welcome to "newsline." it's wednesday, may 27th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. people in india are suffering through a fatal heat wave. officials say the extreme conditions have left more than 1100 people dead. and they expect the scorching weather to last for at least one more day. temperatures on tuesday rose to 46.4 degrees celsius in the capital new delhi and 47 degrees in the eastern parts of the country. authorities are reporting many deaths in the southern states. most of the dead are workers in poor farming areas. >> translator: it's very hot.

it's too hot to work. >> translator: i feel so bad because of this weather. >> local government leaders are trying to assess the damage caused by the extreme heat. they're using tv stations to advise people to avoid going outside during the day. officials are also handing out medicine in villages. officials with the u.n. children agency say the islamic militant group boko haram is carrying out cruel acts against young people. they say there's been an alarming rise in suicide bombings by girls and women in nigeria. they say 27 attacks have already taken place this year. they say that exceeds last year's number of 26. unicef officials say boko haram kidnaps children and women and forces them to carry out suicide bombings. a representative in nigeria spoke to nhk and stressed they are victims. >> children are used as instruments. for suicide attacks for various reasons.

it is more easy to intimidate children than adults to participate. secondly, it is easier for children to enter public places unseen. >>. the former military ruler won nigeria's presidential election in march. he will be inaugurated on friday. unicef plans to ask the incoming president to secure the safety of children who are exposed to the threat of boko haram. iraqi government forces have launched a massive operation to retake the city of ramadi. fierce fighting continues as they try to regain ground from the islamic state militant group. >> translator: we've launched a military operation to liberate ramadi and other cities. >> the government forces are joined by thousands of shia muslim militiamen. they're advancing toward ramadi, about 100 kilometers

away from the capital baghdad. the forces reportedly drove islamic state fighters out of a town about 20 kilometers south of ramadi. a spokesman for the shia fighters says the troops are closing in on ramadi from three directions. he says sunni muslims opposed to the islamic state group are also joining the operation. the deputy governor spoke to nhk on the phone. >> translator: the militant group placed many soldiers in ramadi. they not only carry out cruel acts including destroying houses but also plant bombs in urban districts and take family members of iraqi military personnel as hostages. they're preparing for attacks by the government troops. we have succeeded in blocking almost all the major supply routes for the militants. this is the first step in isolating them. >> the united nations reports

nearly 70,000 people have fled ramadi for baghdad and other city, but over 20,000 displaced people are waiting to cross a bridge over the euphrates river. government officials are taking time to screen them as militants might be mingled with them. the bridge is on the only safe route to baghdad. >> translator: we've suffered a lot. all of our property and animals have been destroyed. we don't know the fate of our family members. >> u.n. officials say they're setting up about 250 tents near the bridge, but intense heat has reportedly caused some deaths. chinese government officials have begun a construction project on islands in the south china sea. they held ground breaking ceremonies at the planned locations of two lighthouses on the spratly islands. the state-run xinhua news agency reports the ministry of transport is building the facilities on cuateron reef and

johnson reef. the planned lighthouses will be 50 meters tall and the search lights will reach distances of 40 kilometers. a spokesperson for the foreign ministry stressed that the construction work is for peaceful purposes. >> translator: building a lighthouse is an important measure for china to fulfill its international responsibilities and obligations. the lighthouse will be highly effective for guiding ships through the area. it will improve navigational safety in the south china sea. >> china is reclaiming land on reefs around the spratly islands. officials from neighboring countries are voicing concerns that china is planning military facilities on the islands. a japanese military analyst says beijing has no choice but to assert control of the waters. he is a former navy captain with japan's maritime self-defense force.

