dissiden hello and welcome to "newsline." i'm hideshi hara in tokyo with the latest at this hour. jailed chinese dissident and human rights activist liu xiaobo has won this year's nobel peace prize. the nobel committee in norway made the announcement on friday. >> the nobel committee has decided to award the nobel peace prize of 2010 to liu xiaobo for his long struggle for fundamental human rights in

china. >> the 54-year-old became active a human rights activist while attending university. human rig attending university. in 1989 he joined a pro-democracy demonstrations in tiananmen square, which ended in a bloody military crackdown.at tiananmen square, which ended in a bloody military crackdown. tiananmen square, which ended in a bloody military crackdow tiananmen square, which ended in a bloody military crackdowa tiananmen square, which ended in a bloody military crackdt tiananmen square, which ended in a bloody military crackdown. authorities arrested liu as one of the protest's leaders and he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. the incident did not deter him from releasing papers seeking political reform. the chinese government responded by detaining him or keeping him under surveillance. in 2008, liu, along with hundreds of intellectuals, released via the internet a political manifesto called "charter 2008." in december, 2009, authorities

again arrested liu on suspicion of inciting the subversion of state power. despite protests from foreign diplomats, the court sentenced him to 11 years in prison where he is currently serving his sentence. >> we continue to call on the government of cha to release hiimmediately and respect the right of all citizens. >> after liu xiaobo won the nobel peace prize, his wife gave a brief statement to the media. >> translator: i can't believe it and i know he won't be able to believe it either. the nobel peace prize awarded

not only to him but to all activists who strive for peace and democracy in china. ring friday's news conference, the nobel prize committee's chair referred to reports that a chinese diplomat contacted one of its members. >> the secretary of the committee has said that a chinese diplomat has been in contact with him. this is not normal. when china is rising and becoming a big power, we should have the right to criticize and ask, what kind of china do we want to have? this is why we are issuing this peace prize namely to demonstrate that also china, with its big power, should be under debate and that we have to enhance those forces that wants china to become more democratic. that would be a big advantage for the whole global community.

>> china's state run news agency and china central television have not reported that liu xiaobo won this year's nobel peace prize. authorities interrupted international tv broadcasts apparently to block the news from chinese citizens. a news program on nhk world premium was blacked out on friday afternoon while the anchor was reporting the news on liu. the broadcast returned to normal at the end of the story. other international broadcasters, including cnn and the bbc, were also blacked out during reports on the peace prize. nhk world's yuko fukuyama has more on the story. >> reporter: china's foreign ministry issued a statement

about one hour after the announcement by the nobel committee in norway, saying it should be given to people who are committed to peace, including efforts for consolation and promotional friendships among countries. they call it regreablend said it will damage the relationship between china and norway. in beijing, many people said they didn't even know who he was. >> translator: it's unreasonable for the united states an other countries to interfere with our country when they have their own human rights issues. meanwhile, in hong kong, people

took to the streets. hong kong still retains the tradition of free speech and assembly, unlike mainland china. they called for the release of the prize winner. china's view is that a convicted disdepth receiving this prestigious peace prize is a slap in the face by the international community. the committee may come in for strong criticism fm chi responsible diplomatic sanctions by beijing and oslo. it can also be viewed as a strong international call on china to promote democracy. all the world's eyes are now on beijing's next move. >> an expert on chinese affairs welcomed the news of the award. >> liu xiaobo was awarded the nobel peace prize despite

chins poticapressure. but now mr. liu is faced with very direct criticism through such kind of system. so this is very meaningful for chinese society. not only human right affairs in china but also the freedom of expreson, freedoof ming association. freedom of press. such kind of, you know, very important factors will be advised in the future by this nobel prize, i strongly expect. >> and this is not the first time the nobel peace prize has been awarded to a political dissident over its 100-year history.

the 1989 winner was the exiled tibetan spiritual leader, the dalai lama, who has long been seeking to liberate tibet and draw international attention to human rights abuses against its people by chinese authorities. his non-violent stance was among the main reasons behind his being awarded the prize. then in 1991 the award was given to myanmar's pro-democracy leader, aung san suu kyi. the military government has ignored repeated international calls for her release from house arrest. biodiversity will be discussed at the u.n. conference in nagoya japan started on monday. we have a series of reports on cop 10 meetings and today, in part two of our series, we have a report on endangered species. the situation they're facing and how to protect them.

