. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com hello there, welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. south korea's president park geun-hye is finding herself increasingly cornered over an influence peddling scandal. now those in her own ruling party have asked her to step down. eight people loyal to park proposed the resignation. they aim to put to a vote at the national assembly. if two-thirds or more members

vote yes, park will be impeached. the motion will then go to court and park will be suspecnded. they need 28 votes from the ruling party. and it's quite possible as more than 30 appear to be on board. it is alleged she conspired with her friend and two aides. they have been indicted on several charges, including conspiring to abuse power. the president has been refusing to be questioned by prosecutors. her attorney said on monday that she's too busy. in the meantime being the south korean government is ruling out a pet project of president park. it is release draft of history textbooks that stress achievements of her late father the former president. >> translator: the new textbooks were designed to help students

have a proper view of state. >> it says that he promoted economic developments and helped south korea become a major exporter. teachers in middle high school choose which textbooks to use. they agreed to run to a system of using state-issued textbooks. they say the existing ones down play negative aspects of south korea. >> translator: if students do not learn properly, they will not be -- >> park is motivated by the desire to glorify her father's legacy, they say. he imposed tight control on south korea. he was assassinated in 1979.

some citizens voiced opposition towards the textbooks. >> translator: i'm worried children could have a violent view of history. as most of the people are against the move. >> translator: i wonder if children will be able to learn what actually happened. >> the draft books will take the government's stance on the takeshima islands. south korea controls the islands, japan claims them. ai uchida is here to give us details. >> we're hearing from officials at the oecd and they point to donald trump's promise to boost spending on infrastructure. that pledge by the u.s. president-elect is making them

more bullish about global growth. they released their latest global outlook on monday. they expect the global economy to grow 3.3% in 2017. that's up .10 from what they predicted in september. they predict growth will hit 1.6% in 2018. they say if donald trump follows through on his promise on infrastructure investment, they think that will boost global growth. they say japan's economy will likely grow p1%. and they see japan's economic growth slowing in 2018 as the government puts more stress on balancing its budget. now here in japan government officials have released the

latest batch of economic data for october. and they show how consumers are spending as well as the situation in the labor market. let's take a look at household spending first, it fell for the eighth consecutive month. consumers in japan are keeping a tight grip on their wallets. spending in october by households with two or more members fell 0.4% from the same month last year. households spending about 280,000 yen or around $2,500. the officials have also come out with employment data. they say the jobless rate in october was 3% exactly. that's the same as it was in september. officials at the labor ministry say the ratio of job offers to applicants improved to 1.4. that means there were 140 job openings for every 100 people looking for work. and that is the highest level in 25 years. all right, let's see what is

happening on the markets. share prices in tokyo did open lower for a second day, following modest losses on wall street. many investors are booking profits. the nikkei down by a little less than .25% of the financial sector is among the hardest hit. export-related stocks are also based on a stronger yen. the level is now at 112. we'll keep track of that for you throughout the day. analysts do say traders are taking a wait and see attitude ahead of the opec meeting in vienna. caution remains as a meeting scheduled for opec and non-opec producers was called off after

saudi arabia declined to attend. and turning to markets elsewhere, we're seeing other markets modestly higher. seoul's kospi trading up by 0.06%. and australian shares up b by .10%. japan's seniors spend nearly $40 billion a year on this children and grandchildren, they use the money not just for gifts but services that bring their families closer together. we tell you more about the business that caters to grandma and grandpa. >> reporter: my grandchildren live far away. i only see them twice a year. >> translator: i'd hilike to se them as much as possible, but they're very busy. >> reporter: you hear statements like that a lot in japan these days. older people are seeking more contact with their family

members, and a new kind of industry is trying to help. this couple see their grandson in new york avenue daevery day though they live in japan. >> translator: he sounds excited. >> reporter: this is a tv set, it's ideal for seniors who don't like using smartphones or computers. >> translator: i'm not good with technology, but with this, i feel close to him, because i can see him on the big screen. >> translator: i see pictures of him every time i turn on the tv. i look at them over and over again. >> reporter: other services are

bringing the generations together through shopping. this mall provides experts called grandchildren watchers. they have seniors who have no idea what their grandkids might like. the service was launched this summer. about 80% of the staff are qualified to be advisers. this couple has come to the mall to choose presents for their grand ch grand children. >> translator: how old are they? >> translator: they're in fourth grade and second grade. >> reporter: the meister recommends this weaving device. >> translator: your granddaughter likes to make things such as good luck bracelets of so maybe she'd like to try making a scarf with this.

