"newsline" on this national holiday. south korean lawmakers have given insight into what may have led to the downfall of a top figure in north korea. they disclosed an intelligence report that concludes jangson thaek was executed because he disobeyed his nephew leader kim jong-un. >> translator: we believe that kim had ordered jang to address conflicts of interest and abuse

of power by his aides. jang refused, leading north korean officials to conclude that he had disobeyed the order. >> north korean authorities also accuse jang of plotting to overthrew the state. the report by south korea's national intelligence service says that was exaggerated to justify the execution. it adds the korean workers party now faces tighter restrictions, and it notes that the head of the state security department and chief of censorship is becoming more powerful among kim jong-un's close aides. jang's wife has not been seen in public for some time, but the report is she's only withholding public engagements. the report concludes that jang's immediate entourage has not been effected by the purge and it says kim jong-un continues to have a firm grip on power.

intelligence officials believe north korea may carry out another nuclear test. more than 20,000 people in tokyo helped the head of japan's imperial family mark a milestone. emperor akihito has turned 80 years old. he appeared on the balcony of the imperial palace three times on monday morning and waved to well wishers. family members accompanied him. spokespersons for the imperial household agency say about 24,000 people visited the palace in the morning. the emperor addressed the crowd and referred to the continuing reconstruction of areas hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern japan. he also mentioned the damage caused in october when a typhoon hit an island south of tokyo. he said he will bear in mind the situation of disaster victims and hope for people's happiness. he wished everyone a happy new year. >> translator: i was moved by the emperor's speech, especially

his last words, thank you, struck me deeply. >> translator: i was surprised by his strong voice. he was not the voice of an 80-year-old man. >> the emperor spoke to the media on sunday. he recalled world war ii as one of the most painful experiences in the past 80 years. >> the emperor expressed his gratitude to empress michiko.

>> the emperor said he will face the coming years focused on performing his duties for as long as he can, while at the same time accepting the constraints of aging. u.s. technology firm apple has announced a smartphone deal with china mobile. the phone carrier is the largest in china, with more than 760 million subscribers. under the agreement, apple will supply the latest iphone models starting january 17th. the phones will operate on the carrier's high-speed 4g network. apple has been selling iphones in china under agreements with others. the company expects to get a boost in the market where it lacks behind competitors like

samsung. the company's global profits fell for a third straight quarter in the july to september period. apple's chief executive officer tim cook says china is an extremely important market and the company is excited to begin working with china mobile. antigovernment protests in thailand have been under way for nearly a month. this has prompted prime minister jink luck shinawatra, who announced she will dissolve the lower house for a general election in february, and now the protests are starting to affect the country's tourism. protesters gathered on sunday to call for the resignation of the prime minister in the postponement of the general election. the registration of candidates began on monday. the continuing protests are affecting tourism. most hotels and inns in the popular tourism area in the capital bangkok have had many cancellations since last month.

>> translator: the guest rooms highlighted in blue are vacant, and hotels have had some empty rooms since the beginning of this month. i hope the demonstrations will resume so business can return to normal. >> a tourist industry association says the number of foreign visitors have dropped 8% from the year before. there are fears the numbers could drop by 25% in january and february if the protests continue. pro democracy activists in egypt say the country is returning to authoritarian rule. three members of a youth group that played a major role in the 2011 pro democracy revolution have been sentenced to three years in prison. this is the first ruling under the new law. ake med meyer and two others were found guilty of violating a law to rein in protests against

the military regime. security forces have more power to distress descenters. they were also fined. >> translator: i was shocked by the sentence that's sending these pro democracy demstrants to jail. this reminds me of the rule under mubarak. >> translator: this is the very first ruling under the law banning antigovernment demonstrations. i think this is a message that's meant to intimidate our young people. >> police arrested the youths last month for holding a rally without authorization. opposition groups say the rule is nothing more than the military-led government tightening its grip on young activists, as well as the muslim brotherhood. tourists are certainly not keeping away from south korea's

island. they flock there to take its natural beauty and spend some time in the sun. most of them come from china. the chinese are investing millions, but some locals fear all the development will spoil the landscape. nhk world reports. >> reporter: jeju island is a favorite resort destination for chinese tourists. they account for nearly 80% of the 2 million foreigners who visited this year. that's an increase of 70% from last year. some chinese people do more than visit, they decide to live here. buyers from china own these condos behind me. each one costs about $500,000.

about 90% of the foreigners who own condos in this complex are chinese. she and her husband bought this unit last year. their daughter goes to a senior high school in jeju. >> translator: i like jeju very much, because it has beautiful skies and sea and fresh air. it's like a piece of heaven. >> reporter: she and her family are eligible to stay in jeju as long as they want. in 2010, the south korean government started giving out green cards to foreigners who invest more than $500,000 in the island. about 430 chinese have since acquired the right to live here. the government also has policy to attract more travelers and make up for the slowdown in domestic tourism.

