hello, and thank you for joiningous this edition of "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. share prices in new york have plunged. the slide in crude oil prices is worrying investors about the health of the global economy. investors dumped a wide range of shares from the start of friday's trading. at one point the dow jones industrial average fell more than 530 points. it ended 2.4% down from thursday's close at 15,988. the dow is below 16,000 for the first time since august. that's when china's economic problems sparked a global market rout. u.s. crude oil futures slipped

back below 30a barrel. it's also their lowest level since november 2003. the benchmark west texas intermediate dipped to the lower $29 range in new york. traders placed sell orders after a sharp decline in shanghai stocks on friday. renewed fears of oil demand in china. they are worried increased iranian oil output will worsen the market glut. sanctions are expected to be lifted in the near future. taiwan's opposition leader tsai ing-wen appears to command a strong lead going into the election, but experts say the size of her win and the number of seats her party takes in legislative elections could have a big impact on ties with china. nhk world's naoki makita reports from taipei. >> reporter: ruling candidate eric chu has battled strong headwinds ever since he entered the race in october.

national party leader chu is holding his biggest rally of the election campaign. he's asking supporters to stick together until the very end. chu mobilized more than 70,000 people in taipei. >> translator: peaceful cross-strait relations are vital to ensure the people of taiwan have both social stability and economic prosperity. >> translator: taiwan policies on china are really vague. we're afraid of what might happen to taiwan if she becomes president. >> reporter: staff from the camp have used deep campaign war chests to run advertising grids, and chu has repeatedly used words such as peace and stability to paint his rival as a risky option. many voters are keenly aware that relations with mainland china could hinge on the outcome. >> translator: if the chinese

government orders our factories out of the mainland, there won't be a thing taiwanese authorities can do about it. >> translator: it is no use going on about our identity as taiwanese people. the important thing is focusing on economic growth. >> reporter: but chu has failed to advance his lackluster showing in the polls. meanwhile, tsai has been campaigning hard in strongholds. tsai ing-wen has been reaching out to young voters by putting particular emphasis on the internet and social media. an animated character inspired by tsai is featured in online videos. the cute cartoon figure explains the party's policies on issues ranging from food safety to house prices.

images of tsai also appear on souvenirs that are designed to highlight her appeal as an ordinary, approachable person. >> reporter: tsai is urging young supporters to back local legislative candidates as well. she knows it's crucial to securing the majority her party needs to rule effectively. >> translator: please give me the mandate i need to press ahead with reform. help me to win a strong backing in the legislature. >> reporter: tsai has tried to address concerns over her position on china. she's given assurances that she'll keep the relationship as it is. >> her policy is not so clear, and even china maintains some ambiguous with respect to

cross-strait policy, but people in taiwan would have to trust, give her opportunity to balance policies previously adopted by president ma of china. >> reporter: people expect cross-strait relations to be a decisive issue in the campaign. however, so far, tsai has been able to dodge the tough questions. but if she wins the ballot, she'll have no choice but to show people in both taiwan and mainland china where she really stands. naoki makita, nhk world, taipei. in other news, authorities in central japan are investigating a deadly bus crash. they are trying to figure out how and why it went off a mountain road. killing 14 people. as nhk world's keiko yamamoto reports, they are zeroing in on the working conditions of long-distance drivers.

>> reporter: the overnight bus was supposed to arrive at the ski resort in nagano with 41 people on board. but around 2:00 a.m. friday, it veered into the opposite lane, broke through a guardrail and fell 30 meters. >> translator: we suddenly swerved widely. and the next thing i knew, i was outside of the vehicle. >> reporter: a tokyo-based tour agency says the bus originated here, and most of the passengers were in their late teens and early 20s. >> translator: we cannot find the words to express our sincere apology to the families who lost loved ones. >> reporter: bus company operators said the two drivers were experienced with at least

ten years behind the wheel, and neither had reported health problems. police say road conditions were clear at the time. >> translator: the possibility of skidding on snow or ice is slim. there's a high likelihood that the accident occurred as a result of something being wrong with the driver. >> reporter: this expert says what might have been wrong with the driver could be the issue japan's transport ministry has been trying to address. as competition among tour bus operators intensifies, working conditions for drivers decreases. a 2012 crash killed seven people and injured 38. police say the driver admitted to dozing off. and the ministry cut back on time drivers spent on the road at night.

