>> welcome to nhk world "newsline."

a hospital official said victims were in critical condition after a train derailment. two months ago a train and school bus collided in a central province. over 50 people died. president morsi appointed a new transport minister this month to overhaul the railway system. officials are wading into another overseas conflict. they say they will offer support to fight rebels in mali. they control the west african country. last week they started making a push south. government leaders call on their former colonial rulers for help. france sent in fighter jets. they've been fighting militants. they have links to al qaeda. european union leaders are considering sending hundreds of soldiers to help train malian forces. defense secretary leon panetta

said the united states has a responsibility to go after al qaeda. he said u.s. forces plan to share intelligence they gained by using drones with their french allies. he says they'll provide mid air refueling to support french pilots. nuclear power representatives from around the world have met in malaysia to discuss energy in southeast asia. the region needs a way to fuel its rapidly growing economy. about 300 government and corporate officials met in the capital and talked about the advantages and challenges of introducing nuclear power plants. malaysian and indonesian officials say power remains the main option for growing economies with high energy demands and say this is in spite of strong public opposition after the fukushima disaster. they both guarantee the safety of nuclear energy. the administration is working on transforming the energy policies.

the trade minster said the country will export nuclear infrastructure after ensuring that it's safe. >> translator: japan has accumulated technology and human resources related to nuclear power. we would like the chance to put these to use. meeting partners's request and safety will be the major premises of this effort. we want to keep exporting our nuclear power infrastructure. >> japan has been promoting exports of the generation facilities even after the disaster in fukushima. the previous administration led by the democratic party signed pacts with countries such as vietnam and jordan in 2011, enabling it to transport the technology. the comments suggest the government is willing to follow

the new government policy. prime minister abe is riding high according to a poll. voters handed his administration a victory in a landslide election. two-thirds say they support abe's new cabinet. pollsters interviewed 1,138 people over the weekend. 64% of them back abe's cabinet. that is three times higher than the approval rating former prime minister's cabinet had before the election. 39% of those who support abe's cabinet say it seems better than others. 27% say they have expectations for its policies. 12% say they support the cabinet because it's led by the party they favor. our survey asks people about abe's recent economic stimulus package which is worth about $115 billion. 64% say they approve of the measure. 29% say they do not.

our pollsters asked respondents about abe's position on dealing with deflation and the strong yen. he favors drastic monetary easing through close coordination with the bank of japan. 69% say they approve of this plan. 26% disapprove. so after about three weeks in office, prime minister abe is sitting comfortably. he knows if his first time in the job that things can go sour fast. i spoke earlier with a reporter about our latest poll and what it means. >> how does this survey compared to the past? >> it suggests abe's new cabinet is off to a good start. it's the first highest initial support rating since 2004 when abe was planning a string in 2006, the first cabinet had a rating of 65%. that's just a percentage point higher than this time around. >> what do the japanese people expect from the administration? >> more than anything, economic recovery.

this country carries a-year proportion. abe is out of inflation and revitalize the economy. way is with the $150 billion package which people steam support. >> translator: i support the abe administration because tock prices and the currency exchange are doing better. >> translator: changing the government always caused the yen to weaken. it might not last so long. >> translator: our company didn't do well last year. i hope the economic climate would improve. >> people also seem happier with the way the cabinets stack up against others. voters were disappointed with the ruling party.

the dpj promised change when they took power, but many felt they didn't deliver. >> now you have been covering politics for years in japan. you know better than anyone how approval ratings fall overtime. it was interesting to hear the lady saying it may not last so long. how will abe be able to support this popularity? >> he knows economic recovery is a priority and he will need to focus on this. the prime minister wants to head into this summer's upper house election in a strong position. his liberal party and coalition partner don't control the chamber. he knows that the key to maintaining the government is having control of both the upper and lower house.

he also needs the power to work on his other priorities. abe wants education reform and he wants to amend the constitution. he will likely pick that up after the upper house election and keep working away on improving the economy. pakistani politics is in turmoil once again. after the supreme court order, the arrest of the prime minister. we have following the story in bangkok. request order for the arrest of prime minister comes amid large anti-government protests on the streets of capital islamabad. pakistan is facing a period of uncertainty ahead of a general election due within months. the court said tuesday it ordered the arrest of the prime minister in relation to allegations of corruption when he was the country's power minister from 2008. he became prime minister last june after his predecessor quit following his conviction for contempt of court. islamabad has been the site of demonstrations attracting tens of thousands of anti-government

