. welcome to "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. a rocket has hit the grounds of a school in southeastern turkey. one employee and three students are wounded. authorities believe islamic state militants are behind the attack. three rockets were fired into the town of kilis near the border with syria on monday. only one of them reached the school. turkish media quoted military officials saying radar showed the rockets were fired from an islamic outpost outside syria. they also reported that turkish forces retaliated. turkey is part of the u.s.-led coalition against the militant group and has become their

target. last week a suicide bomber killed ten people in istanbul. turkish government officials say it was carried out by a member of the group but no organization has claimed responsibility. indonesian police have released video of last week's terror attack in jakarta. they say the footage shows gunmen waiting for people to gather before opening fire on them. on thursday, a group of men detonated bombs and shot at civilians in the center of the capital. they killed four people and wounded 26 others. an organization calling itself a branch of the islamic state militant group has claimed responsibility. the video shows hundreds of citizens gathering at an intersection after explosions rocked a nearby coffee shop and police post. the two attackers can be seen surveying the situation from about 20 meters away. they moved in about ten minutes later. one approached the intersection and opened fire on police and then civilians. authorities believe the gunman

shot at the police first to prevent them from interfering with the attack. officials also believe that an indonesian man is the ringleader of the attack. he was a fighter for the islamic state group in syria. police have changed the number of assailants from five to four. they say all of the attackers died at the scene. researchers at the anti-poverty group oxfam warning about a dramatic rise in economic inequality saying the 62 riches people in the world possess as much wealth at half of the global population. oxfam released a report ahead of the annual world economic forum in switzerland. it says the 62 richest people who are worth $1.76 trillion last year. that's the same amount of money as 3.6 billion of the world's poorest people. the group cites microsoft

founder bill gates and japanese businessman tadayashi yani, the ceo of a company of clothing chains. the researchers say the income gap is widening. in 2010, it took 388 of the world's richest pooh 'em to equal the wealth of the poorest half. oxfam called on world leaders for policies to help the poor. they include investing in disadvantaged communities, raising minimum wages and cracking down on corporate tax evasion. one of japan's longest run ing pop acts will be staying together after all. fans of the male group smap were disappointed by recent reports that they were on the verge of splitting up, but the band says they'll stay together and has apologized for any concern. all five members appeared on a live tv show on monday.

singer takuya kimura said he felt that the rift with the band's management could have led to a breakup. the 43-year-old said the members were given time to talk to viewers about the situation. another member, masahiro nakai, said the turmoil made him realize how much support they have from their fans. tsuyoshi kusanagi said kimura created an opportunity for them to apologize to the management agency's president. he said he felt relieved that all the members were together again. kimura said they'll look forward to whatever the future brings. >> translator: i want them all to keep on going. >> translator: my mother and i are both big fans, so i hope we can go to one of their shows again. >> smap has been a fixture on the japanese pop scene for more than two decades. they have also appeared regularly on tv shows and in commercials. all five members have worked on their own as actors.

on to business headlines. we've seen global financial markets in quite a bearish mode from the start of the year. ai uchida has an update from the business desk. >> keiko, the nikkei is falling and down almost 19% from its 52-week high. now, a 20% drop from the recent peak is typically called a bear market and getting very close to that and it is not only japan. same is happening in australia and china where slowing growth is a big concern. investors are closely watching china's gdp figures out about an hour. tokyo share prices came in lower and the nikkei higher at 16,978. now, analysts say stocks heavily sold in recent days and the

index closed below 17,000 yesterday and most investors are stale weary and in a wait and see mode in light of a host of economic data out of china and declining oil prices weighing on sentiment, as well. overnight brent crude dipped below $28 a barrel, the lowest since late 2003. while the u.s. crude benchmark uti around $28.36. now, a quick look at currencies, the dollar-yen pair holding steady. the euro/dollar moving without direction as traders wait for key data out of china. traders buying the yen and euro recently amid a risklet's take e asia pacific region. south korea's kospi down half a percent. australia's smp is up, though, that's trading higher. japanese prime minister