and he pointed out another factor, price competition. >> translator: expressways are toll roads, so some companies may opt to use free, ordinary roads to minimize costs. how much the bus operators can earn from passengers is crucial. many of them are struggling financially, so they must be keen on cutting costs as much as possible. >> reporter: nhk obtained the schedule of the bus involved in the accident. and it appears the driver was traveling on the public highway, a different route from the expressway scheduled. transport ministry officials say the bus operator involved had already broke a few rules.

a majority of the drivers had not undergone health checkups, and new drivers weren't tested to see if they were fit for the job. ministry officials are now conducting a safety inspection. keiko yamamoto, nhk world. jakarta's police chief has named the suspected mastermind of thursday's deadly attack in the indonesian capital. patchari raksawong at our bureau in bangkok is following the story. >> the coordination of thursday's attack was unprecedented in a country where regional extremists have been severely weakened. police say the threat is no longer just from home-grown jihadis.

bahar im, an indonesian man fighting with islamic state militants, is controlling activities from syria. >> -- in other countries also. work together because it is not a home-grown terrorism only in indonesia. this is a part of isis network. >> he says naim directed the five men in the attack. a group calling itself the islamic state said it was responsible. it was the first attack claimed by the group in indonesia. police say they retrieved an islamic state flag from the home of the one of the five attackers killed in the gun battle. indonesian authorities have been cracking down on domestic extremists since the 2002 bombings in bali that killed more than 200. the efforts have reduced the scale and frequency of terror attacks, but now the country must cope with the growing threat of radical muslims inspired by islamic state militants.

a majority of indonesians are moderate muslims. many have responded sharply to the brazen attack. on friday, hundreds of schoolchildren and their teachers gathered in protest in central jakarta. >> translator: indonesian students are not frightened. we call for peace. we are not scared of terrorism. people of jakarta are not afraid. >> in the national mosque in jakarta, muslims called for unity. >> translator: i invite all people of indonesia to stand together in unity and against violence. our country must not be like this. we must not be frightened. our society must stand hand in hand. we must help each other.

>> translator: i still feel a little scared, but i know i should not be like this because i still need to go about my day-to-day life. >> in an interview, the head of indonesia's second largest muslim organization urged muslims not to be swayed by radical propaganda. former thai prime minister yingluck shinawatra has appeared in court on criminal negligence charges. she faces up to ten years in jail if found guilty of illegal involvement in a rice subsidy scheme. the program was a pet political cause for yingluck. by favoring thailand's farmers, it earned her a landslide victory in the 2011 election. under the scheme, the government bought rice from farmers at above market prices, but the plan led to huge losses for the state. prosecutors on friday presented four witnesses. the trial is expected to last until late 2016. >> translator: we believe we are

ready with our defense, but today is for the plaintiff to question witnesses. there may be additional testimonies aside from what has been given to the national anti-corruption commission. and as there are also some witnesses who are yet to report to the lawyers, there may be more questions which we will need to ask the court to consider. >> yingluck was banned from politics for five years in 2015. that was after the interim parliament voted to impeach her over the subsidy program. but she remains popular in the farming areas left behind by thailand's economic development. her prosecution under thailand's military regime is widely seen as politically motivated. many say it's an attempt to reduce the influence of yingluck and her brother, former prime minister thaksin shinawatra. thaksin was expelled from the country in a military coup in

2006 and is in self-imposed exile. that wraps 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." the chinese government has acknowledged it's been in contact with the u.s. government about a chinese businessman believed to be in the u.s. chinese officials say the man is carrying state secrets. >> translator: as for the case of ling wancheng, we are handling it and are communicating with the u.s. >> ling wancheng is the younger brother of ling jihua. beijing authorities arrested the older ling last year on suspicion of accepting huge bribes and other offenses.