protesters. they are led by islamic cleric. he says the government is riddled with corruption and should resign. he also wants a disillusion of national assemblies. he says he will continue to lead protests until the government adheres to his demands. the demonstrations are set to have the support of the military, which has been at odds with the government. some experts say the military and the supreme court are colluding to force the collapse of the government. another incident of gang rape in india is adding pressure on the government to improve the protection of women. the body of a woman who was apparently raped and killed was found hanging from a tree on sunday. it's the latest in a series of violent sexual assaults in india that have made headlines around the world. the india news agency reports that the woman's body was found in a mango orchard. it's believed she was kidnapped by drunken men on saturday after

she jumped off a crowded train between stations. vicious crimes against women have shone a spotlight. protests are spreading across the country and demands are rising for a crackdown on attackers. here's a report. >> reporter: last month a 23-year-old woman was gang raped on a moving bus, then thrown from the vehicle in the capital new delhi. she was flown to singapore for treatment but died from her injuries. media reports of her death sparked memorial rallies across india. thousands of people gathered holding candles on december 29th

at a square in central new delhi. the crowd demanded the government do more to tackle sexual offenses. in india, the place of females of society has been improving as the nation's economy grows. but human rights abuses targeting women remains a problem. incidents of gang rape have sparked massive protests and extensive media coverage. the government is considering tougher punishments as well as a review of crime fighting measures by the police. >> the prompt action against all crime will alone bring about a respect of law. >> reporter: more incidents have already emerged. a 17-year-old woman was gang raped in november in the northern state of punjab.

she later took her own life. media reports say the police pressured her to drop her case and settle out of court. at a symposium on rape in new delhi last week, attendees said stricter punishments would not be enough. they said society needs to change and respect every single woman. >> translator: simply changing laws is not enough. what is needed is a change in mind sets. >> reporter: india is one of the world's emerging economic giants. it claims a unique position, different to its rival china, as the world's most populous democracy. but the question remains as to what action india will take to guarantee human rights, a vital pillar of a democratic society.

rape has drawn public attention at home and abroad to this critical question. nhk world, new delhi. afghanistan is set to receive some of the world's most advanced military hardware to beef up its defenses against anti-government insurgents. president hamid karzai says the country will receive unmanned surveillance drones and other military aircraft and vehicles from the united states. karzai expressed hope that u.s. and european technology would enhance the country's ability to defend itself. >> karzai met with u.s.

president barack obama last week in washington. the two sides have agreed that afghan forces will take the lead in security operations starting this spring. u.s. troops will transition to a support role. unmanned drones help international forces in afghanistan collect intelligence on the 5,000 occasions last year. but afghan forces have lacked that technology, forcing them to rely on foreign allies for intelligence. international combat troops are scheduled to leave afghanistan by the end of 2014. time is running out to improve the capabilities of the of began military. and that wraps up our bulletin for today. emerging economic powers still struggling with poverty. emboldened citizens still demanding democracy. the threat of violence, the push for peace, the shadow of conflict. get news and insight on south and southeast asia every weekday live from bangkok only on nhk world "newsline."

the candidate of prime minister abe approved a budget to bolster the flagging economy. if approved by parliament, the budget would enable abe's a administration to push its economic stimulus plan. they regard the plan as the first of the policy steps to pull the country out of prolo prolonged deflation. the budget endorsed by the candidate on tuesday is worth $115 billion. $115 billion will be in the emergency package and funding for part of basic pension payments worth nearly $30 billion. the government plans to finance the expenditures by dipping into surplus funds of last fiscal year's budget. the rest come from bond offerings totalling nearly $90 billion. that would bring the bond issuance to more than $580 billion and would be far larger

than the cap that was maintained by the previous democratic party administrations. it would make this year's total budget the 30 biggest on record. the number of corporate bankruptcies in japan fell for the third year since 2012. the total amount of their debts grew for the first time in two years. credit research firm tako said about 11,000 companies went under, a drop of 2.1% from 2011. the figures are for bankruptcies with liabilities totaling $110,000 or more each. researchers traced the decline to a law that makes it easier for small to mid size firms. the report also showed these bankrupt companies left total liabilities amounting to some $42 billion. that represents a year-on-year increase of 9% when calculated in yen.

researchers say the rise is due to large bankruptcy cases. among them were leading chip maker alpeda memory and sankio steamship. taking a look ahead, experts note economic recovery is growing following the recent change of government. they point to lingering concerns about a possible increase in corporate failures this year. they say many firms still need drastic management reform. japan coast guard officers will counter chinese action over the islands by setting up a new full time patrol team. the islands are claimed by china and taiwan. coast guard officials plan to launch a 12-vessel team within three years to guard the waters around the islands. they'll construct sex large vessels from scratch and assign four other new ships to the

