hello. and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo with the stories at this hour. in new zealand an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 has caused widespread damage around christchurch in the country's south island. police have reported multiple fatalities. the u.s. geological survey says the quake struck shortly after midday on tuesday near christchurch at a depth of five kilometers. local media reports show heavily damaged buildings and cracked roads strewn with debris.

people who fled to safety are staying away as aftershocks continue. the quake is causing blackouts and phone lines are out. christchurch airport has been shut down. the new zealand government has launched a task force to deal with the situation. christchurch was hit by a major tremor only five months ago. week see from the video footage of a local tv station that many shops have collapsed along streets in christchurch. there appear to be many people injured and others trapped under rubble. a cathedral in the center of the city has collapsed, and parked cars have been crushed by rubble. nhk spoke to an employee of a hotel in christchurch. he says he felt a very strong jolt that lasted about 20 seconds, causing furniture to fall. he says that guests were evacuated before an aftershock hit. earlier catherine kobayashi spoke on the phone with nhk world's yosuke izuka in chri

christchurch. >> yosuke, can you hear us? tell us what's going on there in christchurch. what do you see? >> reporter: i was eating lunch in the noon, and the earthquake hit. >> i see. you were having lunch. so is it lunch time in new zealand there, in christchurch? >> reporter: yeah. i was in a restaurant at the central part of christchurch. >> all right. so many people were out having lunch in that area? >> reporter: yeah. i think so. >> i see. so what happened in the restaurant? did any damage occur? >> reporter: my -- the restaurant i was at, eating lunch, the earthquake's first shake was about 20 seconds, and right after that the stronger earthquake came at about 20 or 30 seconds, and i -- i went under the table. and the restaurant's window

broken, and some of the roofs dropped in the restaurant. >> did you see anyone get hurt? >> reporter: after that earthquake stopped, i moved to the park, and in the park some people were hurt, like cut their knees by the window or something like that. >> how is the atmosphere now, currently, where you are? >> reporter: now in the park a lot of people are waiting. the earthquake stopped. and also some -- right now the small earthquake come often. so we are staying in the park until it stops. >> we've also heard that there's been an aftershock. tell us about that. >> reporter: aftershock come and

the building shakes and some of the windows drops again. or old buildings collapse. and i see those scenes by the aftershock. >> how strong was the aftershock? what do you think? was it as powerful? >> reporter: many aftershocks, and some are powerful but some are very small. libya's leader, colonel moammar al gadhafi, has appeared on state television, signaling his defiance over a mounting revolt against him. he said he is in the libyan capital of tripoli, denying rumors that he has fled to venezuela. anti-government demonstrations have spread to the capital tripoli. pressure is mounting on gadhafi

to step down amid growing criticism of his use of force to quell the civilian unrest. fierce anti-government demonstrations sweeping the northeastern region spread to the capital on monday. police stations and other government buildings were set ablaze. police officers have reportedly disappeared from the streets, and african men who appear to be mercenaries are shooting people indiscriminately in the city. security forces are reportedly firing live rounds and using warplanes and helicopters to launch air attacks. during a televised speech on monday the leader's second son, saif al islam gadhafi, said the government will fight the protesters until the very end, the death toll is likely to rise further. gadhafi is facing growing criticism from within his government. a local newspaper report says the justice minister resigned to protest the heavy use of weapons. libyan diplomats in india and china also announced their resignation. the country's deputy u.n. envoy

says gadhafi should resign to take responsibility for killing so many libyans. >> do you think mr. gadhafi should step down, resign? >> he has to. he has to. he has kept his power by force and the killing and mass killings all over. i mean, the humanitarian -- i mean the crime against humanity. >> the envoy said he has asked the u.n. security council to quickly start talks to resolve the situation. in neighboring egypt libyans protested in front of their embassy and called for gadhafi's immediate resignation. some 200 demonstrators shouted anti-government slogans such as "it's the last day for gadhafi and the next outgoing dictator should be gadhafi." >> he mentioned yesterday about separatism. there is no separatism in libya. we are all one people.