>> translator: i want to surprise them, but i don't want to give them something that makes them say "what's this, grandma "! >>reporter: experts predict services such as this will eventually become the norm. >> translator: elderly people want more contact with their grandchildren. i think we'll see an increase in services that promote more meaningful ways for them to interact. >> reporter: and business is bound to pick up in the short term too. nhk world. >> and that's the latest in business for this hour. i'll leave you with a check on markets.

on to other stories we're following this hour. officials in two japanese prefectures have detected bird flu on poultry farms. they detected it in aomori and niigata and are making moves to try to stop the spread of the virus. officials in niigata have begun culling more than 3,000,000 chicken. officials in aomori held a

meeting to discuss a plan of action. they'll cull about 16,500 ducks at the farm within 24 hours and imposed a shipping ban. agricultural ministry officials say they'll dispatch investigative teams to the two prefectures, and they'll work with relevant agencies to quickly assess the situation. officials in south korea are also trying to contain the spread of the virus. they say they've culled more than 1.3 million birds. they detected the hn 5 h 6 strain. a ban was imposed on transfers from livestock facilities. it started earlier this month when dead chickens were found in the southwest. inspection at 32 poultry farms across the country followed. the united nations recently formed a team of experts to

investigate human ryviets v rig violations by north korea. a serbian expert and a lawyer from bangladesh held talks with the relatives in tokyo. the relatives were asked to share their views, and they were assured that they are pursuing truth and justice. one of the relatives they met is shizuoka esika. they want an agreement for kim jong un to return the abductees to japan. his sister was and dubbed lgted 1978. >> translator: the abductees have been in north korea for decades, with no freedom. it has been under extreme mental

distress that no one can imagine. >> the team is scheduled to hold a board meeting in march next year. before then, the experts plan to ex-more ways that north korea's leadership can be held accountable. the u.n. human rights council has adopted resolutions. a resolution adopted this march recommended setting up the group of experts to holook into issue such as abduction of foreign nationa nationals and detention facilities. cubans inside and out of the country are both mourning and celebrating the death of fidel

castro. his death is reverberating around the worlden and nhk world gives us some of the japanese reaction. >> translator: when they heard that fidel was dead, some of the cubans broke into tears. it was quite emotional to be here at such a historic moment. >> reporter: this group of japanese were in havana when the news was announced. they witnessed cubans react to the death of a figure who towered over the country. cubans are now coming to grips with what it means for their future. >> translator: we can't waste this historic opportunity to open the doors to all voices and all children of the cuban nation, including the young, who want to contribute to the

country. i think this is a moment for a great good-bye and a great hug. >> reporter: fidel castro rose to power in the '50s through an armed revolution that toppled a u.s.-backed dictator, but he went on to install himself as dictator, ruling cuba with an iron fist. people in the country credit him with bringing them health care as well as a brutal crackdown. he had a larger than life presence on the world stage, including a special relationship with japan many in 200. in 2003, he visited hiroshima. his words there resonated with many japanese. >> translator: atomic bombings are brutal acts that should never be repeated. >> reporter: the former museum head recalls castro as a leader with a human touch.

>> translator: he questioned me about the effect of atomic bombing on people. i'm certain he felt that kind of weapon is absolute evil. >> reporter: people are paying respects, and they are not just cubans. >> translator: he was one of the figures who led the world across the 20th and 21st centuries of. >> reporter: castro's death came amid improving relations between his country and the u.s. and, as japan is trying to restrengthen economic relations, prime minister shinzo abe met with castro in september. the two countries used to have strong ties. in the '70s, japan was cuba's largest western trading partner. but today, trading is down to 3% of its peak. it's not cheer how castro's death will impact that or many other issues.

cubans in japan are anxious about their country. >> translator: i hope things go well, but i think there are people who are worrying about the future of cuba. >> reporter: nhk world. people in vietnam are also remembering fidel castro. the country's ruling communist party sent a message of c condolen condolence, calling him a comrade. hundreds waited to pay their respects. many saw him as a revolutionary ic icon along with ho chi minh. >> translator: we were playing basketball, and castro passed by and saw us. he took off his military uniform so he was wearing just a tee shirt and started playing basketball with us. afterwards, he told us, you're

vietnamese, so you have to try hard to rebuild your country after returning home. >> translator: everyone knows castro's famous statement. he said the famous words, for vietnam, cuba is willing to devote its blood. because of that, i think all vietnamese people felt strong emotions when we heard about his passing. >> castro visited the southeast asian nation three times. the first time was in 1973 when the vietnam war was still raging. state media said he was the only foreign leader to set foot on the main battlefield. in 2003, castro met a wartime hero at his home in hanoi. many vietnamese communists pointed to castro as a standard bearer for their own ref liegs. in a letter on its website, the vietnamese communist party

