workers have been sifting through the wreckage of some 60 vehicles in a pileup in south korea. they say at least two people died and more than 60 were injured in the accident. police say the incident occurred in bad weather on a bridge near incheon airport. they say a bus heading to seoul plowed into the back of a car. most drivers use the expressway over the brink to get from the

international airport to the center of the capital. nearly 20 foreigners are reportedly among the injured. authorities say the accident caused long delays and left many foreign tourists stranded. >> translator: i couldn't see in front of me because of the fog. more and more vehicles kept slamming into the first car. >> police say the bridge was foggy at the time of the crash. they suspect poor visibility was to blame. japan's prime minister shinzo abe has issued a message to the people for their national foundation day. he's vowed to push ahead with reforms that he says will preserve their way of life. and he's called on them to help pass on peace and prosperity to future generations. abe said people from generations past carved out a path through courage and hope. he said japanese today should be mindful of those efforts and he urged them to pass on the values they hold dear to the next generation. the prime minister said he'll make every effort to press ahead

with reforms for decades to come. the u.s. government says an american woman held by the islamic state militant group has been killed. militants claim kayla mueller was killed in a airstrike by a jordanian jet. mueller was an aid worker. she helped families along the turkish/syrian border who were fleeing the civil war in syria. she was kidnapped by militants in august 2013. >> kayla's parents received a private message from her isil captors. with additional information about her death. that information was shared with the intelligence community. they conducted a review and an analysis. and after that analysis was completed, they concluded that kayla has, in fact died. >> earnest said they could not determine the cause of her death. president obama offered his condolences to mueller's family

and praised her humanitarian work. obama said the u.s. will find the terrorists responsible for her death, and bring them to justice. mueller's family said she dedicated her life to helping those who were suffering. they said they are proud of her humanitarian work. think of tech start-ups or i.t. innovations and you probably picture san francisco or silicon valley. a chinese entrepreneur wants to add a district in beijing to that list. he set up a place for techies and investors to meet and trade ideas and hopefully power a digital revolution made in china. nhk world reports. >> reporter: beijing is packed with electronics stores and i.t. companies. and it's home to one particular hub of high-tech ideas.

>> the sign says garage cafe. a place for innovation and investment. let's take a look inside. people who don't yet have their own offices come here to work. the cafe can seat up to 300. there are power sources at every table, and free access to the internet. customers only have to pay for their food and drink. it's designed as a place in which young entrepreneurs and investors can meet chair ideas, and get new businesses off the ground. the owner says he called it garage cafe because companies like apple began in a simple garage. >> translator: it's a good place to start a business because it has a high concentration of research and financial institutions.

all it was missing was affordable work spaces for aspiring entrepreneurs. and opportunities to connect ambitious and determined people. >> reporter: each day at 1:00 people present their ideas to other customers. >> translator: our business is just taking off. we've secured funding and government assistance. the only thing we're missing is a partner we can work with to expand our business. >> translator: i work for a government published business journal. we urgently need skilled workers. so, i've come here to find some. >> reporter: if anyone likes what they hear they can start negotiating. there's a conference room at the ready.

the notice boards are covered in help wanted ads, and appeals for investment. >> translator: the atmosphere here is special. it's attracting so many talented people. so we feel there's a good chance we'll meet people with similar ambitions here. >> reporter: some entrepreneurs were given a demonstration of robots they are developing. engineers are designing them to move around freely and respond verbally to questions. the entrepreneurs say that inventions could be good for guiding people in restaurants or supermarkets. operators will be able to program them via a control panel or enter commands on a smartphone. business school graduate wu yun came up with the idea. he used the cafe to find people with the technical skills and

financial backers. they invested a reported $48 million. wu's team will now move in to an office that can hold 100 employees. they are planning to begin full-scale development next month. >> it's a fantastic place for people together to be partners and for people to just make their team. it's really good place. >> reporter: the steve jobs of china could be sitting in this cafe right now, working long hours over cups of coffee waiting to seize his or her breakthrough. earlier we spoke to our reporter and asked him what impact the garage cafe could have on business in china, and what the chinese government thin about? >> government leaders are keen to support young entrepreneurs because they want to keep the economy growing. so the garage cafe has their support.