we are all very unified. and our one cause is to get rid of him. and that's it. >> reporter: young egyptians supporting the libyan uprising also took part in the rally. the u.s. department of state has ordered all diplomats and their families at the embassy in tripoli to leave the country. only emergency personnel will remain. the department issued the evacuation order on monday. it noted that violent clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters are expected to escalate across the north african nation. it also advised u.s. citizens staying in libya to refrain from going out and to take shelter in safe locations. meantime, tensions remain high in bahrain and yemen as there were more massive anti-government demonstrations on monday. in bahrain about 300,000 people marched in the capital of manama. they were protesting against the monarch, who is from the sunni

minority. demonstrators continue to occupy pearl square, which has become a symbol for the protests. they say they will stay until the royal family is ousted. >> we don't want the khalifas to control us anymore. enough. 200 years and 50. enough. we don't want them anymore. >> in yemen people have taken to the streets for ten straight days. they want the immediate resignation of president ali abdullah saleh. in the capital sanaa hundreds gathered around the university. they chanted "saleh, step down" and held up signs criticizing the president. recently, declassified documents show that more than 30 years ago japan and the united states pressed south korea not

to execute kim dae-jung, who later became president. the south korean foreign ministry made the diplomatic papers public on monday. in 1980 the government cracked down on a student demonstration in the city of gwangju. kim was a leader of the pro-democracy movement and was sentenced to death for instigating rebellion. the files show that japan's prime minister at the time, zenko suzuki, conveyed his concerns to the south korean ambassador. he said kim's execution would make it difficult for japan to cooperate with the south. they also reveal the view that kim's death could raise public opinion in japan in favor of strengthening relations with north korea. in the united states nine congressmen wrote to president chun doo hwan. they warned that executing kim would jeopardize u.s.-south korean relations. in 1981 kim's sentence was commuted to life in prison and was later suspended. japan's health ministry has

started excavating the site of a former military medical school in tokyo in search of more human remains, which may have been buried during world war ii. 22 years ago the remains of 62 people were unearthed at the site in shinjuku, central tokyo. years later a former nurse at the school testified that more remains were buried in other areas of the compound. the ministry decided to conduct more excavations after a housing facility was demolished. ten years ago the ministry interviewed people who are associated with the medical school. it was concluded that the discovered remains may have been medical specimens such as those of former japanese soldiers killed in action. but some experts suspect they are related to a former imperial army medical unit. it is believed they conducted human experiments in china during the war.

>> translator: they will dig up the site on the basis of the testimony. so there is a possibility that they will find more remains. as well as their identification. a chinese man with a broken leg has become the first foreign patient to come to japan for treatment on a medical visa. 31-year-old lu haihua from shanghai arrived in tokyo on monday. japan established the medical visa category in january to allow foreign patients to stay in the country for tests and treatment and to make medical care a successful business in japan. current immigration rules allow most visitors to stay in japan for up to three months. but medical visa holders can stay for six months. they can also repeatedly re-enter the country for up to three years to receive longer-term care. lu, who injured his leg in a traffic accident, was admitted to toho university hospital in tokyo, where he is to undergo

surgery. lu said he was told the operation he needs is possible only in japan. >> translator: i just couldn't recover from my injury back in shanghai. i really hope to recover the use of my leg so that i can work again soon. >> more and more medical tourists, mainly affluent chinese and russians, are looking to receive advanced treatment in japan. >> translator: the new medical visa program will allow foreign patients to utilize medical resources in japan. hospitals will be able to increase their revenues so they could invest more in new medical equipment. this will lead to further improvements in the quality of medical treatment in japan. amid massive anti-government demonstrations in the