17,000 animals throughout the world are in danger of extinction. the giant panda, for example, the gorilla and the black rye nos source, to name a few. global hunting are causing animal species to die out much more quickly than dinosaurs. as we are about to seeing with the extension of just one species takes a terrible toll on the environment. >> reporter: hokkaido island demonstrates how much the environment and people affect one another. wolves used to live in hokkaido before they were hunted into extinction 100 years ago. with no wolfs to keep the deer population in check and other environmental changes, the number of deerncreased exponentially. the result -- the forests have become more damaged every year. deer are eating the buds and bark off the trees leading to the destruction of some forests.

when the forests die, there are no twees to absorb the rain water. this increases the risk of landslides. deer also cause serious problems for farmers in hokkaido by eating their crops. >> the extinction of only one species canreatly affect many human lives. we n tak you fm hokkaido to japan's main island honshu. in this report we see how scientists are trying to save a protected species from dying out. >> reporter: these animals live at high elevations in places like the japanese alp schs. only 1,700 remain as deer compete for global habitat. global warming forces the deer to go further up the mountains where the tarmagen live.

to replenish their population, scientists have started to artificially breed them. but the birds are not from japan. they are imported from norway. the japanese tarmigen is a protected species. capturing them is revel regulated so scientists import them from norway to study their breeding habits to help them deal with the falling number of japanese birds. this july the zoo received 100 eggs from a research institute in norway. the zoo is rushing to hatch and raise them. three weeks later, 27 chicks hat

hatch. it's essential that the birds have the right diet. they are fed fresh vegetables leaves mixed with rabbit food because their digestive systems are similar to rabbits. while some babies eat all their food, others cannot digest it efficiently. within four days of hatching, eight chicks are dead. >> translator: when they are very young they subsist on the egg yolk left inside their stomach. the yolk gives them energy. they can survive for a few days. but when they were switched to the artificial diet, things didn't go so well for them. one month after the chicks hatch, there is a new problem. ptarmigan are very territorial. when left alone, the chicks

attack each other. the conflicts could be fatal. so team members immediately separate the chicks into different cages. there are endless challenges, like how to make room for them and raise them until they get bigger. but if researchers can't breed the nor we jaj ptarmigan now, they won't be able to stop the depletion of the japanese ptarmigan. >> translator: if the wild japanese ptarmigan dies out, we'll have to raise some artificially and release them back into the wild. the knowledge from this project is turning out to be very helpful. >> we spoke with an associate professor of agriculture and life sciences at the university of tokyo. professor, besides the example that we saw in the video, there are other efforts being taken, being made in japan, to protect

endangered species. what's your take on this? >> yes. on the island, this project is under way. the predator was introduced to the island and had threatened blue and red birds and also acute rabbit and other endemic species. ministry of the environment studied a month project on 2000. now the animals have recovered now. but there is other program near the -- endangered species near the water or in the waters. especially the coast and oceans

of the province. in the oceans we need international cooperation more, much more. >> and at the cop 10 conference in nagoya, participants are going to debate intensely about the global goal of expanding protected animal sanctuaries by 2020. how realistic is that goal? >> it will be toug the a much conflicts between economic benefits and endangered species. for example, the local people have to develop the land and also sometimes handle the animals endangered for their present life. >> of course it is a daunting task, but what could we, japan and the rest of the world, do to save endangered animals? >> yes. understanding nature is essential for us. because we are as citizens also part of nature ande need and dend on theture we have to consider the structure and function of the ecosystems when we do anything.

i think we have to recognize high priority of biodiversity conservation, even to food resources or the global warming. biodiversity is fundamental and basic of human survival. we think. we may be able to mend our ways and increase our chances for future success, i think. >> professor ishida,hank you veryuch r you insight today. >> welcome. throughout the cop 10 meeting, which will be held in nagoya until the end of this month, nhk world will bring you a series of feature stories, interviews and live reports on the issues. japanese government has decided on a new economic stimulus package worth about $61 billion. it will submit a supplementary

budget plan to finance the package to the ongoing diet session by the end of this month. the 5 trillion yen package was approved on friday morning. it earmarks $3.6 billion for employment measures and development of human resources. it also includes another $3.6 billion for the government's new growth strategy which includes steps to secure rare earth minerals. shipments of rare earth metals to japan from china, a major supplier, were recently stalled. the government plans to spend $13 billion to support child rearing and medical services. the plan also involves $38 billion for public works projects, measures to help small and medium enterprises to secure loans, as well as a new type of grant for local governments. the government says it will not issue new bonds to fund the package. it instead plans to use tax revenues, surpluses carried over from the last fiscal year and lower than expected debt services costs.

the government expects the stimulus package will help secure 450,000 to 500,000 jobs and push up japan's gross domestic product by around 0.6%. the japanese government has decided to spend about $110 million over the next three years to help rebuild the livestock industry in an area hard hit by a foot-and-mouth outbreak. a government task force approved the expenditure at a meeting on friday. prime minister naoto kan says he hopes the central government will work closely with the prefecture so farmers can feel secure and rebuild the livestock indust. the funds will be used to replace stud bulls that were culled to prevent the stred of the disease. subsidies will also be given to farmers who suffered losses after livestock shipments were delayed. in addition to the fund of about $110 million, the government will also provide about $24

