hello. welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. italy has overtaken china as the country with the highest death toll for the coronavirus. the government says there were 3,405 fatalities. the government says 427 patients died on thursday. the country has recorded more than 41,000 cases and is on a nationwide lockdown. the world health organization has cited a variety of reasons for italy's high death toll. >> italy has a much older age

profile and has a higher proportion of people in the very elderly category. >> the elderly in italy account for 22.6% of the population. it's the highest in the european union. the w.h.o. also said maintaining standards of care has been very difficult. it mentioned the situation in northern italy where over 1,200 patients a are in intensive car at the samame time. the w.h.o. says more than 200,000 infections have bebeen coconfirmed araround thehe glob. more than 8,000 people have died. the w.h.o. director general says 80% of all cases are in the western pacific and europe. the u.s. trump administration has issued an extraordinary advisory. it's urging americans not to travel overseas and return home amid this spreading coronavirus pandemic. the state department issued a new alert on thursday. it urged americans not to travel

abroad under any circumstances. it also says to immediately return home if already a abroad unless they are prepared to remain overseas. until the upgraded warnings, the department's advice was to reconsider all international travel under what's known as a level 3 alert. the newly issued level 4 is generally reserved for specific countries embroiled in conflict or disasters. similar measures are being taken across the globe. australia is banning visits by non-residents and non-citizens. the restrictions take effect on friday evening. the prime minister has already told its citizens not to travel overseas. >> the overwhelming proportion of cases in australia have been imported. and the measures we've put in place have obviously had an impact on that. this is a further measure now

that will ensure that that can be furthther enhanced. >> new zealand has also announced it is closing its doors s to all foreigngners. narendra modi held a televised address on thursday announcing the south asian nanation will b all passenger flights from landing in the country from sunday for one week. and in portugal, the government on thursday instructed shops to suspend operations except for those selling daily necessities and it also asked people to stay home. japanese government officials will ask incoming travelers to self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival. the policy will come into effect on saturday. the new measures will apply to all travelers from 38 nations including most of europe, iran, and egypt. during the two-week period, both

foreign and japanese nationals arriving from these countries will be asked to isolate themselves at home or in hotelel and they'll a asked to not use public transport. many japanese in europe are cutting short their travel and business plans. the uk is a base for about a thousand japanese affiliated businesses. one person says he bought a new ticket to return on time. >> translator: i have a lot of work back home. if i can't make it, my family could also face inconveniences. it can't be helped. it was such a sudden development. >> and in france, a student says he has regrets over leaving halfway through the term. >> translalator: i'm sorry i couldn't stay to finish my studies, but i will stay at home and make the most of the spare time. >> the government says the new policy will continue until the end of april. the number of infected people in

japan has risen to nearly y 970 including those who were evacuated from china. the figure does not include the more than 700 cases on the "diamond princess" cruise ship. 41 people have died including seven from the ship. shinzo abe wants organizers of large scale events to continue exercising caught by assessing the risk of coronavirus infections. abe spoke at a meeting of the government's task force on friday one day after a panel of experts came up with the set of proposals to contain the spread of the virus. abe says organizers off large events should heed the experts' advice to assess the risksks properly and respond cautiously. he said he wants the eventers to study examples of prevention measures in making the decision.

and a new school year begins in april in japan. >> translator: i instructed the educatioion ministry to draw up specific guidelines on the reopening of schools as quickly as possible. >> the education minister responded to the move. >> translator: we had confirmed that school closures will not be extended into the spring break. >> the guidelines will be announced next week. the experts said that voluntarily consolations have led to the slight drop in infections but they warar that unless such efffforts are maintained japan could see an explosive spread of the virus. they urge the public to avoid poorly ventilated and crowded places. the chinese government has released a report that says the punishment handed out to a late doctor was inappropriate.

the physician issued an early warning about the coronavirus outbreak. the government released on thursday the results of the investigation into li wenliang. the report says the police's issuance of the letter was inappropriate. it said that they failed to respect law enforcement procedures. it suggested that the police revoke the letter and hold those responsible accountable. following the release of the report, wuhan police withdrew the reprimand and issued an apology to li and his family. they punished two officials in the case. li was an ophthalmologist in n wuhahan. he sounded the alarm before chinese officials made an official announcement. but he was reprimanded for what they called spreading false information. li died last month after

contracting the virus. central banks around the world continue to cut their key interest rates to help stem the turmoil in financial markets resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. the bank of england on thursday reduced the rate to 0.1%, a record low. this follows a cut last wednesday when the boe slashed it to 0.25%. the central paxs of other countries have cut their key rates. in australia by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.25%. in indonesia by 0.25% to 4.5%. and in the philippines to 3.25%.