>> it is the fundamental condition for pursuing the chinese security. so the sea bed resources are of first importance but second one is maritime transportation. china recognized the south china sea is the last sea, last waters china can have. the international society to criticize china. but china will not restore compromise to them because the south china sea is the vital interest for china because their target rival is only united states, not other countries. on the other hand, stable condition of south china sea is

very important for the izian pacific region and also the international society. taiwan's president ma ying-jeou aims to ease tensions in the south china sea. he is proposing a regional dialogue and peace initiative, including a code of conduct. >> i would like to propose the south china sea peace initiative as a viable means of dealing with current issues in this region. >> ma outlined his idea at an international law forum. his initiative includes joint development of natural resources while putting territorial disputes to one side. he said lessons from history should be converted into efforts to promote peace and stability. and he urged countries in the region to exercise restraint. taiwan has no major dispute with china over territories in the south china sea, but effectively controls taiping, one of the spratly islands.

u.s. military mike rogers has expressed concern over china's actions in the south china sea. he said china has been aggressive. he said the speed at which the country's advancing is a threat that cannot be ignored, and he emphasized the necessity for japan, the u.s. and neighboring countries to work together. >> if we continue to work collaboratively and are successful in our efforts to meet whatever effort they bring so that they know ultimately it's not going to be successful in achieving the ends that they desire. >> rogers also said there's a need for the u.s. to deploy military technology to japan and elsewhere in the asia pacific to respond to possible threats from north korea. transport officials in thailand are considering japanese bullet train technology for a high-speed rail project. ai uchida joins us from the business desk with all the details. good morning. >> good morning, catherine. >> these bullet trains, the

shinkansen shinkansen, i guess you could say they're the epitome of japanese technology. and railway operators here along with government officials have worked hard to gain contracts around the world. now japanese and thai governments are expected to exchange memorandums on a high-speed railway for thailand. japan has offered the thai government its technological and financial assistance. the project is a high-speed 700 kilometer link between the capital bangkok and a tourist destination in the north. japanese transport minister is scheduled to meet his thai counterpart in tokyo on wednesday to exchange a memorandum of cooperation. it's expected the two countries will agree that the project will incorporate japanese technology and experience in the field of high-speed rail. most trains in thailand run on single tracks and not

electrified. but with economic growth in mind the country needs fast trains to move large numbers of passengers. the thai government expects japan to financially assist the $12 billion project. japan is thailand's largest investor. japanese officials plan to conduct on-site inspections from next month for the proposed project. let's now check in on markets. we did see the dollar surge overnight, and that swayed stock markets. the u.s. currency rose to above 123 yen. that is the highest level in seven years ten months. it has recovered to levels we saw before the global financial crisis triggered by the collapse of lehman brothers. for more let's go to the tokyo stock exchange. what are you seeing so far? >> good morning. the dollar rapidly gained after a string of upbeat u.s. economic data increased prospect that a rate hike in the u.s. could occur much sooner than expected.

dollar/yen is currently just above 123 yen at 123.04. the greenback broke its key technical level of 122 yen during late asian trading hours yesterday, and after that it quickly hit the highest since july 2007 and that was on the back of friday's inflation data and hawkish comments by fed chair janet yellen. yesterday dollar buying fueled up with consumer confidence and new home sales. the dollar spike led to a sell-off in u.s. stocks on tuesday with the dow jones suffering its biggest one-day drop in three weeks closing down over 1%. and here in tokyo, stocks are snapping its longest winning streak since last summer following the negative the nikkei is opening at 20,381 now down about a quarter percent and the topix is down 0.3%. analysts are pointing out that a sudden spike in the dollar is hitting stocks because some

american companies are already struggling from sluggish global revenue due to currency fluctuations. and here in japan the weak yen, it may not benefit from the weak yen as much as it used to because some analysts are saying the weak yen is a tailwind for exporters but on the other hand weighs on smaller businesses because imported materials soar. ai? >> tell us more about that surge in the dollar. you mentioned yellen's comments a stream of positive data. anything else? >> that's right. dealers rushed to the greenback as they sold off the euro, actually, not just the yen. fears about greece's ability to meet its repayment schedule remain in political uncertainty and spain also weighed on the single currency. so the euro slipped to a one-month low against both the dollar and yen. dollar is now around 1.0882 compared to the level last week. i'll keep track of moves and currency markets and other asian markets. i'll be back in a few hours with an update.