million to a planned fund aimed at shoring up businesses hit by a drop in the number of tourists. residents have been demanding measures to help rebill the local economy since august when the prefecture declared the end of the oureak here's some of the news received from broadcasting stations across asia. we begin with this item sent by cctv china. china has launched a campaign to protect its longest river, the yangtze. the government plans to spend $600 million over three years to increase forest coverage along the river in the southwestern city of chon ching. the city lies along the upper reaches of the river and is a vital part of the reservoir area. the tree planting campaign is seen as essential to protect the river's ecology. the thai government to going to form a committee to increase

production of high-quality rice. the move comes at a time when thai rice is facing fierce global competition. experts say the quality of the rice has been compromised over the years due to the government's populous policies. these include guaranteeing a minimum prooiz price to farmers even if they overlook the quality of their products. the committee of rice experts will supervise the farming and cultivation processes and offer advice to farmers. hello there. i'm miwa gardner with your world weather update. let's begin with a look at our satellite shot over east asia. calm picture for many parts of northern china but we run into some sleet issues as we hit parts of mongolia, and also looking at a very soggy weekend for japan and taiwan. there is a frontal line that's actually developed to the east of taiwan and along that

frontal -- rather, area of low pressure. that's really going to intensify and bring heavy, heavy rain for the next 48 hours across much of japan. take a look at this. we'll see some places in the south getting as much as 150 millimeters or more. across the rest of east asia in terms of wet weather, it's also going to be quite wet near myanmar, near bangladesh. we have a very intense area of low pressure here also. that's been really bringing us a lot of rain over the last several days and we can't forget hainan island. hainan, we' been seeing incredible amounts of rain since about a week ago and it continues to fall. let me show you recent footage coming out of the region. take a look. we are dealing with some unprecedented worst flooding in nearly half a century. we've had thousands of people made homeless, streets clearly inundated, roads severely damaged. soldiers seen here helping people evacuate. also plug up some of that river overspill. over 200,000 people have had to evacuate from these rising water

levels. and unfortunately, it looks like the situation is only going to continue over the next couple of days. we're seeing more wet weather especially across parts of already hard-hit hainan island. here's a look at how temperatures will be heading into saturday. 21 in tokyo. 23 in seoul. 27 in taipei. 34 in bangkok. along we go to north america, more windy weather across the northeast of the united states and heading into canada. but that system should be moving away. generally calm picture across the southeast of the united states, down across mexico. a lot of that wet, wintry weather we had across the intermountain west will be fizzling on out. that said, there could be a few isolated storms. some of them quite rough across parts of the dakotas, down into kansas as well as nebraska. west coast, you're also dealing with very gusty, windy and wet conditions as we head into the weekend. certainly going to see some rain in vancouver on friday. 17 in seattle. a bit cloudy now. 26 in chicago. sunny through new york,

washington and atlanta. finally, let's look at europe today. more wind and rain for parts of portugal, as well as spain, although a lot of the wet weather will in fact not make it as far into parts of england. though we could see cloud and light drizzle. continental europe really generally quiet. high pressure is keeping things very calm here. eastern med though, this is where it does get a bit hairy. we have some storms rumbling through parts of ukraine, as well as pushing into belarus and also turkey. so that could continue for the next several days. other than that, it is a very quiet picture for parts of paris. on saturday, 25 for you. 19 in london. 15 in berlin. about 10 degrees in stockholm. here's your extended forecast.

here's the top story once again for this hour. jailed cnese dissint and human rights activist liu xiaobo has won this year's nobody peace prize. the nobel committee in norway made the announcement on friday. >> the norwegian nobel committee has decided to award the nobel peace prize for 2010 to liu xiaobo for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in china. >> the 54-year-old liu became a human rights activist while attending university. in 1989, he joined the pro-democracy demonstrations at tiananmen square which ended in

a bloody military crackdown. authorities arrested liu as one of the protest's leaders and he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. the incident did not deter him from releasing papers seeking political reform. the chinese government responded by detaining him or keeping him under surveillance. in 2008, liu, along with hundreds of intellectuals, released via the internet a political manifesto called "charter '08." it drew global attention for openly criticizing china's one-party communist rule. in december 2009, authorities

again arrested liu on suspicion of inciting the subversion of state power. despite protests from foreign diplomats, a court sentenced him to 11 years in prison where he is currently serving his sentence. >> we continue to call on the government of china to release him immediately and to respect the rights of all citizens. >> after liu xiaobo won the nobel peace prize, his wife gave a brief statement to the mia. >> translator: i can't believe it and i know he won't be able to believe it either. the nobel peace prize has been awarded not only to him, but to all activists who strive for peace and democracy in china. during friday's news conference, the nobel prize committee's chair referred to reports that a chinese diplomat contacted one of its members.

>> secretary on the committee has said that a chinese diplomat has been in contact with him. this is not normal. when china is rising and becoming a big power, we should have the right to criticize and ask what kind of china do we want to have? so this is why we are issuing this peace prize, namely to demonstrate that also china with its big power should be under debate and that we have to enhance those forces that want ch china to become more diplomat. that would be a big change for the whole global community. that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm hideshi hara in tokyo. we'll be back in a half-hour. thanks for watching nhk world.