oil-producing country of libya, crude oil futures brief lly topd $105 per barrel overnight in london. this marks the highest level in about two years and five months. the futures price had soared to the $100 level in late january as tensioned intensified in egypt. the spread of political unrest to other parts of the middle east and africa further fueled worries over crude oil supplies. danish major shipper marsklein's chief executive ivan colding spoke with nhk in london. he expressed concern that the situation could affect traffic on the suez canal in egypt. >> if the canal for some reason did not operate for a time, the cost to our customers would be much higher. >> reporter: meanwhile, oil giant bp is also considering evacuating some of its libya-based workers and their families to a safer place. japan's travel agencies are taking a hit as civil unrest continues across north africa

and the middle east. concerns over security have led firms to cancel tours, change schedules, and reroute cruises. hankyu travel says bahrain was dropped from the itinerary of a cruise which will visit the united arab emirates and other persian gulf nations. the eight-day, 30-person tour was originally destined to make a port call at bahrain on saturday. yusen travel says its luxury cruise ship "asuka 2," will change its route for an around the world tour in april. instead of going through the suez canal, it will sail around the cape of good hope in south africa due to worries over security. yusen says this will not change the tour's length or price. it also says this is the first time that it has had to change a route because of security concerns. another major travel agency, jtb, has suspended tours to bahrain and some areas of libya and yemen through the end of march. here are the latest market figures.

♪ ♪ when you think about a gift to that someone special, flowers may be the first choice. in the u.s. flowers imported from japan are becoming popular and sales have been rising.

nhk world's paige ferrari has more. >> reporter: a week before valentine's day students attended a flower arranging class in new york. the flowers they are using are sweet pea and freesia, freshly imported from japan. >> to my wife, kathleen. she will appreciate this, i'm sure. >> reporter: new york city, 3:00 a.m. in a street known as the flower district, flowers from around the world are arriving. here in manhattan's flower district even before the sun comes up the flowers from japan are coming in. and here as you see we have glor yoesa. and that is from aichi. and we also have flowers coming in from wakayama.

the days leading up to valentine's day are the busiest time of the year for flower sellers. stores are bringing in large orders of flowers to meet customer demands. japan began exporting nflowers o the u.s. two years ago. compared to wholesale prices for other flowers, those imported from japan can cost five to ten times more. despite the high cost, the flowers are popular with customers. farmers in japan devote a great deal of time and energy to raising these small flowers. with that amount of care and quality come the high price tag. >> you pay a little bit more, but all ten of them open up beautifully. so you really have all ten. and they last long. >> reporter: yutaka shirakawa is

the man leading efforts to bring japanese flowers to america. after his experience in europe's flower market, he realized that japanese flowers represented an exceptional level of quality. he began thinking of ways to import them to the world. >> how are you? >> reporter: two years ago shirakawa started exploring sales channels. >> in this way. let's go. >> reporter: he set his sights on new york and made a personal visit to major flower sellers. he pitched the merit of flowers from japan. shirakawa also invited american flower wholesalers to visit the flower forms in places like kochi prefecture and see the quality for themselves. >> instead of just producing the product, they try to produce the best product. >> reporter: last month new

york's japan society hosted a flower show. showcasing nearly 250 varieties from japan. the show attracted crowds of flower experts from across america and canada. thanks to such efforts, sales of japanese flowers to america have doubled over the past two years. yearly sales have increased to around $700,000. experts in the flower industry expect that number will grow over the next few years. >> translator: many japanese flowers could be appreciated abroad. i'll continue introducing them to the world. >> reporter: these japanese flowers may look delicate, but they've survived a journey across the ocean and won the hearts of new york's pickiest flower aficionado. paige ferrari, nhk world, new

york. hello there. welcome back to your world weather update. well, in australia keeping a close eye on tropical cyclone carlos maintains that strength as a category 2 system, and it's just off the west coast of australia here. but getting very, very close to the coastline, as you can see in the next 24 hours. now, it will continue to maintain that strength as a category 2 cyclone, but expected to reach category 3 status by the time it reaches the indian ocean here. so this entire region, coastal areas looking at the threat for very strong winds, damaging winds, including that as well. and also of course a heavy rainfall is also anticipated. in and around exmouth in the next 24 hours. looking at up to 100 millimeters to occur in and around exmouth