back to you, ai. >> sounds good. we'll touch base with you then. thanks a lot. officials at shingingko is in talks with a mergy group. mismanagement plunged it into crisis soon after opening. sources say shingingko tokyo is considering a merger with the tokyo ty financial group. shingingko would then become the group's subsidiary. the tokyo government owns about 80% of shingingko's voting shares. if the merger goes ahead, the bank would exchange those shares for those in the financial group. shingingko was bailed out with about $330 million at current rates by the tokyo government following the financial crash of 2008. the funds were taken from taxes paid by tokyo citizens. the tokyo government has promised the tokyo metropolitan assembly the value of the funds will not be marked down. it is time now for "view

from the top." manga has emerged from japanese subculture to become famous across the world. top manga author has made millions of fans with her distinctive storylines. nhk talks to her about how she comes up with her ideas. >> reporter: in the movie an ancient roman time travel to modern japan and experiences its public baths. the box office hit and about $50 million. the movie was adapted from a comic by mari yamasaki. she broke the common boundaries of comic ideas. what do you mean by breaking the boundaries? >> we are all surrounded by

walls. such as stereotypes and public images. if we learn to live outside those frameworks, we could enjoy freedom. i removed fixed perceptions of what manga should be. i didn't care if it would sell or not. i just wanted to write something that i wanted to read. >> yamazaki started breaking boundaries when she was 14. she spent one month traveling across europe. she was alone and couldn't speak the local language. and it was her mother who urged her to go. >> i was taken right out of my comfort zone. i felt like i had been dropped in freezing cold water or boiling water.

i don't know. my world was turned upside down. >> reporter: it was an experience that she couldn't forget. she went to italy to study painting when she was 17. she says she slept on a bench in a train station when she couldn't pay rent. she said such extreme experiences set her free from the common sense that kept her imagination restrained. she says stepping out into the world alone made her tough. she laments that japanese people lack the courage to overcome the boundaries. >> many people are told not to do this and not to do that. it's like living in a sterile room protected from poison and it feels so cramped.

i think it's more important to build up my immunity by eating mg lying on the ground so i have the strength to live in the coldest or hottest places. >> reporter: so can we practice yamazaki's way of thinking? most of us belong to social groups like companies. so how can we live outside the boundaries? >> it's important to try to do something outside of your comfort zone. maybe try to speak with people that you find boring and try to liven up their conversations. it is better not to have a set image of yourself but people usually do. we are not as weak as we think. we think we won't be able to deal with responsibilities if something happens, but we usually do. okay. so it's better not to be negative. there's a saying that says if you love your children send them out into the world. i think people should try that themselves. >> more for you in business next

hour. here's a check on markets. japanese diet members are debating one of the biggest changes to the nation's security policy in the 70 years since the end of world war ii. the prime minister wants the country to exercise its right to collective self-defense, and he says the self-defense forces could use force in foreign territory in limited cases. yuk eedano is a member of the largest democratic party.

he asked shinzo abe what activities the sdf would be able to perform under the new legislation. the government set three requirements. in order for the defense minister's earlier assertion that japan could use force in foreign territories including attacking enemy bases if the circumstances meet the conditions. >> the defense minister's comment is totally inconsistent that japan never aims to enter foreign territories or waters for the purpose of combat activities. that's misleading. >> prime minister abe said the sdf are not allowed to participate in fighting in wars such as the gulf war or iraq war. he said that clearly goes beyond the criteria which limits the use of force to the minimum extent necessary and violates the constitution but he took up one of the possibilities, mine sweeping operations. >> translator: mine sweeping can be considered exceptional.

the purpose of such operations is to protect civilian vessels from underwater danger and secure safe navigation. so the nature of the activities is passive and limited which could make the three conditions for the use of force even in foreign territories. >> abe spoke on how to secure the safety of sdf personnel. he said the draft legislation covers various measures to minimize their risk. and he reiterated the new security policy will also lower the risk the nation and the people of japan may face. protesters rallied in front of the diet building. they're afraid the new policy could send the new country to war. 900 people gathered. bills enabling japan to fight wars must not be enacted. they said war renouncing article nine of the constitution must be maintained. >> translator: the legislation will destroy article nine. i think we should stop anything

