welcome to nhk world "newsline." china's foreign ministry says it may allow human rights activist chen guangcheng to leave the country in a possible step towards settling the diplomatic row over the dissident. a foreign ministry spokesperson says if chen wants to leave china and study abroad, he can file an application. >> translator: chen can apply through normal channels to relevant departments, just like other chinese citizens do. >> chen escaped from house

arrest and sought help at the u.s. embassy in beijing. he was transferred to a hospital on wednesday following negotiations between the chinese and u.s. governments. the u.s. said chen had agreed to move to a safe place of his own choice in china with his family, but the blind activist later said he wanted to go to the united states with his family, forcing the two governments to resume negotiations over his fate. chen earlier asked for a meeting with u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton. testifying by telephone before a u.s. congressional commission, he said he no longer feels safe in china and wants to leave for the united states. >> the activist said he wants to meet clinton, who is visiting beijing, to seek further support and to thank her face to face.

>> your case is the test, the test of the chinese commitment to protect you, which they've given. we're very dubious about those assurances. >> the commission chairman said the u.s. congress will take up the issue adding that the american commitment to the human rights is being put to the test. south korea is reporting more disruptions to its satellite-based global positioning system are affecting air travel and shipping. a south korean official tells nhk that disruptions apparently originate from north korea. south korean maritime police say more than 120 vessels including patrol boats in the yellow sea reported problems with navigation systems since late april. the government says the disruptions have also affected more than 410 aircraft leaving and arriving at airports. an official says the signals

apparently originate from around the north korean border town of kaesong. south korea is working to locate the exact source of the signals before filing a protest with the north through international organizations. a senior u.s. defense department official has said the united states plans to start relocating its marine corps in okawa to guam within two to three years. the country is planning to transfer 9,000 marines out of the japanese island prefecture to guam, australia, and other locations in the region, as part of the realignment of u.s. forces in japan. u.s. deputy assistant secretary of defense robert scher said in an official news release that the move will increase the military's ability to respond to contingencies more quickly and effectively. scher avoided references to the time for the completion of the marine transfer. the governments of japan and the u.s. announced last week that the two countries had reached an

agreement on the u.s. base realignment. the agreement includes japan's burden of the relocation expenditures and the return of some u.s. military facilities in okinawa. japan's new fleet of fighter jets is expected to be twice more expensive than initial estimates. figures released by the u.s. department of defense put the total cost at $10 billion. japan plans to acquire 42 units of the f-35, a jet that has been developed by the united states and other countries. japan earmarked funds to purchase four units this fiscal year on the assumption that each aircraft would cost about $120 million. but the u.s. defense department says in a recent report to congress that the price per unit is expected to reach around $240 million. the figures include the replacement of engines and other parts as well as the cost of training pilots. these calculations could affect japan's decision to go ahead

with the procurement plan. japan told egypt that it's ready to help promote democracy in the arab nation. foreign minister koichiro gemba met egyptian president kamal ganzouri in cairo. egypt will have its first presidential election since the collapse of the mubarak administration. gemba said it's important that egypt's historical change leads to peace. he pointed out that stability in egypt is the key to a stable middle east. he added this will also directly affect japan. gemba said japan will make the most of its expertise in experience during reconstruction after world war ii to help support egypt's own efforts. prime minister ganzouri said the government's top priority is to restore security. he emphasized that foreign investment is also important for

creating jobs. newly released documents show that the late al qaeda leader, osama bin laden, ended his life as a frustrated man who was losing influence within the organization he helped create. the documents were seized from the hideout in pakistan where bin laden was killed by u.s. commandos just over a year ago. the 17 electronic letters and draft letters, totaling 175 pages in arabic, date from september 2006 to april 2011. the documents, along with their english translations, were posted on the website of a research center at the u.s. west point military academy on thursday. in a letter from 2010, bin laden expresses his disdain for al qaeda affiliates, which defied his orders and carried out operations that caused the unnecessary deaths of many muslims. bin laden wrote that in order to restore al qaeda's trust in the muslim world, he planned to