shinzo abe has a policy speech to the diet coming up on friday. nhk has learned that he plans to call for workplace reform as the key to promoting what he calls the active engagement of all citizens. he will urge businesses to offer equal park for equal work, whether it's done by full-time employees or temporary staff. he also wants to support companies that are raising the retirement age. abe will also require companies to take steps to prevent so-called maternity harassment, a form of discrimination against expecting and new mothers. in the speech, he also plans to urge the nation to contribute to the global economy by getting back on a new growth track. he apparently believes that relying on emerging economies as a driver of growth is not a sustainable approach. abe considers the trans-pacific partnership agreement the first step to establishing a new path for global economic growth, and he plans to promote other free trade pacts, such as the regional comprehensive economic partnership, which includes

india, china and other east asian countries. japan normally buying 80% of the crude oil from middle east nations but because of the recent instability in the region japan is turning to the united states as an alternative source. major japanese oil wholesaler handling the first shipment to japan after washington lifted a ban on crude oil exports for the first time in 40 years. following an oil crisis, the u.s. stopped exporting crude oil in 1975 to secure energy for its own use but the shale oil boom in the country led officials to revise the law in december the allow exports. japan's trade ministry started negotiations with u.s. officials two years ago and their efforts apparently bourn fruit. sources close to the talks say they will buy 300,000 barrels of crude oil shipped from houston, texas, in late february.

japan's trade ministry officials are aiming to further boost imports from the u.s. their aim to ensure stable supplies of energy and strengthen the country's negotiation position with other oil exporting countries. the china-led asian infrastructure investment bank has begun business in earnest following a series of meetings relating to its launch. a ceremony marking the opening of the aiib was held in beijing on saturday. it was attended by representatives of the bank's 57 founding member nations. in the meetings which ended monday, former chinese deputy finance minister jin liqun was appointed as the first aiib president. the bank's board of directors is \made up of 12 members, 9 from the asian and region and three from other regions. during the meetings, the bank's personnel were also chosen. 75% of the bank's capital comes from within the region. this measure is intended to prioritize the views of

developing countries in asia and to limit the influence of countries outside the region. china's big influence on the bank is apparent. the aiib is headquartered in beijing, and the bank's non-chinese directors are not stationed there. china has effective veto power with more than 28% of the board's voting rights. aiib officials will start selecting investment and loan projects with the aim of starting to provide funds by the end of this year. the aiib is seen as an attempt to draw the center of gravity of international finance closer to asia. japan launched a similar initiative in the late 1990s. that project didn't succeed, but it shed some light on what china may be trying to achieve. nhk world's yuko fukushima has more. >> reporter: in 1997, asia suffered a major financial crisis. countries like thailand, indonesia and south korea saw a massive outflow of funds, and their currencies plunged against the dollar.

they immediately turned to the imf for financial assistance, and in return, they implemented drastic programs of structural reform. japan wasn't happy with the imf's response. it proposed setting up a new institution called the asian monetary fund to help manage future crises. the man who led the initiative explains why. >> at the time of sort of proposal of asian monetary fund, we very much dissatisfied with international monetary fund. we had the asian crisis in 1997, 1998, and imf, you know, mishandled the asian crisis. and more or less deepened the crisis, rather than saving asian countries from the crisis. >> reporter: in the end, japan's initiative failed due to opposition from the united states.

he says leaders in tokyo weren't willing to risk a diplomatic crisis with their closest ally, but in china's case, washington's absence from the aiib wasn't enough to derail the project. >> china is somewhat different. it has a different political regime, and its presence in the world economy is really big at this moment. they have the number two gdp, which is more than double that of japan at this moment. another thing about aiib is 57 countries have participated in it, including major european countries. and among the major countries, it's only japan and the united states which has not participated in aiib. so that, you know, i think u.s. thinking is that even if they oppose they cannot really let that disappear. >> what do you think is the significance of aiib in the

context of the international financial system? >> it will increase the presence of china and, you know, it will probably be sort of a counterforce to asian development bank. asian development bank is limited by u.s. and japan, and the aiib is dominated by china. so, although they may complement each other, they may be sort of, you know, confronting each other in some areas. >> do you think it will be easier for developing countries to receive aid? before there was only world bank and imf, and they had to clear certain criteria. >> it's a delicate question. they may be able to receive more aid, but china only would provide the aid if it would be in the interest of china. so, you know, it's a double-edged sword there for receiving countries.