>> translator: the project is aimed at turning jeju into a competitive resort center in southeast asia and making peoples lives on the island better. >> reporter: property has increased 70 times over the past three years. businesses from china are among developing real estate here. they put up ads saying we'll get the right to live. one of them is spending about $220 million to build a resort. all of this development has prompted a concern among locals. he manages a citizens group. he's afraid the landscape projects can threaten the environment. >> translator: the summit is at the center.

a national park is less than one kilometer away from here. that means they are developing the project adjacent to the national park. >> reporter: hong says cutting down thousands of trees to build a resort could effect the quality of the groundwater. and he's concerned locals are not benefitting from chinese visitors. he said shop owners, such as 60% of them, have not seen an increase in sales. hong argues chinese usually visit shops and restaurants owned by chinese. >> translator: we're not necessarily against encouraging foreign investment, but we have to check whether or not the investment will contribute to the economic development of jeju, and we'll watch closely whether or not the exploitation of jeju will lead to

environmental destruction. >> reporter: a jeju government official says he understands those concerns. >> translator: we do modify the development plan if it could put local people at a disadvantage. we try to develop the island to make everyone better off. >> reporter: tourists and investment from china may change jeju island's landscape and its lifestyle. government officials are facing challenges to make sure the interests of locals and their new neighbors match up. nhk world, jeju. long before electronic calculators, chinese did their counting on a device known as an abacus. earlier this month, it was added to intangible cultural heritage.

they say the abacus is not only practical, it symbolizes china's identity. nhk world has the story. >> reporter: the beads represent numbers. there's no agreement on where the abacus originated, but it's believed the chinese were using the implement by about 200 b.c. linhai, for years, its economy has been thriving. even today, in this age of electronic calculators, shop owners in towns still use the abacus. >> translator: i'm used to counting with an abacus, so i find it quicker than an electronic calculator. >> reporter: this chinese her ball medicine score, they

discarded the device, even though they also use electronic calculators. >> translator: i'm not always able to concentrate on calculating, because a customer may call me, so if someone touched the calculator by mistake, it's a nuisance. by keeping an abacus nearby, i can double check. the abacus is more reliable than an electronic calculator. >> reporter: since the traditional implement, this abacus school has been busier. parents want their children to use how to learn the asian device. >> translator: it's interesting, because you can calculate faster if you learn how to use abacus. >> translator: i am better at math now at primary school. >> reporter: the decision has revived interest in the traditional calculator.

this museum has many kinds of abacuses, and it's attracting more visitors. the founder and director has been collecting rare abacuses since he was young. his hobby lent him to set up this museum 20 years ago. the admission is free. visitors can learn about the long history of the abacus. about 1,300 of the devices are on display. this silver charm is from the ming dynasty. brides used to wear them. the wife were supposed to use them to keep track of family assets. this ancient abacus might have been used for fortune telling. it is perceived as a lucky charm to increase business. he wants visitors to learn the

history of china's decisions with neighboring countries through the abacus. >> translator: the unesco recognition is an honor for china. my wish is to spread the abacus culture, hand it down through our ancestors throughout the world and have all people everywhere appreciate it. >> reporter: through the ages, chinese did their calculating on abacuses. now the device is expected to play a role in promoting china's exchanges with the rest of the world. kurando togo, nhk world, linhai, china.

people all over india were outraged last december by the gang rape and murder of a young woman on a bus in the capital new delhi. the public outcry that followed the crime and similar ones led government officials to introduce tough new punishments for sex offenders, but efforts to stop abuse of women are running up against deep-rooted attitudes and customs. nhk world has more. >> reporter: this facility in new delhi is a refuge for women who are victims of forced marriage or domestic violence. governmental organization ran the facility. their living expenses are free. for women who want to get a voice and are being forced to wed, staff offer legal advice and help persuade the women's families. 22-year-old woman began living at the shelter in october.

to escape, she says, severe domestic violence. her program started with a dispute over her dowry. she must give her would-be husband and parents $100,000 and a gold necklace, but the demands of his parents escalated after marriage. they asked for a more expensive necklace, a refrigerator, and a tv. the government says more than 8,000 women nationwide are killed every year due to dowry-related disputes. she says she nearly became a statistic. >> translator: on the festival day, my husband splashed oil on to me and tried to set fire to kill me, but police rushed to the scene and saved me. >> be it a poor family or

illiterate family, there is no difference between the men in any you can see any level of the society. >> reporter: in order to eliminate the violence against women, social activists are now working on men to change their mentalities. in northern india, men gathered at a local elementary school to discuss the problems facing women. an associate professor of a local university warns men to get involved. he believes that it is not enough to protect women and improve their abilities. he's looking for long-term solutions. using posters, he challenges men attendees to think about girls who are not allowed to go to school, or the girl babies that are often aborted.