praised castro for toppling capitalism on the caribbean island. police in the philippines have detonated a suspicious package that tuned out to be a homemade bomb left near the u.s. embassy in manila. a street cleaner found the device in a roadside trash bin. police discovered batteries, what appeared to be a triggering device and mobile phones inside the package. a bomb squad conducted a controlled detonation after the road was closed to traffic. the components of the device suggests it was planted by a muslim rebel group that has pledged allegiance to the islamic state group. >> we can see this as a way to try to make us lessen our

military of of of of of . >> they were blamed for the davow attack. government soldiers have been battling the group in lanow. thousands of indians took to the streets on monday to protest against norendra modi's policy. they are taking high-denomination bank notes out of circulation. young people from the student wing of the opposition congress party staged a massive protest in the capital new delhi. >> translator: the government's demon at theization has caused problems for students. >> holders of 500 and 1,000 rupy notes can no longer use them for payments.

they have until the end of the year to deposit them in the bank and can only exchange a small number for new currency. the policy is intended to eliminate so-called black money or cash holdings that cannot be accounted for. let's shift gears now. the sun is out in tokyo this morning, but it's looking an a little overcast. our meteorologist robert speta joins us. >> chilly conditions across much of japan, and that includes the tokyo area, we have the northwesterly winds continuing to come in. and that's setting up the classic sea-effect snowfall. and enexteven extending into ar like niigata. when we're talking about sea-effect snow, i get this question quite often, is it salty?

it's not salty at all. that's one of the common questions we get. this is a dynamic we get, the cold air comes ot of siberia and moves over the warmer waters, and we have a warm ocean current over honshu, and then it dumps here along the mountains of central honshu and hokkaido. and you're thinking, i'm in tokyo, where's the snow? the mountains act like a wall and stop all that accumulation from the higher elevation. so by the time we get to tokyo, typically the air is much drier. that's why we often see chapped lips or we have the dry air advisories in place because of the northwesterly winds. that is going to taper off as we go ahead into wednesday. clear conditions in wednesday morning many now we have another low coming in from the west, and that's going to usher in

moisture. much of japan looking at widespread rainfall later this week. 11 by the time wednesday comes around, partly cloudy skies. showers working their way in. even sapporo, but by thursday, or actually we'll be seeing rain in higher elevations and could be seeing snowfall. i want to mention mongolia and eastern china and how about far eastern russia where this cold air is coming from. it is exceptionally chilly. this location, about 2,000 people live there in far eastern russia. a high of minus 43 there on thursday. that's the high temperature. not the low, which is around minus 50. talk about some dangerously cold weather. i'm sure people there are used to it. they have put up with this winter every year, but still, a very interesting look. taking a look at the americas, we have this complex storm system circulating in the central u.s. widespread flooding watches have been issued in mississippi and

louisiana. and nine reports of tornados, some causing damage. and northwest of the low, cold air rapping in behind it. we've already been seeing upwards of 30 centimeters or a foot of snowfall around the dakotas. still an additional 20 to 30 is possible combined with winds, really reduce the visibility out there, and all that is tracking to the east. so the east coast still looking at scattered showers on your thursday. then, as we take a look at europe, i do want to mention this, a big trough. we looking at pretty strong thunderstorms, even the potential of a tornado or two into greece, but north of that, cold, polar air is dominating. and temperatures are reflecting that. how about berlin, vienna, warsaw, most of eastern europe hovering around the freezing point for your high on tuesday. all right, i'll leave you now

for your extended outlook of we have one more story to share with you.

here's a story about an old cat taking on a new life. craft people have restored a famous statue of a sleeping fee heine at a shrine north of tokyo. workers unveiled the carving. it dates back to the early 17th century and is designated as a national treasure. the carving was removed in june for restoration. it was last repainted 60 years ago. its colors had faded over the years. drafts people used traditional techniques to remove old paint and apply a new coat. >> translator: i was very careful, because this carving is filled with the spirits of people from the old days. >> he hope the people la enjoy looking at the sleeping cat for many years to come. and that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline." thanks very much for joining us.

>> greetings from berlin and a warm welcome to our highlights edition. coming at you this time with the following top stories -- bird's eye view. a british conservationist follows swans on their migratory flight. lap of luxury. an architect and her three-storey apartment in a milan high-rise a cut above. two designers from hamburg create beautiful paper art. the year 2016 had barely begun when the first massive shock for the world of arts and culture came -- just two days after his new album release, and his 69th birthday, david bowie died of cancer.