>> reporter: he says the aiib marks a turning point for the international system dominated by the united states, but he says washington's influence over financial and monetary matters isn't about to wane any time soon. yuko fukushima, nhk world. i mentioned earlier that china effective veto power in the aiib with more than 28% of the board's voting rights. the correct percentage is more than 25% of the board's voting rights. i apologize for that confusion. and i'll have more in business news for you next hour. it's back to keiko now. >> thank you, ai. chinese authorities large d larged -- charges 12 local government officials over the landslide that left 69 people dead in the southern city of shenzhen last month.

it's the first time any officials have faced criminal offenses in the case. china state-run xinhua news agency says prosecutors detained them on charges of neglect of duty and abuse of power. it was late december when a wave of dirt and construction debris engulfed buildings in an industrial park. eight people are still listed as missing. china's government calls the case a manmade disaster caused by lax safety management. prosecutors have been investigating more than 30 people. xinhua said officials of the management firm of a nearby dump site and local government officials will also be questioned on suspicion of bribery. taiwan is facing some political instability following last weekend's presidential election. after losing the election to tsai ing-wen and her opposition camp, cabinet members of the outgoing nationalist party have announced they will all resign. the resignation was announced monday by premier mao chi-kuo outgoing president ma ying-jeou has the authority to appoint the premier.

president ma earlier said he wants to discuss the new cabinet with tsai to respect the people's will, but the president-elect refused to do so saying that will obscure who is actually in charge. a political vacuum is expected to drag on for some months until tsai takes office in may. the vice premier is to act as premier for the time being. three american prisoners long held by iran have reached germany following a prisoner exchange. the swap could be a further sign of thawing relations. the move comes after the u.s. and european countries lifted oil and financial sanctions on iran as part of a much-touted nuclear deal. as nhk world explains, it's not just the diplomatic world that's paying attention. >> we've achieved this historic progress through diplomacy without resorting to another war in the middle east.

>> translator: this is a historic day for our country. >> today, multilateral and financial economic sanctions related to iran's nuclear program are lifted in accordance with the gcwpa. >> reporter: the nuclear deal with iran and lifting of sanctions have been hailed as a major achievement around the world. and with a country of almost 80 million open for international business once again, many are seeing opportunity. the world bank has projected iran's economic growth for the next year at about 7%. >> translator: we will move forward to lift sanctions according to the u.n. security council resolution. >> reporter: japan maintained a relatively neutral stance on iran but was pressured by the

u.s. and eu to reduce its business dealing there, especially in the oil trade. with most of japan's nuclear power plants still offline, the country relies heavily on imported energy. energy companies in japan are eyeing the opportunities. executives at major oil wholesaler jx nippon oil and energy say they will consider increasing imports from iran. inpex corporation used to develop an oil field in iran and says it's considering resuming its investments. japan's government is prepared for the lifting of sanctions. in october, it agreed to an investment deal with iran that's expected to be signed next month. it is expected to help japanese companies make inroads in the major middle eastern market. >> translator: the government will support japanese companies' investments through the agreement. >> reporter: but the stability

of iran and the region are far from guaranteed. the lifting of sanctions have alarmed saudi arabia, which along with allies, had diplomatic ties with iran earlier this month. japan's government says it will try to stay out of any disagreements and find ways to renew ties. that would allow its companies the chance to flourish. hiroshi nakajima, nhk world. the himalayan kingdom of heritage architecture, a japanese woman helping restore traditional buildings encountered some unexpected cultural differences. nhk world has more. >> reporter: a unique building style inclufluenced by buddhist culture. throughout the capital, the white board is combined with

wooden window frames. japanese architect is employed by the government to help save old buildings. she previously worked for a major japanese construction firm. before quitting to focus on saving cultural assets. she became fascinated by architecture after she was sent to the country eight years ago as a member of the japanese overseas corporation volunteers. every weekend she visited one temple after another. she quizzed the local people for the stories behind the buildings. >> translator: old structures are nice design-wise. but what mesmerizes me is how people's lives and the buildings are intertwined. as if they merge into one.

