welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. south korea says it will carry out additional firing drills for a one-week period beginning december 6th. the south is preparing itself for possible further provocations by the north after last week's shelling of yeonpyeong island that left four south koreans dead. the south korean military announced on tuesday that the exercises will be conducted at

29 locations across the country, including yeonpyeong island. the south korean military says it plans to stay on the highest alert for the time being. south korea and the united states began a four-day military drill in the yellow sea following the exchange of fire on november 23rd. on wednesday, the final day of the drill, the two nations will carry out exercises to protect the u.s. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier "george washington" from enemy attacks and to deliver supplies to combat areas. >> conventional forces -- provocative actions by those forces. >> a weekend poll by south korea's kbs television shows that more than 70% of those surveyed want much stronger

responses to any future provocations by north korea. nations concerned with north korea are carrying out diplomatic moves following china's proposal of an emergency meeting of chief delegates to the six-party talks. japan's top negotiator to the six-party talks met china's special envoy on korean peninsula issues on tuesday in beijing. akitaka saiki asked wu dawei to explain beijing's request for a meeting of the chief delegates to the six-party talks on north korea's nuclear program. saiki is believed to have outlined why japan is reluctant to attend. chinese foreign ministry spokesperson hong lei said the main purpose of china's proposal is to ease tensions on the korean peninsula. >> translator: china provides a place for dialogue. we believe other member nations will seriously consider the proposal and respond positively. >> in the meantime, a close aide

to north korean leader kim jong il arrived in beijing on tuesday. choe tae bok is chair of his country's supreme people's assembly. he's expected to discuss the current situation on the korean peninsula with chinese leaders during his five-day visit. more details are emerging from the huge amount of classified u.s. diplomatic documents released by the whistle bloeg website wikileaks. the site quotes a senior south korean official as predicting that north korea's regime will collapse two or three years after the death of its ailing leader, kim jong il. the cable dated in february was released on monday. it says that then south korean second vice foreign minister chon yung woo told the u.s. ambassador to seoul that north korea had already collapsed economically. chun also reportedly said china has less influence over the country than is widely believed. another u.s. document shows that a chinese foreign ministry official in april last year told

a u.s. diplomat that north korea was acting like a spoiled child to achieve its demand of bilateral talks with the united states. another leaked cable dated in june of last year shows that a chinese official criticized japan's stance on the six-party talks on north korea's nuclear program. the official reportedly told a u.s. diplomat that japan's obsession with the abduction issue reminded him of a chinese proverb about an individual who's too weak to make something work but strong enough to interfere. meanwhile, one of the latest pieces of information shows china opposed japan's bid to become a permanent member of the u.n. security couns. embassy in logged the document in april of last year. it reveals that a senior chinese foreign ministry official told a u.s. diplomat the u.n. security council should not be diluted by increasing its permanent members. they include china, france, russia, britain, and the u.s. the chinese official added that japan's election as a permanent

member would be difficult for its public to accept. the document shows the u.s. diplomat said it will be hard to ignore japan's bid because the country is the second largest financial contributor to the u.n. the wikileaks website withheld the name of the chinese official, but the british newspaper "the guardian" identify him as hu yafei, who was china's vice foreign minister at the time. it was widely believed the chinese government opposed japan's bid for a permanent seat on the security council. but it's rare for a senior official's stance to be revealed so explicitly. japan's toyota motor is asking general motors for compensation after a joint venture between the two automakers was liquefied. toyota is seeking about $74 million in damages. toyota filed a lawsuit against a firm that took over gm's

loss-making assets after the u.s. automaker went bankrupt last year. the two carmakers used to co-manage an assembly plant in california but gm withdrew from the operation as part of its revitalization. toyota claims the move was a breach of contract. after gm's pullout toyota closed the facility in april this year after deciding it would be difficult to continue with the facility on its own. the joint venture was toyota's first u.s. production base and served as a platform for nationwide expansion. . u regulators are looking into google for unfair practices. the world's top internet search engine is suspected of intentionally demoting search rankings of rival sites. the european commission, the eu's executive body, made the announcement on tuesday. the commission says it will investigate whether google abused its dominant position in online search by lowering the ranking of search results of competing services. it will also look into allegations that google imposes