u.n. secretary general antonio guterres said the pandemic is attacking the global economy. >> the global recession perhaps the records i mentioned is a near certainty. ton international labor organization has just reported that workers around the world would lose as much as 3.4 trillion u.s. dollars in inincome by the end d of this y. >> he called for a coordinated global resesponse to help developing n nations contatain s outbreaks. he said thatf thehe virus spreads like wildfire, especially in the most vulnerable regions of the world it would kill millions of people. guterres welcomed the decision to convene an emergency summit through a video link next week to discuss the pandemic. he called on them to agree on a response that will match the scale of the crisis. the olympic flame has arrived in japan.

it's another sign that preparations for the 2020 tokyo olympics are still underway. a special transport plane carrying the flame from greece landed in miyagi prefecture. in a welcome ceremony, judo athlete tadahiro nomura and saori yoshida received the flame. the ceremony also featured a flyover by the air self-defense force's acrobatic team. they painted the sky with the olympic symbol colors. the olympic torch relay will start on march 26th from the j-village soccer training facility in fukushima prefecture. organizers intend to use the

summer games to showcase recovery efforts in the area. but there are still questions about whether the games will go ahead as scheduled. and the head of the international olympic committee says they are considering different scenarios. "the new york times" published an interview thursday with ioc president thomasas bach. they asked if there was a deadline to decide whether the games will take place. bach said it would be irresponsible to set a date or make a final decision now because of the uncerertainty surrounding the crisis. but he reiterated that canceling the games wawas not on the agen. the head of japan's olympic committee later said he understands there's been no major change in the plan to hold the games as scheduled.

friday marks 25 years since the deadly sarin gas attack on the tokyo subway system by the aum shinrikyo cult. the kasumigaseki subway station was one of the places targeted that day. station officials offered silent prayers at 8 8:00 a.m. which wa the time of the attack 25 years ago. cult members released the toxic nerve agent inside morning rush hour commuter trains on three lines in central tokyo on march 20, 1995. 14 people were killed and about 5,300 were injured. shizu tack ahashy's husband died in the attack. he was an assistant station manager. >> translator: for know i'd like to spend time quietly looking back on the memory of my husband. >> 13 aum shinrikyo members were

later convicted and executed including shoko asahara. the public security intelligence agency says the successor groups of aum shinrikyo still following asahara's teachings. authorities are warning that the number of followers is son the rise especially among young people. some followers have been spotted at bookstores soliciting young people who seem interested in books on religion. they have been approaching young people without revealing the name of their group and enticing them through activities such as yoga classes and study sessions. >> translator: today i'm deeplp concerned that the young people could easily be drawn into the cult and have their lives completely overturned. i urge young people to be aware of the danger and not to join cult groups. now here's your three-day world weather forecast.

and that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline."

i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. thanks for watching and we'll have more for you soon. welcome to "newsline in depth." in the current situation, foreign travel has become difficult for most of us due t thee growing number of restrictions. so please join us as we revisit three destinations around asia where historical artifacts are being kept alive. these locations may not be recognized as unesco world heritage sites but each tells the story of its own time and place. we first travel to indonesia

where a recent find is putting light on previous society. researchers say that wall paintings discovered in a cave date back some 44,000 years. making them the oldest images of animals and people ever found anywhere in the world. >> nhk's the first tv station granted permission to film the art by the local government. we have to decide. the paintings are an hour away. to reach the property of the cement factory and from here we proceed on foot. >> translator: it's over there. >> reporter: after a 30 minute walk we spot the cave at the top of the shear rock face. we climb up about five meters.

so here's the cave where the oldest cave paintings are found, they're dated more than 40,000 years. the image of an n animal is clearly visible. it is believed t to be a water buffalo. this is a wild pig. analysis has dated it being 43,900 years old. the researchers say it's the oldest in the world. depicting animals and other objects. the researchers say thiss paintd images show people hunting and this is the oldest depiction in the world of a hunting scene. they think they are bird men with human bodies and bird head.

cave art was thought to have developed mainly in europe but this discovery has raised the possibilility that it developedn southeast asia. >> translator: it was a huge shock. not only for me, but for the whole research team. the people who lived here 43,000 years ago had the same sensibilities as people in europe. >> reporter: reseahers have found similar examples of wall art in other caves in the same area. >> translator: we still know very little. there's much more left to research. >> reporter: local researchers hope that more interest in the region will lead to further discoveries about the origins of cave art. ferdinand karsten, nhk world.

