glad you can join us for nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. military officials in eastern ukraine are investigating an explosion at an ammunition depot as an act of terror. they say the blast was sparked by a flare fired into the depot from outside. two residents were killed and four others injured. the explosion on thursday night tore through a military facility in svatove, around 100 kilometers from the front line with pro-russian separatists. about 3,500 tons of ammunition was being stored at the site. the government says the blast damaged houses nearby. local media report rockets flying more than 20 kilometers

from the depot and coming close to railway tracks. the blast comes during a lull in violence in the region. the ukrainian government and pro-russian separatists agreed last month to uphold a truce. their conflict has killed thousands since april 2014. civilians in syria have been caught up in a government missile attack on a rebel-held town near the capital. a human rights group says at least 40 people were killed and about 100 wounded. the british-based syrian observatory for human rights says troops fired at least 10 missiles into a market in duma. the group condemned the assad administration for launching the attack which killed and wounded civilians. government forces killed at least 80 people in the same town with air strikes in august.

troops are keeping up their attacks on neighboring cities using lethal barrel bombs. authorities in greece are reporting more tragedies in the european migration crisis. they say two boats sank in the aegean sea and that dozens of people died. officials at the greek merchant marine ministry say a boat carrying about 150 migrants sank near the island of kalimnos. they say 19 died. they also say a boat went down off the island of zozod and three people died. several boats sank or got wrecked in the space of two days. they say they rescued 600 people and confirmed the deaths of 48, including three children. they believe the boats had sailed from turkey. greek prime minister alexis tsipras expressed his sorrow. he condemned what he described as europe's inability to address the human drama. he said he's ashamed of a debate in which everyone tries to shift responsibility.

the philippines has welcomed a decision by the permanent court of arbitration in the netherlands to hear some claims it filed against china concerning disputed territories in the south china sea. patchari raksawong joins us from our bangkok studio. >> the philippine government submitted its case in 2013. china has maintained the court has no jurisdiction to rule on it. but on thursday, the court said it does have the authority to hear some of the philippines cases, the government in manila has welcomed the ruling, which appears to give its position against china a welcome boost. nhk world's charmaine deogracis reports. >> we welcome the decision of the tribunal. the ruling on the jurisdiction paves the way for the furtherance of the proceedings to evaluate the merits of the position. we will await advice from the

tribunal. >> reporter: china took this shoal under its de facto control in 2012 and has been reclaiming islands in the spratlys. the permanent court of arbitration found that these and other cases were valid for it to consider. one cornerstone of the philippines legal strategy is to seek the invalidation of china's so-called nine dash line. china claims it has historic right to sovereignty inside the line which takes in almost the entire south china sea. manila claims the line should not be recognized under the u.n. convention on the law of the sea. the court says it will decide whether the line is also subject to its authority. china has reacted sharply to the court's decision. >> translator: the plea denies

china's interests. it's intended to confirm philippine interests and will not resolve the dispute. we don't accept the hearing and will remain firm in our position not to take part in the proceedings. >> reporter: the philippines' most powerful ally, the united states, welcomed the court's decision. >> we don't take a position on the claims, do take a position on coercion, want all of these disputes to be resolved peacefully, diplomatically and through international legal mechanisms, such as arbitrations. >> reporter: earlier this week, the u.s. navy sent an aegis destroyer within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built by china, challenging china's claim to the territory. the arbitration court's ruling is legally binding. but the court has no power to enforce it. the philippines hopes a

favorable ruling will strengthen its claims. manila apparently plans to further cooperate with the u.s. to challenge china's strategy. charmaine deogracias, nhk world, manila. vietnam is another country in dispute with china in the south china sea. and next week vietnam will host chinese president xi jinping for talks. china's vice foreign minister lu zhenmin said that the talks will cover the south china sea. >> translator: there is a difference in understanding between china and vietnam over the south china sea issue. both countries recognize each other as an important partner and are working hard to resolve the issue concerning the waters through dialogue. >> china's foreign ministry said xi will visit vietnam on november 5th and will leave for singapore the following day.