obligations on advertisers and prevents them from placing certain types of adds on other websites. the aim is to shut out competing search tools. google says that it will cooperate with the commission to address any concerns the search engine operator makes profits by displaying corporate ads based on search results. credit worries in europe continue to weigh down on the euro and government bonds of debt-strapped nations. the euro was sold for major currencies overnight on the london foreign exchange briefly, hitting a 2 1/2-month low against the yen and the dollar. the euro currently trading -- let's see if we can get that up. the euro currently trading at -- looks like we're not going to be able to get that. meanwhile, in bond markets investors shed more sovereign debts of portugal, spain, and italy, setting their prices lower. europe's debt problems persist

despite a recent decision by the european union and the imf to spend 85 billion euros, or about $110 billion to bail out deficit-laden ireland. market players say worries over credit will remain for some time. concerns are growing as some fear the problem may spread to larger economies like spain. prospects for job seekers across the 16-nation euro zone is grim as the jobless rit remains at the worst level since the euro was introduced 11 years ago. the european commission announced on tuesday that the eurozone's unemployment rate hit 10.1% in october. the commission is the eu's executive body. the jobless rate in the eurozone has been 10% or higher for seven consecutive months since april. the figure for the 27-nation eu also remained high at 9.6%. by nations germany's jobless rate stood unchanged at 6.7%,

thanks to its brisk exports tome engineering nations. unemployment in spain, which is suffering from a financial deficit of 20.7%, the highest among eu nations, while that in ireland, which will be receiving financial aid from the eu, marked 14.1%. the european commission predicts that the job situation in europe will gradually recover starting next year but in the eurozone 1 in 5 people under 25 are currently unemployed. russian president dmitry medvedev has proposed strengthening economic ties with asia in his annual state of the nation speech. in an address to parliament on tuesday medvedev said russia will step up economic cooperation with asia-pacific nations including china, japan, and south korea. he said russia urgently needs to modernize its economy, which is heavily dependent on exporting resources. the president made no mention of the territorial disputes over the four russian-held islands off hokkaido, northern japan.

relations between the two countries have soured since he visited one of the islands in november. medvedev also commented on nato's new missile defense system in europe. he said a new arms race will begin if russia and nato fail to reach an agreement on the issue. afghanistan is seeking more investment in a bid to nurture its economy and restore security. the war-ravaged country made the appeal at an international conference in dubai on tuesday. the 500 participants included investors and ministers from middle eastern and western nations. they discussed mineral resource and agriculture development in afghanistan. >> the government of afghanistan is endeavoring to measure the security and safety of the population, infrastructure, investments, and all other parts of the country. i would like to encourage investors to take full advantage of this opportunity in the significant concessions we offer

and compete to win the exploitation and industrialization of this mine. >> reporter: but representatives of the indian and australian governments want afghanistan to restore security and eliminate government corruption before encouraging investment. many foreign investors are also expressing caution, saying this is not the right time to invest in afghanistan. here's the latest market figures. ♪ japanese astronomers say two massive black holes inside a giant galaxy may collide and merge in about 500 years.

this is the first discovery of binary black holes on the verge of a collision. scientists led by japan's national astronomical observatory found the partnered black holes in 2003 and have been studying them using radio telescopes. they're located in a galaxy about 300 billion light years from earth in the direction of the constellation andromeda. the scientists say the binary black holes have strong gravitational pulls about 1 billion times that of the sun, and are about 1/50 of a light year apart. they say their calculations indicate the holes may collide and form a super massive black hole in just five centuries. >> translator: recent research is showing that black holes play an important role in the formation and developing of galaxies. this discovery is a significant insight into how galaxies are made.