not all experts agree that they're the oldest cave paintings in the world but no matter what their precise age, this cave art with the depictships of hunting scenes taking us back to the earliest days of hunting society. hopefully they'll be preserved and studied so we can decipher the story and the message that people back then were trying to tell. our next stop is india.a. for 500 years the city has been nope for the blue color of the buildings. however, there are fears that the so-called blue city may be losing its distinctive identity. >> reporter: something is attracting the tourists. it's a soothing blue. northern india was historically the capital of a kingdom that

thrived in the 15th century. it's become famous as the blue city. >> look around, i have never seen this before in another place. >> reporter: this family has been here for generations. his entire 550-year-old house is blue. he applies the indigo paint twice a year. >> this is the only shade of blue we can consider. our family has passed these words on from father to son for generations. we hand paint the entire house with brushes. it's tough work but we're proud of our heritage. >> reporter: the color offers

some reasons, saying it protects the houses from termite damage. it's also the color of a hindu god that locals worship. and it's a contrast to the summer heat which can it -- hit 50 degrees celsius. but this historical city is facicing challenges.. modern conveniences have made it easier for people in jodpurr to find different colors of paint. one decided to usese a differen color when he renovated his house three years ago. > the indigo blue is an old fashioned color and in my opinion, i have changed with the fashion, with the trend and with the new colors.

>> reporter: but other residents want to maintain the traditions. there's a group of local yououn people whoho uses social media display the beauty of their blue city. he teaches his helpers to make the indigo paint and the traditional way it is applied. >> translator: our culture has a long history of continuing in harmony with the changing times so i will keep doing what i'm doing because i believe the future generations will carry on our tradition. >> reporter: no matter what changes the skyline sees, the history of these blue walls will

remain in this part of india. >> local experts say that the number of blue houses in jodpurr has dropped from around 20,000 to fewer than half that amount. this has prompted the local authorities to start providing subsidies for people who want to paint their houses in the traditional color. to preserve its heritage as india's blue city. now there's something special about traveling by train like many countries, japan has many ardent railway fans and train spotters here. many were in tears when one of the iconic trains was retired and the locomotive that pulled it through he coe day.

this is the third destination for today. >> reporter: a thai company bought the diesel train in 2018. officials at t the engngineerin company said that japanese locomotives are very popular overseas because of their robustness. but the trains came only to sit and seemed to rot about a year after the purchase. the issue was the operation manual. reading only in japanese, thai staff couldn't understand how to operate the hydraulic dieiesel locomotive. >> translator: we don't have the information for the maintenance, and the specification of these trains. >> reporter: while this type of train was built in japan between 1962 and 1978, it was a v vy

modern t tour. and it t transformed the train fatete. a die hard railway fan from japan living in thailand for 28 years posted the videos of the trains on youtube. it quickly captured the hearts of japanese fansns. >> translator: i felt that many people were very interested in the trains. >> reporter: a japanese engineer warned that trains weren't being operated correctly. a crowdfunding campaign was launched with the goal to send an engineer to thailand to provide proper guidance. in total about 22,000 u.s. dollars was raised. more than 50% of the original target.

>> translator: thehe blue colorf dd 51 has many fans and i was surprised to receive support from all over japan. >> reporter: part of the crowdfunding money was used to send the japanese technician to thailaland. and he showed how to operate the trains. he is a specialist who has been involved in the maintenance of many diesel locomotives including the dd 51 for years. the first thing he noticed was the lack of proper maintenance. >> translator: be sure to drain the accumulated water every time you start work. >> reporter: having an expert there to walk them through the operation in their own language with a translator was an eye opening moment for the thai engineers. ment. >> translator: i have learned so many new things today because when the machinery was delivered

we didn't know low to operate it. today it's lesson was very meaningful. >> translator: i hope the locomotives run throughout thailand and then stay here after they are retired. >> reporter: the dd 51 is now expected to be back on the rails and working soon, powered in part by the passion of railway fans who are all aboard when it comes to preserving the past. >> there are still a few of the dd 51 locomotives in use in japan pulling freight trains. as for the two that were shipped to thailand the engineers there say they will do their best to keep the locomotives in good shape for as long as possible. they will certainly have plenty

of support behind them from

>> the extension of a nanationa lockdown is likely. this friday emmanuel macron is holding a cabinet meeting to discususs further measures to combatat covid-19. this as infections double every four days. and california, 14 million residents are ordered to stay at home. the governor of the u.s. state has banned gatherings while nonessential businesses are shuttered. the high rate of infections means that roughly 22.4 million cacalifornians could come down with the coronavirus.