he's scheduled to meet the head of vietnam's communist party and president. and will give a speech at vietnam's parliament. china said xi's visit will deepen political exchanges and advance cooperation in infrastructure development. nhk's correspondent in beijing says xi's visit is designed to mollify the impact of the territorial dispute by providing economic and political cooperation with vietnam. in the chaotic days after world war ii ended, a bloody incident in indonesia left more than 1,200 dead, both indonesians and japanese. seven decades later, historians on both sides are only just beginning to understand what might have happened. nhk world's yusuke ota reports from indonesia. >> reporter: a ceremony to commemorate october 14 tot mark 70 years since the crash in

samarra and remember the victims. the japanese imperial military occupied what was then dutch colonial indonesia during the war. when japan surrendered in 1945, tensions grew between local indonesians and the defeated japanese. a play re-enacting the incident was performed at the ceremony. indonesians preparing to fight the netherlands for independence demanded japanese soldiers hand over their weapons. but forces prohibited that and the japanese refused. what happened next is unclear to this day. but the standoff turned deadly and at least 1,200 people died. seven decades later a japanese historian is trying to piece together what happened. kenji ota came to indonesia last year and teaches at the

university. >> translator: i believe keeping the victims' memory alive will be useful for the next generation. >> reporter: several indonesians studying local history are working and sharing views with oda about the incident. hundreds of japanese, mostly civilians, were reportedly detained at this prison and killed when japanese soldiers refused to hand over their weapons. >> translator: 400 japanese were reportedly cast into tin cells. all of them were said to have died. >> reporter: oda said japanese documents and testimonies suggest the bloody incident prompted the japanese to retaliate with force. but the indonesians have a different story. they took oda to a water purifying facility.

>> translator: there was information that the japanese had poisoned the water. that was one reason for the clashes. >> reporter: the group's leader says an indonesian doctor was apparently shot by japanese when he was heading to the facility to check the water. that made people angry. the researchers started to examine their documents together. >> it's a difference that we can, how to say, we can confirm the differences. >> translator: i agree not everything related to japan is bad. >> reporter: each believes they can make the other side see the same historical event from a different perspective.

>> translator: we found out some different points about the incident. the discussion was tough, but it was a valuable experience. >> translator: the most important thing is to learn together. not just what i believe is wrong or he believes is wrong but how we can complete our knowledge together. we learn so that the bad things we know will not happen again. >> reporter: the indian and japanese researchers are gathering and recording fragmentary information from both sides. they want to shed light on this post-war tragedy has only just begun. yusuke ota, nhk world, semarang, indonesia. >> that wraps up our bulletin. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok.

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." u.n. officials are pushing governments to go further in their efforts to limit global warming. they say national plans will not limit the rising global temperatures to an agreed threshold. still, they say that goal is within reach. u.n. climate change officials seized -- assessed nearly 150 plants to cut greenhouse gas emissions. they say the plans cannot limit the global temperature rise to less than two degrees celsius. the u.n.'s top climate change officer says they point to a rise of 2.7. still, she described them as an excellent first step.

she said the two-degree goal could stay within reach depending on what governments agree at the climate change talks next month. u.n. officials say greenhouse gas emissions will exceed nine billion tons by 2025. still they say the amount by 2030 will be 4 billion tons less than it would be if governments took no action. tokyo police and cybersecurity experts are investigating claims that an international group of hackers is targeting japanese websites. the officials tell nhk the attacks by the group anonymous started in september. the officials say one of the main targets was the holding company that owns the largest postal savings system, japan post group. it happened on october 12. no damage was reported. that was followed by a number of other incidents. earlier this week access to the websites of the osaka-based

railway company, nankai electric, and an aquarium in central japan was disrupted for several hours. the news site run by tokyo-based publisher kakukawa also became a target and was paralyzed for nearly a week. it's thought the hackers are using a tactic known as or called ddos. they flood websites with massive amounts of data which makes them impossible to access. a person who claims to be a member of anonymous tweeted that the company has attacked 23 companies and organizations within japan and would continue to attack various japanese-based websites. the japanese foreign minister has expressed hope this weekend's summit of leaders of japan, china and south korea will lead to strengthened ties. japanese prime minister shinzo abe, li keiqang and south