and isolated areas could see more than that. more than 200 millimeters anticipated. so that will certainly contribute to a significant stream rise and that will lead to localized flooding as something to watch out for here. for eastern asia, a high pressure system is still with us, keeping things bright and sunny across japan. temperatures warming up nicely here. and across the korean peninsula as well. and then into china we've got these clear conditions throughout. there will be some snow showers moving across from mongolia through the northeastern corner of china and then some rain extending into indo-china. but that should be about it. nothing on the severe side. in terms of temperature, pretty nice really. 14 degrees in chongqing today. 13 in shanghai. and 13 degrees with sunny spells in -- tokyo's going to be 11 degrees today. now, we head into north america. it's been pretty stormy and wintry across the midwest for the past several days in the u.s. since saturday, in fact, we've

had about 48 centimeters of snow falling in minnesota, getting a good deal of snow elsewhere as well. and the same snowstorm is still with us, affecting the southern great lakes, bringing as much as 15 centimeters of snow. so watch out for icy roads if you are going to be out and about into your tuesday morning. now, out toward the west we have a high pressure system that's keeping things dry. but this area of rain and snow is going to be descending south, bringing significant snow across the northern rockies in the next couple of days. for los angeles things drying out quite nicely here, but it is going to be quite chilly. 16 degrees for a daytime high. and then out toward the east as well. dramatic drop in the temperature here. 2 degrees in washington, d.c. and minus 1 in new york city. for europe bright spots of sunshine expected across scandinav scandinavia, central and eastern europe as well, thanks to this high pressure system. but also, we have lots of cold

air filtering into this region. that's going to help to create this snowfall over the balkans as well. now, out toward the west temperatures on the mild side, but it is pretty windy and stormy out here. heavy rain and snow expected across the pyrenees. another round of rain for the british isles as well later on on monday. london's going to be 6 degrees today. 6 in paris as well. 16 down in madrid. but for central and eastern europe it is going to be another cold day. all right. here's your extended forecast now. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪

once again, our top stories at this hour, in new zealand a magnitude 6.3 earthquake caused widespread damage around christchurch in the country's south island. police have reported multiple fatalities. the u.s. geological survey says the quake struck shortly after midday on tuesday near christchurch at a depth of five kilometers. local media reports show heavily damaged buildings and cracked roads strewn with debris. people who fled to safety are staying away as aftershocks continue. the quake is causing blackouts, and phone lines are out. christchurch airport has been shut down. the new zealand government has launched a task force to deal with the situation. christchurch was hit by a major tremor only five months ago. we can see from this video footage of a local tv station

that many shops have collapsed along streets in christchurch. there appear to be many people injured and others trapped under rubble. a cathedral in the city, in the center of the city, has collapsed, and parked cars have been crushed by rubble. nhk spoke to an employee of a hotel in christchurch. he says felt a very strong jolt that lasted about 20 seconds, causing furniture to fall. he says that guests were evacuated before an aftershock hit. libya's leader, colonel moammar al gadhafi, has appeared on state television, signaling his defiance over a mounting revolt against him. he said he is in the libyan capital of tripoli, denying rumors he has fled to venezuela. anti-government demonstrations have spread to the capital, tripoli. pressure is mounting on gadhafi to step down amid growing criticism of his use of force to quell the civilian unrest. fierce anti-government demonstrations sweeping the

northeastern region spread to the capital on monday. police stations and other government buildings were set ablaze. police officers have reportedly disappeared from the streets and african men who appear to be me mercenaries are shooting people indiscriminately in the city. security forces are reportedly firing live rounds and using warplanes and helicopters to launch air attacks. during a televised speech on monday the leader's second son, saif al islam gadhafi said the government will fight the protesters until the very end. the death toll is likely to rise further. gadhafi is facing growing criticism from within his government. a local newspaper report says the justice minister resigned to protest the heavy use of weapons. libyan diplomats in india and china also announced their resignation. that's all we have this hour on "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. stay tuned for more on nhk world.