this panel we will discuss key policy matters to revitalize the japanese economy. i hope the members will draw up an outline of the government's economic and fiscal policies by the middle of this year. as a first step to revitalize japan 'economy, they discussed a stimulus package worth nearly $230 billion. it focuses on public works projects. abe also asked the panel to look for ways of cooperation to pull the country out of deflakes.

their agenda includes adjusting tax rates for the wealthy. a tax panel made up of policy chiefs. wants to compile the agenda between the main opposition. officials called for the government to take low-income earn es into consideration when raising the consumption tax next year. the party wants rates for items such as food to be kept low and wants to raise the max minute income tax rate for high income earners to 50% from the current 40. but many ldp members opposed the large tax high, as they are afraid it may hurt the economy.

the association of southeast asian nations has a new secretary-general. his first challenge is to heal divisions within the group, over how to deal with china. we have more from bangkok. >> reporter: the new icn secretary-general is a former deputy foreign minister of vietnam and took the helm on january 1st and at a handover ceremony in the indonesian capital of jakarta, mi in. h caddy for unity. nhk world has this report. >> reporter: minh received his documents from his predecessor. the asean group is 45 years old. over that time it has grown to ten member nations with a combined population of 85 million. 580 million. asean is important for the sluggish committee. among the international community. >> we must go on doing many more things.

next decade is going to be more challenging than the past decade. asean will have to maintain our centrality more effectively than before. >> reporter: some asean member countries have simmering territorial disputes with china over islands and waters in the south china sea. but when asean foreign ministers met last year, they couldn't come up with a strategy to deal with china. on one side because last year's asean's last chair, korea, who receives large amounts of aid. on the other side were other nations. it was the first time they concluded the meeting without adopting a joint statement. new secretary-general minh has indicated that he wants to quickly resolve issues peacefully. >> we have a view to achieve ab

early conclusion of a code of conduct on the south china sea. >> reporter: the asean flag feat tirring ten spokes spun together. it represents how member nations can have real power if they are united. but as china flexes its economic and military muscles, asean has so far struggled to find a cohesive response, bringing members back together ahead of the integration in 2015 will be a major test for the new secretary-general. nhk world, jakarta. turning to another territorial dispute, the province of kashmir. official denounced the death of two soldiers, which the military blamed on pakistan. he added that this should not derail stronger cross border ties. >> this is completely

unacceptable. but at the same time, it's very important we make sure that whatever has happened may not -- should not be escalated. >> the indian military says a deadly gunfight with pakistani forces took place on tuesday. two indian soldiers were killed, one injured. it says the remains of the dead soldiers were mutilated. pakistan denies the negotiation. they have resumed comprehensive talks, which include the delicate subject of kashmir to try to improve bilateral relationship. another gunfight killed one pakistani soldier and injured another. observers say such incidents threaten to harm relations between the two nuclear neighbors. politics in pakistan is heading for a potentially game-changing moment. former sporting hero turned politics enran kahn is wins legions of

fans with his fierce stance against u.s. military policy and with parliamentary elections due by may, there is everything to play for. nhk world reports. >> reporter: imuran khan is rising. the 60-year-old is the most closely watched politician in pakistan. he draws ever bigger crowds in recent years. across the country, tens of thousands turn out to hear him speak. kahn first became famous on the field of pakistan's most popular sport, cricket. >> gets into the gap as well. >> reporter: as captain of the national team in 1992, he enthralled the nation when pakistan won its first ever cricket world cup.

khan later moved into politics, establishing his own political party, the pakistan movement for justice. his green card image won new supporters, especially among younger age groups. [ chanting ] >> reporter: power in pakistan has swung back and forth between the two big parties, but rampant corruption and numerous military coups have left the nation's politics in turmoil. voters are increasingly frustrated with established parties. khan's movement for justice is expected to make major gains in the upcoming election. >> they will be wiped out. they will be destroyed in the elections. they will lose, so, therefore, there is a great desire for

change. >> reporter: khan's key difference is his policy toward the united states. pakistani governments have favored keeping a good relationship with the u.s. generous finances paid by washington are an important incentive. successive governments have by and large turned a blind eye to u.s. drone attacks targeting extremists inside pakistan. but public anger over civilian casualties is growing. andy-u.s. sentiment is on the rise. khan says that pakistan has suffered enough during the past decade. his position resonates with voters. >> translator: let's withdraw from the meaningless war led by america.

what we need is a new policy. in villages when you do a bomb attack on a village through artillery, helicopter, or drones, it kills innocent people and when people lose family members, these people are warriors. the pashtuns are warriors. this war has created more extremism. there is more extremism than ever before in pakistan. >> reporter: khan has vowed never to lend support to u.s. military operations. how well he fares in the upcoming election may have implications for the future of the u.s.-led counterterrorism campaign in the region. nhk world, islamabad. and that will wrap up our bulletin for today. i'm patchuri raksawong in bangkok.

south korea has been very much in the news recently from its cutting-edge industry to its dance-craze music. but there is a dark side to the story. south korea has the highest suicide rate among all countries. elderly people, 65 and older account for a, because they are suffering from social isolation and poverty in the shadows of south korea's high economic growth. we have more from seoul. >> reporter: the han river flows through central seoul. it used to be the symbol of south korea's economic growth. but now it's better known for its many suicides. in the past five years, over 900 people have tried to kill themselves by jumping into the han. in 2011, 108 people have jumped

from this bridge. warning messages have been posted on the guard rails to discourage potential jumpers. the signs were proposed by psychologists and other experts and extend for more than one kilometer. a telephone hotline was installed on the bridge in 2011. [ phone ringing ] >> reporter: the calls go to a social welfare organization in seoul. counselors are on hand 24 hours a day to discourage people from contemplating suicide. >> translator: about two people call us to talk about their difficulties every day. even during the winter.