release a statement acknowledging past mistakes and pledging rebirth. bin laden apparently wanted to concentrate al qaeda's attacks on the united states. in one letter, he asks the two teams be created. they would focus on shooting down the aircraft of u.s. president barack obama or general david petraeus, who served as the top u.s. commander in afghanistan. coordinated bomb attacks have killed at least 12 people and injured 90 in the southern russian republic of dagestan. a passenger car exploded thursday night at a security checkpoint in dagestan's main city of makhachkala. 20 minutes later, a mini bus parked nearby was blown up as rescuers arrived at the scene. investigators say nails were apparently mixed with explosives. they also found the remains of a man and a woman believed to have carried out the attacks. police suspect that an islamist

group active in the north caucasus region is behind the attacks. as the countdown to the beginning of this summer's london olympics nears, a series of antiterrism exercises have begun across england. the drills are being held at ten locations and involve some 1,800 people. soldiers showcased two surface-to-air missiles in a residential area near an equestrian event site in east london. many of the olympic events will be held in this area. the missiles will remain there until the middlef next week. soldiers will provide explanations to nearby residents. >> we're successful in what we achieved ts weekend. we look at how we might improve it, and then hopefully, and i hope pretty immediately, we face the background and the athletes and everyone coming to enjoy the sporting engagement this summer comes to the fore. >> during the olympics, 13,000 military personnel will join more than 20,000 police officers and private security guards in providing security.

for most chinese born to poor farming families, the odds of getting a college education are just about zero, unless something is done they'll miss out on all the benefits of china's advancing economy. but in this report, we see that something is being done for some young chinese. nhk world kengo okomoto has the story. >> reporter: this is the eldest daughter in a farming family. they live in a mountain village. when she was a small child, susu's father lost his eyesight. her elder brother left home to work in the city after graduating from junior high. between helping with the family and household chores, susu managed to finish senior high. about two years ago, her mother

became ill and died. since then, the family has found it harder to make ends meet. susu wanted to study at university to become a doctor. she passed the entrance exam for the university she most wanted to attend. but susu wasn't able to pursue her studies. >> translator: my family would have had to borrow money for my tuition. i didn't want them to do that. >> translator: i blame myself for not making it possible for my daughter to study at university. >> reporter: more than 5 million residents of guizhou province live in poverty. the region had the lowest per capita gdp in all of china. last year, a private college opened in the mountain

community. it lies about 50 kilometers south of the province's central city. 200 students from all over guizhou are enrolled in the college's three-year program. many of these students are having trouble with the cost of living. they can't afford three meals a day, but why can they study at college? that's because they have free tuition. this man founded the college. he has been involved in teaching i.t. for over 30 years. and i.t. business group in taiwan funds the college. it screamed applicants on the basis of their academic records. it also considered the family's financial status. susu met the criteria and was admitted. last year, nearly 90% of the

students including susu did not have to pay tuition. she lives in a dormitory and the college pays part of her living expenses. >> translator: we must help these people free themselves from poverty, providing a good education and job opportunities is an effective way of doing that. >> you want to read? okay. diana, number two. rule number two. >> reporter: the college puts a high priority on teaching english. about 30 volunteers who support sunwei's aims have come from countries like the u.s. and britain to teach english. >> it is true they don't have a lot of money, but these students are very rich in their hearts, and in their minds. they have a desire to really do more and to really try to be more. >> reporter: i.t. firms also

play a hand in helping the students get ahead. before now, the students had never had access to i.t. now, they each have a laptop computer leased by the college. susu is studying hotel management. the college is tying up with major hotels and i.t. firms ready to employ graduates. there is good incentive for susu to achieve her goals. >> translator: i'm really happy. getting higher education on such a beautiful campus. it's like i'm dreaming. i'm determined to study even harder to please my blind father. >> translator: our students have good characters and work hard. they're controlling their destiny. they can turn things around.

i hope they'll be able to use what they learn here to land jobs and become respected members of society. >> reporter: sunwei's college ensures that students in this out of way part of china won't be left out of the country's expanding economy. kengo okamoto, nhk world, china. people in japan's northeast are focused on overcoming the challenges of the 2011 disaster. but it won't be easy. they have to rebuild homes, businesses, entire communities. we'll show you their struggles and their successes on "the road ahead" every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time here on "newsline." japan will invite chinese and south korean officials to participate in a trilateral seminar on natural disasters later this year. the seminar will focus on the lessons from the earthquake and tsunami of march 2011.