he was a close aide to former president hu jintao. u.s. media says the younger ling obtained state secrets from his brother, then fled to the u.s. the case could become a diplomatic issue between china and the u.s. police in south korea are investigating a flood of bogus e-mails to civil servants. they suspect a cyberattack from the north. police say public employees began receiving the messages after north korea's latest nuclear test. the senders pretend to be the presidential office, the foreign ministry or the unification ministry. they ask how the south korean government should respond to the nuclear tests. police say the messages have not infected any computers with viruses. they are trying to figure out who is sending them. officials at japan's defense ministry have called off a mission to search for radioactive particles in the country's skies. self-defense force aircraft had been collecting dust and gas samples every day since last week after north korea conducted its latest nuclear test.

they found no traces of radiation. the aircraft began their flights right after the tests on january 6th. officials say no radioactive substances had been found by thursday and none would likely be detected after a certain period of time. they plan to conduct sampling flights at the same frequency as they did before the test. government officials say radiation readings at 308 monitoring posts across japan have been normal. they say they'll stop releasing the data every day and will only do so if abnormally high levels of radiation are detected. north korea's state-run media is once again reporting on an official who is believed to have been exiled to a remote farm. choe ryong hae is a close aide to the country's leader, and the report signals his punishment is over. the state media reported choe spoke on thursday at pyongyang at an official event.

it was the first report about him in almost three months. it provided official confirmation that he had been reinstated. south korea's intelligence service earlier indicated he had possibly been sent to the farm for what they called re-education. he allegedly mishandled a construction project. choe has frequently accompanied leader kim jong-un on inspection tours, and in september he represented north korea at a military parade in beijing. nasa is expanding its supply fleet for the international space station. officials chose three companies, including one that's building a mini shuttle. nasa plans to supply the space station until 2024. it's already giving missions to two companies, space-x and orbital atk. a mini shuttle from a firm called sierra nevada will join the fleet in 2019. engineers are developing it with the ultimate goal of carrying astronauts.

the contracts with the three firms are together worth $14 billion. nasa plans 18 launches from 2019 to 2024. staff will help the companies with development. they say they want the private sector to help them use the international space station more efficiently. the city of rio de janeiro has canceled the construction contract for its almost finished olympic tennis center. the move comes less than seven months before the opening of the summer games. a trial tournament was held last month even though the facility is only 90% complete. it was scheduled to be finished by last september. the city says it will find a new contractor. city officials accuse the construction companies of intentionally delaying the work. last month, the group of companies fired more than 350 workers. they deny the city's accusations and say they have not been formally told the reason for the cancellation. they plan to file a lawsuit against the city.

more details are being revealed about the biggest scand scandal the sport of track and field has ever faced. a new report on systematic doping and corruption points the finger at the top dogs of international athletics. the allegations are shaking up the world of sports. nhk world's takafumi terui reports. >> reporter: an independent commission of the world anti-doping agency, or wada, released the second report on alleged systematic doping of russian track and field athletes. it did not mince words. >> the conduct of employed individuals within or associated with the iaff went beyond sporting corruption and may have been criminal in nature. >> reporter: the report singles out former iaff president. he served in the post for 16 years and is being accused of

taking bribes from russia in return for silence. in addition he is accused of helping to conceal doping by russian athletes. also under conspiracy of concealment, diack's own son and other senior members of the federation. the report claims they knew what was going on but did nothing. it even suggests a cozy relationship between diack and russian president vladimir putin. when nine russian athletes were suspected of doping before the world championships in moscow in 2013, diack told a lawyer that he was in a difficult position, a position that could only be resolved by putin. the athletes eventually withdrew from the competition. meanwhile, french authorities revealed after the press conference they had arrested diack last november on suspicion of taking bribes and money laundering. diack's successor was in the