>> translator: girls are supposed to study, but they are confined to households to do chores. when can they find time for studying? >> reporter: some meeting participants sided with him. >> translator: everyone should think seriously about the problems as if their own sisters or daughters are involved. that's because reading and writing are vital skills. >> reporter: a play by students was also performed at the gathering. the story is designed to show how women are exposed to harassment and violence by men on a daily basis. the gathering apparently raised

the awareness of the participants of the need to stem violence against women. he and his supporters realized that changing how men perceive women's rights would take a long time. >> they are finding for their party, for their power, and it was well liberated in the media, so they got interested. >> reporter: more women are joining the workforce in india as educational standards improve. the country is striving to strike a buzz between traditional violence stemming from a male-dominated society and new emerging values.

nhk world, new delhi. the u.s. was hit with a deadly winter storm over the weekend. our meteorologist robert speta has more. robert? >> yeah, gene, indeed. two deaths were reported from two separate tornados here in the deep south of the u.s., also flash flooding caused several deaths, and it's not just the severe weather farther down here towards the south. a widespread power outages due to freezing rain, also heavy snowfall. definitely travelers this past weekend very disrupted. i want to show you images of the freezing rain out here. this first coming out of new york. you can see the big sheet of glass it almost looks like, that ice on the ground here in oklahoma, park benches just being coated with it. this is another problem we often see with the trees, you get the ice accumulating, it starts to bend it down. this is from sunday. so this storm now pushing here

towards the east, that's the good news, it's still rolling off towards the coast. bad news, it is bringing foul weather right along the eastern seaboards here. and the other thing is, cold temperatures are going to be surging in behind this. first across western portions of the great lakes. some areas in wisconsin, about 15 centimeters has been reported in the past 24 hours. once this works its way east, though, it's surging cold arctic air with it. winnipeg, minus 23 for your high, chicago, minus 7, and things are staying here on the cold side. out ahead of it, relatively warm. new york 13, atlanta, 12. by tuesday, drops right off, nearly a 10-degree drop going into wednesday. so any snow that is on the ground if you want a white christmas, good news it's going to be there. doesn't look like it's going to be melting off in the near future. let's talk about eastern asia. sea effect snowfall, some areas

here 20 to 40 centimeters has been reporting that. easily you can double that the next 24 hours. pacific coastline of japan is going to be staying dry, same thing with korea, northern china, china peninsula will be dry, but chilly with below-average temperatures. high pressure towards the south is kicking up some moisture there across the tropics. parts of the philippines, flash flood advisories in effect due to a low pressure area. now also that rain is extending over towards malaysia, parts of bourn owe, you've seen 80 millimeters sunday into monday. once again, staying dry in the north. seoul with a high of 10, tokyo, 11. let's see what's going on in europe. the big topic truly is this monster of a low pressure area just off the northwestern

portions of the british isles. you can see it right here. it's very deep. you have these lines close together with the isobars. some of these winds are going to be rather damaging. you're going to be seeing sustained around 50 to 60, easily over 100 kilometers per hour along the british isles. heavy rain advisories in the snowfall farther towards the north. if you have travel plans towards the western parts of europe, into the scandinavian peninsula, it's going to be delayed or a slow go. be very careful out here through the next several days if you plan on heading anywhere out and about for the holidays. but that's a look at your world weather. here's your extended forecast.

in japan at this time of the year, uzoh bathing is enjoyed across the country. bathing with the citrus fruit on the day of the year with the least sunlight is said to keep the doctor away. children in northeastern japan soaked themselves in a hot tub made of a giant pumpkin.

eating pumpkin on the winter soels tis is also said to protect people from catching a cold. the pumpkin measured one meter across and 80 centimeters deep. it was grown by local farmers. some children were helped into the pumpkin tub by fathers, while others climbed in on their own. meanwhile, north of tokyo in a zoo, animals were given a yuzu bath in a 50-centimeter-deep tub. they are served their favorite foods, pumpkins and apples, along with the yuzu. at first they were a little weary, but after one got in the bath, the others followed. visitors powered water for the contented looking bathers. and that's "newsline" for this hour.

i'm gene otani in tokyo. >> the second remaining member

of russian punk band riot -- pussy riot is freed from jail. the capital of one of the key oil-producing states in south sudan falls to the rebels. the u.n. says the situation there after one week of fighting is heading into chaos as hundreds of thousands of civilians are at risk. christmas in north america gets hijacked by a new debate over santa's race. you are watching "france 24."