>> reporter: in march 2012, a law went into effect in an attempt to cut the high suicide rate. local governments are now encouraged to set up suicide prevention centers to offer telephone consultation and provide followup care for survivors of attempted suicide. what's also important is support for those people who have become isolated from their families and society. this 73-year-old man lives alone in a public apartment building in seoul. he tried to kill himself seven years ago. at that time he was unable to pay back his debts and declared bankruptcy. he is divorced, and has lost contact with his family. >> translator: i thought the world would be better off

without me. >> reporter: the man is in poor health and is unable to work. he lives on an income of about $110 per month that he gets from old age and disability benefit. he sometimes receives financial support from the local government, but he is behind on his rent of about $90 per month. he's worried about being evicted. the man is on medication to treat depression. he says he is lonely and he's often tempted to kill himself. some municipalities send social workers to make house calls on elderly people who live alone. >> translator: good evening. >> translator: you haven't eaten for three days. >> translator: you should eat. >> translator: i have no appetite. >> reporter: but support of this kind is still far from

sufficient. >> translator: we'd like to help them all. but our priorities are the most serious cases. it's troubling. we could do more if we had more funding and personnel. >> south korea may have all of the physical trappings of a developing country, but how it figures out how to take care of the lesser advantaged in society it will have a ways to go before it can consider itself a true success story. nhk world, seoul. the heat is on in the united states. authorities say average temperatures hit a record high.

a report by the national oceanic association was average was 12.9 degrees celsius, 1.8 degrees higher than average in, the highest since relevant record-keeping has been taken. it says wildfires destroyed more than 2.12 hectares of land. the only era to have more wand 1998. the calculation is based on a complex mathematical formula. making landfall. the noaa says natural disasters in 2012, including superstorm sandy, caused economic damage worth $1 billion. a cooler day in australia,

but alerts for brush fires remain. rachel ferguson here with the latest on that rachel. >> it was indeed cooler today. a cold front moving through the southeast helped those temperatures to come down. quite significantly. however, there is going to be another couple of hot days on the way. take a look at what happens as we head into the weekend. sydney moves from 26 degrees on thursday, back up to 35 on saturday. this certainly is going to be a continued thread of more bru brushfires. another threat to talk about for australia, though. this one is a tropical cyclone, heading toward the northwestern coast of australia. it has strengthened in the last 24 hours. winds sustained at 120 kilometers per hour. it looks like it will continue strengthening as it heads toward northwestern coast. already, gale warnings in place, which means we'll feel the gale

force winds within 24 to 48 hours here. more on that story. let's head now to eastern asia, where japan is likely to get very significant additional snowfall to the northwestern coast. anywhere up from 50 to 70 additional centimeters will up the risk of landslides and avalanches. further down toward the south. a low pressure system sitting here, getting ready to move across mindanao. we're watching for development. it should become a tropical depression, bringing heavy rains to portions of the philippine and falling on saturated land so that is going to add to the flood risk here as well. temperatures are shaping up like this. 8 degrees in tokyo. minus 3 in seoul. just at the freezing point in beijing with the very frigid minus 23 for ulan lambatur.

and in the tropics, low 30s. to the americas, a snow event, pretty strong snowstorm heading to the west this one will bring significant snowfall, not just to the upper elevations which could see 60 centimeters, but low-lying areas, 10 to 20 centimeters in parts of montana, into idaho, as well as colorado and utah. temperatures will fall by 10 degrees in some places. watch for that rapid cooldown. to the south, a low pressure system and a warm front that is bringing widespread severe weather. very unstable here. anywhere you are seeing the orange, thunderstorms containing damaging winds, large hail and the potential for tornadoes and here in the green, flash flood warning. there is going to be some very heavy rain moving through texas and into arkansas and louisiana. so flash flood risk will be high here, and flash floods, you know how dangerous they are. certainly never try to drive through a flash flood. temperatures are going to be on the rise as well, as those warmer winds come up from the south. 21 degrees in houston, texas.

14 in d.c. 11 in new york city. on into europe. things starting to cool down across western and central portions after unseasonal warmth for the best part of the week. now we'll see snow moving right across northern germany, poland, and coming up toward the baltic states, staying mostly clear, precipitation, central locations, you will be dealing with that cooldown. out toward the east. more heavy snow for eastern turkey, although western locations looking drier now. minus 8 kiev. minus 9 in moscow. meanwhile, 7 in berlin. freezing point by the weekend. here is your extended forecast. ♪

♪ a male lesser panda has been matched with a new female friend ahead of the mating season for the mammals. the 6-year-old ken-ken arrived on wednesday in yokahama city,

he's on lease from the zoo in the western prefecture of yamaguchi. handlers are hoping to help lesser panda's breed through crossover matchmaking in zoos. they've son far succeeded in breeding ken-ken three times. he's expected to mate with 12-year-old kinta, who's failed to produce offspring with her 10-year-old mate. mi. >> kinta is reaching the limit, so hopefully she can breed successfully this year. >> the mating period is january through march. we'll be back in 30 minutes with more news. i'm gene otani. in tokyo, from all of us here at nhk world, thank you for joining us. have a great day, wherever you are.

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