the science and technology even paid a visit last month to encourage young entrepreneurs. in the past government officials have always protected the corporation, and they've let a lot of smaller companies fail. but an academic who teaches people how to start businesses said that was a mistake. he says smaller firmsrow bigger so he says they are vital for the economy. >> translator: we need to simplify the procedure, starting a business and do more to nurture hopeful ventures. if we create an environment which large and smaller firms can grow together there will be more opportunities for everyone. >> professor lu says nurturing start-ups is the key to stable economic growth. >> that was nhk world's kunihiro

yamamoto in beijing. vietnam is one of the southeast asian countries with stable economic growth. but, a leading architect there says economic progress isn't everything. he has made a name for himself at home and around the world. his biggest concern is avoiding the pitfalls of economic growth through his work. nhk world's minori takao has more. >> reporter: an hour's drive from seine alcohol ho chi minh city a formidable edifice is arising in the center of a vast construction site. vo chong is the man who put it there.

the building will be used as a community center and it's not the first structure he's put up with bamboo. >> translator: bomb booamboo is abundant in vietnam. it grows readily without requiring much care. by housing this resource i've been able to create interesting spaces, such as this one here. >> reporter: more than 2,000 housing units are to be built around the center. low-income and middle-income families will live in them. each unit is expected to cost about $30,000. they will all have rooftop gardens. >> translator: there's nothing wrong with architects coming up with interesting structures.

but, we need to make sure that low-income people can live in resort-like settings, too. >> reporter: the largest concentration of people in vietnam is in ho chi minh city. citizens from all over the country go there in search of jobs that offer higher pay. once they arrive they need somewhere to live. new apartment complexes spring up all the time. the members of this family live in a rented place. some day soon they're hoping to buy their own apartment room. they've just started looking for something they might be able to afford. they work from morning until late at night to save the money for a down payment for their dream home. >> we have to work very hard to find a house, and we have a house. we can have more time to care

about work and we can have time to take care of people around us. >> reporter: the demand for housing is pushing nature to the side. nghia says greenery accounts for less than half of one percent of the city. he collaborated on a park area around one condominium complex. he incorporates as much nature as he can in his projects to make up for the loss of green space elsewhere. a kindergarten for children of factory workers allows kids to know more than just concrete as they grow up. places to play are given importance. nghia's commitment to buildings that keep life in balance comes from his own upbringing. his biography parallels vietnam's post-war development.

nghia was born a year after the vietnam war ended. he was raised in the central part of the country, an area that suffered serious damage from the fighting. >> translator: when the var was over, after the military had withdrawn, rice fields and forests around us were left devastated by bombs. some of the bombs remained unexploded in the fields making it difficult for us to grow food. it was tough. also, each year typhoons would heavily damage houses and schools in the neighborhood. i remember thinking, if these buildings had been properly designed in the first place, they wouldn't have collapsed. >> reporter: the province is about 2 1/2 hours by car from central ho chi minh.

form houses dot the mekong delta and residents feel a gap between themselves and city dwellers. nice to meet you. this man depends on the land for his living. but his home is as up-to-date as anything in the city. nghia built it using what he calls the s-house design. "s" stands for sustainable, strong and safe. >> translator: my hold house was a shack, it leaked. this new place can stand up to anything. >> reporter: he built the old house himself. it had no windows, so even daytime hours were dark. the roof had not been completely thatched. plastic sheets beneath the ceiling were a stopgap measure to avoid flooding. he says he had to keep fixing it over and over.

by contrast the new s-house has needed no repairs in the year that he's been living in it. the pillars and foundation are made of concrete. southern vietnam is hot and humid most of the year so the structure is full of windows, allowing air to flow through. they also allow natural light to shine in. relying on local plants for the walls, and other parts helped keep costs down. >> translator: people have come to see the house, after hearing about it. you won't find many places like this around. >> reporter: gnghia means to change that. he's updating the design and looking to put up more s-houses. the latest model uses lighter construction materials to make

transportation easier. and the construction process has been simplified so anyone can assemble it. despite that the structures are relittle yent and long-lasting. nghia keeps searching for ways to get the most out of the least expensive materials and methods. urban residents in vietnam have an excess of concrete. rural residents lack reliable and resilient structures. nghia wants to solve the problems of both. especially in a time of economic change, he believes people need to be reminded not to lose sight of the overall quality of life. minori takao, enincome world. officials at japan's defense ministry say they've destroyed the country's entire stock pile

of cluster bombs. japan is one of 89 countries to sign an international treaty banning the weapons. cluster bombs scatter bomblets over a wide area. some fail to explode on impact and can kill people who disturb them later. campaigners say they cause unacceptable harm to civilians. japan had around 14,000 cluster bombs. members of the self-defense force have been disposing of them. defense officials say the ministry will continue to play an active role in international disarmament. the treaty came in to force five years ago, but some countries with large stockpiles of the weapons, including the united states russia, and china have not signed up. thousands of people braved a snowy night in northern japan for an event they say can forecast the coming rice season. they grabbed a 200 meter long rope and dug in for a giant tug-of-war. the annual event is said to date

back more than 500 years. it's been designated an important, intangible cultural asset. about 7500 people picked one of two teams. north or south, and began to pull. legend has it that locals can expect higher rice prices if the north wins. and an abundant harvest if south comes top. >> translator: part of it is getting to the on a winter night and shouting at the top of our voices. it's great. >> and the results after 28 minutes, south got the win. so there should be bumper harvest ahead. an english teacher in japan is getting into the ring to grapple with his students. they're teaching him sumo.