audience at the press conference. the british running great thanked the commission for its hard-hitting findings. >> the public, the athletes, the sponsors, the media, will ultimately judge us on the changes that we make. we can't beg them for trust. we have to earn it. we should not be in denial about that. >> reporter: the panel blamed inadequate iaff governance and a system without checks and balances for allowing the scandal to happen. it recommends more money be spent on doping prevention and the testing of athletes. in addition, it says there needs to be a separation of the commercial and anti-doping parts of the federation. the allegation has put pressure on organizers of other international sporting events. here in japan, officials are looking ahead to 2020 when tokyo hosts the summer olympics.

they've already decided to reinforce anti-doping measures, and they are setting up a task force later this month. takafumi terui, nhk world, tokyo. japanese employees are being encouraged to take more days off. the move comes as managers of the government attempt to raise productivity amid tougher global competition and a shrinking labor pool. >> translator: good morning. we're encouraging you to use your paid holidays. >> on a recent workday people were handing out flyers at this train station near chichibu. they were part of a joint effort to urge commuters to take time off during a local festival. though chichibu night festival

attracts more than 200,000 visitors each year. when the event fauld on weekdays, local schools are closed so students can take part. authorities thought it would be a good idea to give workers the same opportunity. they are trying to get employers to cooperate. >> translator: we hope to create an atmosphere in which supervisors actively encourage their subordinates to use the time they're entitled to. >> reporter: if workers are offered the chance to participate in the local festival, they may become less resistant to taking breaks at other times. >> translator: this could be a good start. the schools are shut, so people would have a chance to spend time with their families. >> reporter: some companies have devised unique ways to help employees use their vacation time. a tokyo consulting firm solicited ideas from its staff.

the options now include a half-day visit to a hair salon to indulge in a little pampering. a love holiday allows workers to celebrate birthdays or other significant events with partners or family. the company also gives them about $80. >> translator: workers often find it difficult to take days off without a particular reason. but these special holidays have a clear purpose so people are more inclined to use their vacation time. >> reporter: employees have to tell co-workers about their p n plans and make sure someone fills in for them when they're gone. tomaki recently took a half day off to visit a museum. one of her colleagues agreed to cover for her. she knew her extra effort would

be rewarded. >> it will be easier to take a day off when it's my turn. i don't consider this a burden. >> translator: off i go. see you. >> reporter: fukimoto went to an exhibition of french exhibitionist paintings. she said she'd really been looking forward to it. >> translator: i made plans well in advance, even to take a half day off. i feel refreshed and happy i got to do this. >> reporter: the people behind this initiative hope workers will become accustomed to incorporating more leisure in their lives. getting them to that point will require the efforts of officials in the public and private sectors. next, here's a three-day outlook on the world's weather.

before we go -- japanese conservationists are celebrating a new life in a new home. they gave endangered albatrosses

a better chance to survive by moving them to a safer place. now they say a chick has hatched there. the birds are short-tailed albatrosses. they live on an island about 1,000 kilometers from tokyo. researchers checked up on them and found the chick. they say its father is one of a group they moved from another island eight years ago, and its mother arrived from the wild. the pair produced eggs three times in the past, but none hatched. a senior researcher said he and his colleagues had been watching them anxiously for the past four years. >> translator: i think we have finally seen successful breeding because the parents are young. everyone involved is delighted. >> the researchers say if the chick grows normally, it will leave its nest in or around may. and that's all for now on this edition of "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo.

stay with us on nhk world. 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.

host: hello and welcome to "global 3000." so here we are again in this pre-holiday season that for some reason always turns out to be hectic and stressful. in this edition of our program, we'll take the opportunity to slow things down a bit and introduce you to people who turn to the calming powers of nature. we'll also hear from someone whose reflections about political crises are really good food for thought. so here are the stories we have coming up for you. on a quest for the meaning of life, a trip to the arctic ice of greenland. what our millennium teen enjoys about his life on the islands of the seychelles.