>> some 23,000 chickens are being destroyed at a poultry charm in shimane prefecture, western japan after it was discovered that five chickens there were infected with the deadly h5 strain of the avian flu virus. dozens of officials in protective gear arrived at the farm on tuesday to begin the culling. in addition, movement of chickens and eggs has been restricted at four other poultry farms within a radius of 10 kilometers of the site. officials say no other suspected cases of bird flu have been reported in shimane or in neighboring tottori prefecture. meanwhile, the environment ministry has begun an emergency survey of areas around the infected farm to see if there are any wild birds that have died. the united nations has appealed to the international community to step up efforts to provide hiv-infected children with the necessary treatment. the u.n. children's fund, unicef, and other international organizations jointly released

the children and aids report on tuesday, one day before world aids day. the report estimates that in developing countries, mainly in africa, 1.27 million children under the age of 15 are infected with hiv and require anti-retroviral treatment. it says 356,000, or 28% received this treatment in 2009. the report says infants are particularly vulnerable to the effects of hiv. without treatment about half of the infants infected with hiv die before their second birthday. it says hiv-infected pregnant women should be given the appropriate drugs to prevent mother to child transmission. the report also stresses the need to improve medical services to help children who are inaffected with hiv. delegates from around the world are wrapping up their second day of discussions at a united nations climate change conference in mexico. the u.n. weather agency has

called for prompt measures to tackle global warming, saying recent natural disasters may have been caused by rising temperatures. >> the trend is toward warmer, and this warmth also manifests itself in creating more droughts. we must consider what we know today in our planning for the future in order to minimize the adverse impact of these events. >> reporter: the head of the world meteorological organization climate research center, ghassam asrar, held a news conference on tuesday. asrar warned that more disasters are likely to occur, citing this year's flooding in pakistan and drought in russia. he appealed for prompt reductions in greenhouse gas emissions saying normal weather is threatening people's lives and ecosystems. princess aiko, the only child of japan's crown prince and princess, is celebrating her ninth birthday on wednesday. the imperial household agency says the princess is

home-tutored on calligraphy, piano, and violin. she also enjoys reading children's books borrowed from the library. she's keen on learning more about other countries thanks to her father's overseas trips. in march this year princess aiko started missing days at her primary school due to anxieties about going to class. but since starting the third grade in april crown princess masako has been bringing her to school. princess aiko attended some morning classes at first but now she's spending more time there and taking afternoon sessions. a common belief is that you need to be wealthy to be an art collector. but one new york couple has spent 50 years building one of the most remarkable collections in the united states. their uncanny instinct and modest lifestyle has been the second behind their success. today the exhibitions of dorothy

and herbert vogel and a film about their lives are inspiring people from around the world. from new york maki hatae has more. >> reporter: art lovers travel to this museum for a special exhibition. 50 conceptual and minimal involvement works from the personal collection of an unusual pair of collectors. similar events are taking place across the country, showing highly regarded works acquired years before the artists became famous. >> hi. >> reporter: all pieces were collected by this couple, herbert and dorothy vogel. together they amassed this remarkable collection on the modest salaries of civil servants. >> it's an extraordinary story. so i'm just starting to see the art. >> it's very interesting. lots of different ways of looking at the world, i guess. >> i don't think really, though,

until we were looking at the work and actually got it on the walls did we realize the impact and importance of this collection in terms of this museum. >> reporter: the couple could have sold their collection of over 4,000 pieces for a fortune. instead, they opted to give most of it away to the national gallery of art in washington and to museums in all 50 states. >> we didn't say we had a collection till other people started asking to come and see it, and then that's how it started. and there was a lot more that we had to think about what we're going to do with it. we want it to go to a meaningful place. >> i feel it's been appreciated. and looked at. for or against the works. >> reporter: the vogels' life story inspired fellow new yorker megumi sasaki, who followed the couple for four years.

the result is her award-winning documentary "herb and dorothy." >> the handyman came? ♪ >> in the late '60s a friend of mine told me, you see those two people? you will never think of it, but they are among the biggest collectors of new art in new york. >> i think this is a wonderful, glorious -- what do you say? >> i agree. >> i think it's one of his best. >> reporter: herb and dorothy got married in 1962. he was a postal clerk. she was a librarian. the couple decided to live on her salary, devoting his to buying art. soon their one-bedroom manhattan apartment was filled to the ceiling with paintings and sculptures. the pieces were all created by

cutting-edge artists little known at the time but now world famous. >> this is andy goldsworthy. this is our etoiler you wanted to see. >> i think there's a beauty of humbleness and -- in their life. the true message of herb and dorothy's life is about the power of passion and love. because when you don't have money, when you don't have exciting job, you might not have a social status, but you can still be happy if you can identify your passion and follow it. your life can be very fulfilling. without money or without good job. >> reporter: now sasaki has arranged her own showings in her native japan. and people are packing theaters to see a modern-day fairy tale.