that will let the sdf kill or be killed abroad. >> translator: i fear that our husbands children grandchildren and loved ones could be sent away for war. >> the demonstrators say they'll rally every week during the diet session. now, a former head of the sdf says it's necessary to debate how the government should face the possibility of war casualties. no sdf members have lost their lives in battle in the six decades of its history. takashi takashi saito welcomed the new national security bills. >> translator: i don't think the new legislation will put sdf personnel at much greater risk. their current missions have some risk. japan has been extremely lucky

that we haven't lost anyone in battle. we should not take that for granted. >> saito said it's also time for citizens to think of the possibility of war dead. in other news ecuador's galapagos islands are known for rare animal species. experts are concerned about the impact that a volcanic eruption there could have on one species. wolf volcano on the island began spewing smoke and lava on monday. officials at the galapagos park office says there's no major damage and the volcano is far from the human population. however, the area near the voel keino is home to the pink iguana. the species is on a red list of critically endangered animals. park officials say the iguanas are currently safe where they are because the lava is flowing down the other side of the volcano.

people in the u.s. state of texas and neighboring areas including a border town in mexico are being hit with severe weather conditions. flash flooding has inundated roads and damaged thousands of homes. mai shoji joins us from the weather desk with the latest. >> catherine, you're right. unfortunately, i can't really give you a great relief to show into the next coming days. there's some showers still lingering across these locations, and the ongoing flooding continues to plague texas and oklahoma. we have images coming from houston today. this is actually coming out from this week after heavy rains hit the area over the long american holiday weekend. seven deaths have been reported but at this time over a dozen people are still missing. numerous counties in texas are now under a state of emergency. the widespread damage to homes and travel delays and power outages have been recorded in the state during this record breaking rainfall.

a tornado hit northern mexico as well killing 13 people and leaving over a hundred injured. the situation is not yet good at all, as you can see from these images. we actually have a stationary boundary that's creating these kind of severe weather and still covering dallas and oklahoma city on your tuesday evening and stretching from the deep south and into the great lakes region. and you can't rule out the fact that the tornadoes could again spawn damaging gusts and large hail. we have numerous reports this morning and three tornado touchdowns. so this is continuing. it's likely to spread towards the east. but take a look at this. the wettest month on record already on may 26 data. 482 millimeters have fallen in oklahoma city exceeding the previous record. take a look at dallas. 507 millimeters in just one month. and the month still goes on we still have about a week to go left. so this number is still

increasing. now, as you can see, the stationary boundary still lingering across a similar location. much of the eastern half of the continent will see the showers and thunderstorms to linger but finally a dissipation in sight into the next 24 hours in some locations in texas with that rainfall. the great basin and the northern plains will still continue to see some showers and thunderstorms linger there. these are the temperatures. you're looking at 30s again in washington, d.c. and a lot of rain and thunderstorms across much of the eastern half of this continent on your wednesday. now, across here in eastern continental asia we are looking at that heat. yesterday we had that heat making it for 30.9 degrees here in tokyo in the metropolitan region. that made it for the hottest day so far this year oita reaching 33. that's the hottest of all japan. even beijing reaching 33 but this is likely to continue i'm afraid. that's likely to continue all the way through our friday. do watch out for heat stroke because the overnight temperatures aren't going to be that low. so this is where that heat

stroke danger builds up. as for the stationary boundary that's lingering here across southeastern china, we're still likely to see some showers continue. so further flooding is going to be at huge risk. flooding and also some hail as well as unstable conditions including some possibly tornadic activity could be spawned by this cold front lingering here always stretching into northern italy. and we're likely to see that pull into greece and turkey as well. so we're likely to see more chances of large hailstorms out here across bigger picture, though, the iberian peninsula, france, germany, these are areas where you're likely to see clear skies, maybe cloudy skies in berlin. enjoy that sun while you can. i'll leave you now for an extended forecast.

and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do join us again at the top of the hour. we'll be back with more updates.

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michaela: hello and welcome to "global 3000." education means a chance to escape poverty, to build a better future for yourself and your children. that's backed up by many statistics, and that's also what our correspondents around the globe keep reporting back to us. but in the united states, of all places, more and more young people find themselves trapped by the costs of launching a career. we find out why, and here's what else we have coming up for you

over the next half-hour. debt traps -- how student loans are plaguing the lives of young americans. magic mountains -- how the andes provide drinking water for millions.