korean president park geun-hye will meet on sunday. fumio kishida is also scheduled to join. >> i hope the leaders will have a frank and candid exchange of opinions and that the summit is meaningful. >> kishida says they're expected to discuss a wide range of deals, including the economy, culture and environment. he says he will meet separately with the chinese foreign minister and south korean foreign minister before the summit. kishida says he hopes to hold meaningful discussions ahead of abe's separate meetings with li and park. prime minister abe's visit to south korea starting sunday is generating a lot of interest in seoul. his meeting on monday with south korean president park will be their first-ever bilateral summit. as nhk world reports, people's passions have been stirred in a number of ways. >> reporter: civic groups braved the cold weather on friday to gather near the japanese embassy

in seoul to express their opposition to abe's visit. say they're hoping for a resolution to the issue of those referred to as war time comfort women. >> reporter: their strong opposition was reflected in their demonstration, which included satire performances involving the two leaders. after the demonstration, some of the protesters, including a former comfort woman, unexpectedly walked into the embassy. she tried to meet with the japanese ambassador. she said she handed over the request to japanese officials. >> translator: i cried with sadness when i think about our friends who passed away.

we have to solve this problem by all means. i want abe to bring some solutions. if not, he's not allowed to visit our country. >> reporter: but not all south koreans opposed abe's visit. those who work with japanese tourists are worried about the future of the jobs. souring relations between south korea and japan have led to a decrease in the number of japanese visitors in the past few years. >> translator: we are hopeful that normalizing ties between the two countries will lead to an improvement in tourism and more tourists. >> reporter: opinions on abe's visit vary depending on people's positions and experiences. but it is true a number of people are interested in the talks and their results. experts say it is difficult to anticipate any dramatic changes, however, people in seoul are expecting the meeting between the two leaders could lead to some improvement in ties.

kim chan-ju, nhk world, seoul. the number of foreign visitors coming to japan is booming. in the first nine months of this year, the number of tourist arrivals reached a whopping 14 million, more than for the whole of 2014. these tourists are spending money, and what they buy is giving japan's economy a major shot in the arm. nhk world's mitsuko nishikawa has the story. >> reporter: the record number of tourists here spent more than 1,000 billion yen, fully $8.3 billion in the just the last three months. and japan's retailers are taking steps to help them spend even

more. this major department store in central tokyo has opened this new section selling cosmetics, aimed at the city's hordes of foreign shoppers, as well as japanese. booths are filled with japanese brand name cosmetics. sales representatives say they sell well because of their reputation for quality. what they call the cosme annex is directly connected to this station. foreign guides are there to assist customers to find what they need at the newly built information center. >> welcome, could i help you? >> reporter: a tax refund center is right next door. >> translator: they have many choices and it's so convenient. >> translator: it's great that i can get a refund on the consumption tax right after shopping. >> reporter: department store managers say people from

overseas are becoming important clients. >> translator: we have three times more foreign customers than last year. we hope that the number of foreign customers will keep growing. >> reporter: other retail stores and restaurants in tokyo are also coming up with new business tactics to draw international shoppers' attention. japan's biggest home appliance store chain has developed a new outlet near tokyo station. the ten-story building offers the latest appliances, electronics and souvenirs. robots welcome customers with basic chinese and english to provide floor information. >> i can speak three languages. >> reporter: the japan tourism agency expects the influx of foreign tourists to the country will continue to rise. they say the weaker yen and consumption tax break on more items for foreign travelers are behind the current boost in their spending. the japanese government has set

a target of attracting 20 million visitors per year by 2020. japanese businesses can no longer expect the country's shrinking population to be a major driving force of the economy. greater investment, better services and policies to bring more visitors will be the norm for years to come. mitsuko nishikawa, nhk world, tokyo. japan is not where halloween originated, but in recent years, more and more people have been taking part. halloween in japan is quite different and foreign tourists are flocking here to experience it. it's still a ways off, but that is not stopping the crowds in tokyo. nhk world's kazuaki hirama reports from a busy crossing in the capital. >> reporter: right now i'm standing at busiest intersection in the world. shibuya crossing. this is where the halloween party is at. as you can see, people are