despite their fame in the art world and a collection estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars, herb and dorothy still live in the same cramped apartment. >> well, i'm just sort of surprised myself because we just do what we wanted to do. so what happened happened. >> well, i'm lucky that dorothy likes collecting, looking at other people's works. >> we don't really feel that we're giving it away. it's still our collection. we felt that the collection itself was a big art project in itself. that was our artwork. >> reporter: the couple says they've felt joy spending every possible moment together. >> and beauty is enjoyable. even women. >> reporter: and building a life devoted to art.

their own modern conceptual take on the old american dream. maki hatae, nhk world, new york. hi there. welcome back to your world weather update. we'll start off in eastern asia, where things remain calm and settled across japan under this high pressure system. there will be some light snow flurries and sleet over toward the north and some showers found down in the south but nothing really severe. good spells of sunshine across the korean peninsula as well, and much of china stays dry. it gets a little bit cloudy as we head to the southwest, some light showers here and over toward the northeastern corner an area of snow dropping out of mongolia. as for the indo-china peninsula, that rain in central vietnam is today, but for southern thailand continuing with some more showers turning heavier as we head into your

thursday. we've got 16 degrees in chongqing today, 15 in tokyo, with sunshine to look forward to. 23 in taipei and 33 in manila. now as for the americas, the east is going to be contending with lots of stormy conditions over towards canada. for ontario looking at lots of snow and significant snow during the overnight hours into your wednesday. and along the eastern third of the u.s. as well contending with heavy showers. and then further towards the south, looking at very severe conditions developing here. so damaging winds as well as tornadoes are something to watch out for. but as you can see, it is going to be coming down, settling down as we head into your wednesday. but areas around the midatlantic states into the northeast will stay pretty stormy, contending with lots of heavy rains. so that could certainly trigger flooding problems. as for the west, this winter storm moving in is going to be producing lots of snow, all the way from british columbia down into idaho and even into oregon in the u.s., contending with lots of heavy snow.

6 degrees in seattle today. minus 11 for your daytime high in winnipeg. certainly looking much colder in chicago as well, minus 2 for your daytime high. now let's take you over to europe, then. winter weather has really been dominating much of the continent. the cold air has triggered widespread snow, and we're hearing reports of a lot of snow in the area. let's start with some recent footage. this will be from austria in the zoo here in vienna. you can see penguins enjoying a good swim, enjoying that frosty weather. but perhaps the african elephants not so much. they do have heated walls inside the elephant house, which is reassuring. and dealing with lots of snow again, this will be actually london dealing with dangerous driving conditions. quite a bit of snow fell here. and one death has been blamed on the slick roads as well. and this picture, actually looking at westminster bridge.

you can see poor visibility in the area, and lots of snow as well. now, in terms of forecast, more snow will come down, perhaps more scattered across the uk. but it will remain bitterly cold, widespread icy roads expected, and isolated heavy snow will really impact the eastern side of the country as well. cold air also getting into spain and portugal. so dealing with a lot of cold rain too. and then as for central and eastern europe, it looks like there will be more snow on the way for germany, the czech republic and poland. coming in at minus 10 for berlin. minus 18 in moscow. so very frigid conditions will continue for you. all right. here is your extended forecast. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ here's another look at today's headlines. south korea says it will carry out additional firing drills for a one-week period beginning december 6th. the south is preparing itself for possible further provocations by the north after last week's shelling of yeonpyeong island that left four south koreans dead. the south korean military

announced on tuesday the exercises will be conducted at 29 locations across the country, including yeonpyeong island. the south korean military says it plans to stay on the highest alert for the time being. south korea and the united states began a four-day military drill in the yellow sea following the exchange of fire on november 23rd. on wednesday, the final day of the trill, the two nations will carry out exercises to protect the u.s. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier "george washington" from enemy attacks and to deliver supplies to combat areas. >> conventional forces, ballistic missile forces, they have -- i mean, certainly there's a wealth of information out there available. and we certainly monitor to deter provocative actions by those forces. >> a weekend poll by south korea's kbs television shows that more than 70% of those

surveyed want much stronger responses to any future provocations by north korea. that's it for this edition of "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. we'll be back in half an hour with the latest news and weather.