team. chinese patrol boats have entered japanese waters more than 20 times since japan nationalized the islands last september. coast guard officials have called in patrol ships from around the country. they've cut training time for crew members and canceled a new year parade to focus on guarding the area. every year at this time, scientists raced to the antarctic. they use the season of summer to study the continent. they're documenting changes they believe are linked to global warming. researchers have a strong presence at the south pole. it's essentially in their backyard. >> reporter: it's summer in antarctica. it's a busy time for animals from penguins to scientists. experts at australia's four observation bases are hard at

work documents climate change. they are also seeing its effects first hand. planes use ice runways to bring in researchers and goods, but those runways haven't been as reliable in recent years. when temperatures rise above minus 5 degrees celsius, the surface begins to melt. that makes landing and taking off risky. 80% of flights planned in 2011 had to be canceled. >> the season when we can use it, part of the season when we can't use the runway will get longer and longer. it's natural we would be looking and we will be looking at other alternatives for moving people in and out of antarctica. >> reporter: australia's

antarctic division in tasmania oversees operations. we talked via satellite link with a base leader. >> can you tell us the general information of your base? >> casey station is the largest of australia's research bases in antarctica. during the summer, we can have more than 100 people here. most of the science is done in the summer. that's when the animals are here. there's more opportunity to work. >> reporter: the experts are trying to understand the impact of climate change by examining links between ice volume and wildlife. this unmanned apparatus can check the condition of under water ice. it can precisely measure

thickness and record changes in volume. scientists also use krill as a sort of canary in a coal mine. the small crustaceans live below the ice. estimates suggest their population is in decline. researchers artificially changed the environment to monitor the impact on the crustaceans. they're trying to find out if the thinning of the ice could affect krill numbers. bigger animals at the south pole provide even more data. scientists in the university of tasmania have attached small devices on elephant seals to record their movements and the temperature of the sea where

they swim. they're aiming to determine how changes in the ice volume and water temperature affect behavior. >> the elephant seal numbers have been declining over the last 20 or 30 years, and it's almost certainly due to some change in the marine environment. we can make predictions about how the animals are going to respond as the climate changes into the future. >> reporter: australian officials and experts say their effort isn't just academic but realistic and practical too. >> certainly climate change is a really big concern to us. concerned about antarctica because of the impact it has and the practical consequences.

it affects the ocean around it and therefore the fisheries upon which we rely. >> reporter: some of these studies have been going on for a few years. some only months. those involved hope the project will provide important information to help in the fight against global climate change. nhk world, tasmania. the worst winter storm in years hit tokyo on monday. robert spetta is here with where the storm is now and what to expect next. robert? >> gene, the good news is that storm is now well out over in the northern pacific. you see that cloud cover continuing to rush off. off towards the north, that sea effect snow machine is turning right back on and we are seeing a weak disturbance and as that pushes off, about 20 to 40 centimeters of snow going throughout wednesday as that continues to push overhead. what's pushing this towards the east is the strong high pressure and bringing us very cold temperatures and clear skies.

the result of that is going to be not just the cold temperatures, but widespread fog across much of central and eastern china. extending all the way down towards hong kong. if you have a flight, you want to watch closely and delays are likely. not just the factor of that, but the high pressure will be putting on a cap over many of the cities. in the air with the small area across eastern china. that factor will be weighed in and could get worse if you have a respiratory process across china. in beijing, 2 for the high and seoul up to zero. cool in tokyo with a high of 7. a far cry from the heavy snow you are seeing on monday. take a look towards the americas. a winter system with a stretch of cloud cover from the gulf coast extending over towards the northeast. this is not just rain and snow,

but freezing rain warnings are in effect across portions of the southern mississippi river valley that will shift over to snow completely going into wednesday and thursday. that continues to rush off. we are seeing clear skies, but snowfall there into saskachewan and manitoba. cold temperatures, but it's starting to warm up. drawing in warm air and winnipeg on your monday. a high of only around minus 20. minus 8 for the high. denver will be seeing a warm up. on the other side, in florida here into the high 20s. near tuesday through mid-january. clear skies across the british aisles and the storm system on the iberian peninsula and heavy snowfall with it. a video out of northern spain here.

you see this river frozen over. it's a rapid cool down across monday and regions in the north were affected by the blizzard that caused road closures and snowfall out there hard at work to clean up the mess. unfortunately for those that are picking up the mess here, another system is going to be moving in. take a look at the map here. we have another low pressure area that will push down towards the south across portions of southern france and you could be seeing rough weather through wednesday. good news is that the weather will start to improve. the warm up will be affecting the weather and the higher terrain, you will be seeing the temperatures start to rise. madrid with a high of 8 and cold near london. paris with one. zero for a high.

the other side and not much better. moscow with a high of minus 7 on your wednesday. here's a look at the extended forecast. we'll be back in 30 minutes with more news. i'm gene otani in tokyo. for all of us here at nhk world,

thanks for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com