dressed up in costumes like ghosts and goblins, and here those young women are dressed up in animation characters. japan is not where halloween originated from, but we've started seeing those people in cosplay since a number of years ago. one thing that makes this year's halloween unique and different from the past is the participation of foreign visitors. this year, we have a record number of foreign tourists in japan, and we see foreigners not only taking pictures, but actually dressing up and taking part. at a couple of days ago i met a japanese young woman who was getting ready to come out here today. she has told me what intrigues her about dressing up on halloween. so here's her story. check this out. toshie maeda, 28, is an office worker. she works so hard, she can never get away from her mobile phone, even on weekends, she says cosplay gives her a break from

her busy daily life. >> translator: i enjoy posting photos of myself in halloween costumes on my facebook page. i can show my friends i get a kick out of it. and i can forget everything about my work. >> reporter: every year before halloween, maeda spends lots of time choosing her costume. every day after work she looks for a costume in akihabara, a tokyo district known for anime and manga collectibles. she spends more and more on halloween costumes as the year goes by. >> translator: i hope everyone will like my costume and say, hey, you are really into this. >> reporter: maeda is going to wear her new outfit at a pre-halloween party with her friends. she spends half an hour dressing up.

she even cut the hair of the wig to make her look like a real character. maeda has dressed as the princess named mononoke from a japanese anime. >> happy halloween. >> reporter: maeda and her friends are looking forward to showing off in their cute costumes. this desire to impress others has made cosplay very popular among young japanese people at halloween. >> translator: my wish to be transformed into someone else always comes true on halloween. it would be embarrassing to walk downtown in costume on a regular day, but on halloween, everybody's in costume so i feel at ease dressing up.

>> reporter: well folks, i've tried one on myself. and as maeda said in the footage, it does make me feel that i want to impress someone with my costume. well, how do you like this? well, as we go into midnight, the party is going to be bigger and bigger, like my stomach. and more people with more costumes. from the center of the action, kazuaki hirama, nhk world. happy halloween. let's check out the weather for halloween weekend.

the skies over the southwestern japanese city of saga have taken on an autumn color of their own. thanks to dozens of hot air balloons. friday marked the start of an annual international balloon contest, one of the largest in the world.

more than 120 balloons are taking part in the 2015 saga international balloon fiesta. the balloonists are being judged on their flying and navigating skills. they must maneuver their craft by reading the strength and direction of the wind and then drop markers as close as possible to targets on the ground. >> translator: it's the first time i've ever seen this festival. it's amazing. i never imagined they could navigate the balloons so smoothly. >> organizers expect about 900,000 people will visit to catch sight of the balloons over the course of the five-day event. and we leave you this hour with these pictures of colorful skies. thank you for watching nhk "newsline."

steves: the dramatic rock of cashel is one of ireland's most evocative sites.

this was the seat of ancient irish kings for seven centuries. st. patrick baptized king aengus here in about 450 a.d. in around 1100, an irish king gave cashel to the church, and it grew to become the ecclesiastical capital of all ireland. 800 years ago, this monastic community was just a chapel and a round tower standing high on this bluff. it looked out then, as it does today, over the plain of tipperary, called the golden vale because its rich soil makes it ireland's best farmland. on this historic rock, you stroll among these ruins in the footsteps of st. patrick, and wandering through my favorite celtic cross graveyard, i feel the soul of ireland.

>> hello, and welcome to "global 3000." have you ever wondered what you would do to survive, and how much money you'd need? well, in the slums of nairobi, sex is sold for less than the price of a beer. and for many women there, the sex industry is their only chance to earn any money at all. many have had to survive on their own since they were just children, and they've done so through sex work. it's just one of the issues we're looking at on this week's program. holding her ground - a ugandan activist fights for lgbt rights in her homeland. searching high and low for the saola, an extremely rare bovid in vietnam. and representing the millennium - our teenager this time around comes from the caribbean.