japanese environment minister goshi hosono made the proposal on friday during talks with his chinese and south korean counterparts in beijing. hosono said the disaster had a significant influence on japan's environment policy, and japan was eager to share its experience with its neighbors. chinese minister zhou shengxian and others responded positively. >> translator: disposal of debris, decontamination and renewable energy will be important topics on the agenda. >> hosono suggested holding the seminar in the region affected by the disaster. japanese experts developed a new method to estimate the power of an earthquake by using the global positioning system or gps. the method is expected to accelerate the process to issue tsunami warnings. this image reproduces the movements of the earth's crust

triggered by the massive earthquake that hit northeastern japan in march 2011. the arrows show the extent and shifted of the movements. significantly eastwards. the new system allows researchers to follow crust movements in real time, using data from some 1,200 gps observation points around japan. it's expected to shorten the time needed to determine the magnitude of massive earthquakes from about one hour to several minutes. officials plan to start using the system this year. data will be shared with the meteorological agency for possible use in tsunami warnings. the social networking giant facebook has finally released details about its estimated value. the internet company says it expects to be worth as much as $96 billion through its upcoming initial public offering of stock. facebook provided the price

range for the planned ipo on nasdaq in a document submitted to the u.s. securities and exchange commission thursday. facebook indicated a price range of between $28 and $35 a share. the price range would allow the firm to raise up to $11.8 billion. the company's value would be up to $96 billion, making it the largest ever ipo by an i.t. firm. several u.s. media reported the ipo is scheduled for may 18th. nissan motor and its french partner reno are planning to jointly invest about $750 million to acquire a controlling stake in russia's largest carmaker avtovaz. the nissan renault alliance will set up a joint venture to purchase 74.5% of avtovaz's stocks. it is schedule for completion

later. carlos ghosn said it will help modernize the leader of russia's auto industry. four years ago, renault acquired 25% of avtovaz's shares. renault has been negotiating a larger stake in the firm as part of its strategy to boost its market share in the emerging economy. russian automakers have not kept pace with the growing market and have been slow in developing new models. analysts say the russian government is hoping to revitalize its car industry through foreign tie-ups. with the rapidly aging population, japanese companies are looking for new markets for their products. one company is looking to sell its products to muslims overseas. that means they must you be certified -- or they must certify halal -- they must be certified halal, meeting islamic standards, that is. nhk world has more. >> reporter: this company is in

saga prefecture. 80 people are employed here. a declining catch and a shrinking domestic market have been encouraging the company to tap new markets. >> translator: it is a market left untouched and unknown to us. that's why it is worth entering. >> reporter: chinese fried dumplings have been one of the focuses for the company. it usually contains pork. the company has developed pork-free goza. japanese tea leaves are kneaded into the skin to add flavor. >> translator: there used to be no wall here. it used to be a passage. >> reporter: a wall has been

built to segregate the fish dumplings production space from the other spaces to prevent contamination. last october, the pork free dumplings were certificate fide as halal. the president of the company was in singapore to showcase and sell his firm's dumplings at a trade fair of halal products from all over the world. >> reporter: by the second day, the gyoxa sold out. after returning home, he

discussed with his staff ways to make the packaging for the dumplings more appealing. he showed examples of packages often used in the halal market. >> translator: you can tell right away what's inside. the photo on the package shows the product. >> reporter: in the end, the company decided to call it gyoza with a big photo on t package. >> tlator: make inroads into the iam et t mutual eif process. indonesia and served o

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row over the dissident. a foreign ministry spokesperson says if chen wants to leav china and study abroad, he can file aapicio >>ranslator: chen can appl through normal channels to relevant departments, just like r intinso. >>heesfr h arrest and sought help at the u.s. embassy in beijin he was transfeedo hoit on wednesday following negotiio bwe t cne anu. geren. the u.s. said chen had agreed to mo ta fela ohiown choicechina withis family, buthbld tistat said he wanted to go to the united states with his family, fointhtwgovernments to resume negotiations over his fate. we'll be back with more news next hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo. have a great day wherever you are.