the country's national sport. and while he doesn't dream of becoming champion, he is learning important lessons. >> reporter: members of the sumo team practice at their high school in yamaguchi prefecture. the high ranking squad takes part in the all-japan high school sumo tourney every year. these days a non-japanese practices with the team. reed parker is 194 centimeters tall and weighs 100 kilograms. he came here from new zealand three years ago. interested in japan's traditional culture, parker decided to try sumo.

>> reporter: parker is an assistant english language teacher at high schools. even during breaks parker studied how the professionals do it. parker attends practice once a week. he's a teacher but on the sumo team his students are his seniors. he knows how to put on the loin cloth and he's learned sumo etiquette.

practice sessions last three hours. parker is treated like everyone else. he's knocked down many times by the students as they are more skilled than parker. but he is determined to bound back. >> translator: he shows no fear even when he's injured. i want to learn from his example. >> translator: he has a very positive attitude. i think he's a good influence on the students. >> reporter: parker needs to improve his flexibility. the most difficult move for him is the feet shuffling. his team members step up the pressure.

>> reporter: parker is mesmerized by sumo. when he goes back to his country he wants to describe his sumo days to children and anyone interested in japan's national sport. record heavy snow is causing headaches to people in the northeastern u.s. our meteorologist sayaka mori joins us for the details. sayaka? >> yes gene record heavy snow has fallen in many parts of the new england states.

for example for boston it's been the snowiest 30 days trend on record in the city's history. because of tons of heavy snow many problems are occurring. one of them is this. roof collapsed under the weight of heavy snow in the boston area on tuesday. about 60 centimeters snow fell in just three days. eastern massachusetts has got about two meters of snow so far this winter making it the ninth snowiest winter on record for this area. it's quite warm -- i should say quite calm over the new england states on wednesday. so you're experiencing a nice break in the snowy conditions. however, you can see another system is on its way to affect the northeastern u.s. once again. this system should reach the northeast coast by your thursday. so that should provide another round of snowfall. it's not going to be a significant snowmaker but still additional snow will raise the risk for avalanches and also

more structure damage. boston temperatures will be quite low. subzero figures continuing into your friday. other areas like chicago, minneapolis, new york, you'll see quite low temperatures going to the rest of the work week. so please do bundle up. but across the opposite side of the u.s. it's quite a different story. temperatures will be soaring to 30 degrees in to the weekend. it should be about 20 degrees, so please watch out for heat stroke. winds are going to be strong especially on thursday. power outages might occur in the los angeles area. now across asia beautiful weather will continue for most part of china and the korean peninsula. but unstable weather is likely to happen over many parts of japan. snow is likely to fall over the northwestern side, especially hokkaido. you may get up to 40 centimeters of snowfall into the next 24 hours. but tokyo will stay warm and also sunny as we go into thursday. temperatures are going to be up to 14 degrees in the daytime hours on thursday.

and towards the south we have a tropical storm over the western pacific that will continue to weaken but heavy rain will continue to occur over the jakarta area. in fact on tuesday, about 6,000 people evacuated due to significant rainfall and significant flooding. more to come for the next couple of days. but the worst will happen in the mid part of java island. the flooding is going to be a continued story for indonesia. now, across europe snow is still continuing over many parts of turkey. we have lingering low pressure system here. that is packing very cold air for this time of year. so lots of snow is on the menu for many parts of turkey. and also snow is likely to happen over the athens area once again on wednesday. now temperatures are going to be as follows. only 4 degrees is your expected high in athens on wednesday. that's about 10 degrees lower than normal with snow on the menu once again. and across double figures for

kiev. snow in the picture in moscow and across the west in the single digits for paris and london and rainy weather for madrid on wednesday. here's the extended forecast around the globe.

that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo. from all of us here at nhk world, thanks very much for joining us. until next time, good-bye.

r today. a belgian court sense and says the head of a radical -- scented says the head of a radical islamist group to jail. dominique strauss-kahn on the witness stand for a second day. he defends his private life as prosecutors try to prove he helped run a prostitution ring. also coming up this hour, crunch time for greece. a new government has to sell a debt plan to its partners later.