>> reporter: economic growth is changing the kingdom. old buildings are being replaced by new, modern structures. government officials have asked her to help save the architectural heritage. >> she has this knack of talking to them and finding out what do they need and how should we address the problem. not just go there, do a drawing and just come back. >> reporter: ishida is put in charge of a huge repair project. an eight-hour drive from the capital city stands a temple. it doubles as a municipal office. it's within of the most historic struck which ares. ishida and her team highly value the temple's wooden main buildings. they are the only surviving examples of such fixtures.

ishida has lobbied for repairing the windows and leaving them in place but the monks believe they will accumulate with virtue replacing them with bigger and more elaborate ones, even when a valuable building is being restored. she was determined to keep the windows. and spoke at length with the monks. she hoped discussing the building's history might uncover a way to save them. on another day of talks, ishida's passion for the project gradually moves the hearts of the monks. they finally accept her idea. >> translator: if these windows are truly one of a kind, please make the best use of their uniqueness. >> translator: i want to spread

word as much as possible about the importance of saving cultural assets. if i can help deepen people's understandings, even a bit, it would make my life here worthwhi worthwhile. >> reporter: with the blessing of the monks, ishida is doing all she can to pass down the cultural treasures to following generations. nhk world. it's time now for world weather update. people in bolivia bracing for severe weather conditions. meteorologist robert speta has the details. robert? >> yes. over the past several days, well, we have been seeing out here is storm systems really flaring up and not just the heavy rain which you would expect this time of year here in the southern mhemisphere and stronger thunderstorms back on sunday and produced hail. at least the amount that we did see. let's go ahead to some video we do have coming out of this.

you can see right there, actually, over the course of about 30 minutes we had 50 centimeters of ice accumulation just because of this hailstorm coming through. almost looks like snow out here on the road. totally different phenomenon and the same outcome. definitely rather dangerous. but one of the big things is it melted and went into the drains, clogged up. you have all this water to go somewhere and we have seen flooding being reported out here. into the capital of the country because of that hailstorm back on sunday. second part of the video on monday. meanwhile, into tuesday and wednesday, still could see some more rainfall. could cause additional problems. don't expect strong thunderstorms like that to come through but it's on and off through tuesday and wednesday. at least over towards thursday we have clearing skits but some pretty incredible footage coming out of that area, indeed. meanwhile, take a look to the north here into the americas with the storm system across the

rockies right now. pushing off there towards the east. that's going to bring some wet weather in the central plains and eventually making way into the great lakes regions where you're already looking at fairly heavy snowfall and thundersnow into ontario because of the strong cells continuing to move across the lake there, unstable weather, indeed. meanwhile, back towards the west we have a low pressure area moving through the pacific northwest. that is going to continue to bring some foul weather for those of you in vancouver and seattle and a big thing with this system is the extended range because it is pushing through here and eventually it makes the way off towards the eastern seaboards. you have very cold air in place in this area of the country and once it interacts it's rather unstable. could be a big foul weather maker by the upcoming weekend and keep in mind. toronto minus 3. snow there for you. below freezing temperatures for the highs dipping down to

washington, d.c., atlanta, around 4 degrees there on your tuesday. how about the southern hemisphere? warm weather. a low moving off the coastline of perth here. pushing towards the east and attached is a cold front down to the south sea. that's going to eventually move over towards victoria there into new south wales and a rainmaker and one of these storms that's changing up the temperatures rather quickly in to the new south wales actually. you can see 29 there for your high on tuesday. 33, down to 27 by friday and thunderstorms for some of you. 40, down to 32 in the course of one day with the showers continuing to push through a. roller coaster ride as far as your weather. here into japan, the big topic is the snow. still ongoing for those of you in hokkaido and the west and still be that way as we head through the rest of the week out here from most of tokohado and

100 centimeters and hokkaido, 120 expected through wednesday morning. all right. here's extended outlook. that's all for now on "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. thank you for watching.

announcer: "euromaxx highlights." and here's your host, anne o'donnell. anne: thanks for joining us for "euromaxx highlights." well, let's have a look at some of this week's festive fun. first up -- bright ideas. an austrian company lights up europe at christmas. place your bets. people in britain vote for their favorite christmas adverts. and in the money. some lucky winners of last year's christmas lottery in spain. well, city centers and shopping malls around europe have been kitted out in their annual christmas attire -- baubles, angel hair, and lights as far as the eye can see. much of that luminosity actually