♪ from our studio in tokyo, this is nhk "newsline." we we start with a milestone in the global race for a coronavirus vaccine. u.s. pharma giant pfizer is set to seek approval for its candate drug. it says the shot is 95% effective.man paonner, ontech annnced this on wednesday. 170 coronavirus cases were

identified among over 40,000 people who took part. just eight occurred in those who .ot the actual vaccine the others received a placebo. pfizer says the vaccine poses no serious health problems. the drugmaker sayst inow has the data on the vaccine's safety needed to seek emergency authorization from the food and drug administration. it plans to do so within several days. e fda will hold meetings to discusshe vacci ahead of possible green liginhtg. a senior official told u.s. media the process will take several weeks. pfizer earlier reached a basic reement with the government of japan on supplying the count ry with doses for 60 million people by the end of next june. >>s meanwhile, authorities in taiwan are stepping up anti-virus measures, even though they haven't seen any domestic

infections for more than seven months. taiwan's health minister announced on wednesday ppleeo must wear facemasks and department stores, cinemas and other crowded places from december 1. ssengers on pliubc transportation must also cover their mouthsnder the new rule offenders face a fine of aut $500. taiwanese people will have to presenteg native pcr test results when entering taiwan. until now, only foreign travelers have been required to do so. confirmed.tire pandicec but only 55 of them were domestic ses.ca officials say the burden on medical institutions may increase if a simtaulneous oureak of seasonal influenza and the coronavirus happens in the winter. they expect more people will visit taiwan in february.

the u.n. general assembly s adoed apt resolution expressing international concern over north korea's human rights a abuses. it urges the north to resolve e decades old issue of the abduction of foreign nationals. the resolution submitted by japan, the united states and others won overwhelming support in a vote at the general assembly on wednesday. it's the 16th consecutive year the resolution has been adopted. the resolution condemns in the strongest termshat it calls the systematic widespread and gross violations of human rights by north korea. it also urges pyongyang to provide family memrsbe with accurate information on abducted foreners a requests they are promptly repatriated.

prior to the vote, a japanese envoy called for support from the international community to resolve the abductions issue. he noted the deaths this year of the parents of two japanese abductees. the father of one and the mother of another. >> it is heartbreaking to imagine the pain of the family members who passed away after working so hard for over 40 years to rescue their dearest children in vein. there's no time to lose. >> north korea's ambassador to the u.n. slammed the resolution, calling it a political plot, rather than a human rights issue. the japanese government has decided to extend the maritime self-defense force's deployment in middle east waters by another year. the mission is aimed at ensuring safe navigation for vessels related to japan. japan sent a destroyer and patroller for intelligence

gathering amid ongoing regional tension. the role is classified as study and research activity under the ministry's establishment law. the initial one-year deployment, which was endorsed by the cabinet last year, will expire on december 26th. the government says it has year after studying the another mission's activities, citing the need to continue intelligence gathering. the cabinet will formally approve the plan and notify the diet. turning to thailand where fresh protests erupted on the streets of bangkok wednesday as lawmakers rejected a proposal to reform the monarchy. many ptesters are vowing they won't back down despite an increasing police crackdown that's included water cannon and tear gas. seven proposals were on the table in parliament wednesday. they approved two that would allow for discussion on revising the constitution. nixed one that would potentially

limit the monarchy's power. the outcome fell short of the protesters' demands, which aside from monarchy reform include curbing the military's political influence and removal of the prime minister, a former army chief who initially came to power in a 2014 military coup. protesters reacted by marching to the royal thai police headquarters, spraying it with graffiti and paint. >> translator: it's not fair. they are not listening to the people's voices. i will find time to come to demonstrations until every one of our submitted demands has been met. >> wednesday's unrest comes after 55 people were injured during clashes on tuesday. protesters are vowing to forge on, with their next major event scheduled for later this month. a number of countries in southeast asia say they are concerned about territorial disputes in the south china sea. the association of southeast

asian nations is calling for disagreements to be resolved peacefully. the chairperson released a statement on wednesday that came after a four-day online summit chaired by vietnam wrapped up on sunday. the statement says the group discussed the situation in the south china sea. it says some leaders were concerned about land reclamation as well as activities and serious incidents in the area. it appeared to be a reference to china. earlier this year, beijing set up administrative districts on some islands in the region. the statement went on to say the group reaffirms the need to resolve disputes peacefully i line with universally recognized principles of international law. u.s. aviation authorities ha lifted a worldwide flight ban on the boeing 737 max. the airliner has been grounded since march last year after two deadly crashes.

the administrator of the u.s. federal aviation administration made the announcement on cnbc that the passenger jet was cleared for flying again. >> i'm 100% confident. it's the most scrutinized transport airplane in history. it is ready to go. >> a 737 max crashed in indonesia in oober 28 and another in ethiopia the following year. the two incidents claimed a total of 346 lives and prompted the faa to ban flights by the aircraft. a u.s. congress report noted a main cause was boeing's rush to develop the 737 max to compete with airbus, its european rival. flights will likely be resumed before the end of the year at the earliest. boeing has been struggling since the crashes. it slashed the size of its workforce after incurring heavy

losses due to the coronavirus. the u.s. aerospace giant posted a net loss of $460 million in the july to september period. that was the firm's fourth consecutive quarterly loss. last month, china set a long-term target to double its economy and fwk a developed country by 2035. the key to achieving this is increasing income in rural areas which have a large welt galth g with urban areas. they are trying to fix that by digitalizing agriculture. >> reporter: this is china's biggest agriculture producer. but the per capita gdp in the pro-jins is about half that of beijing. >> translator: if you go online, you can sell your apples anywhere in china.

this is great produce that should be sold all over. >> reporter: an i.t. startup has sent an instructor to teach farmers how to connect with consumers in big cities. this is in line with a government policy encouraging farmers to sell produce online to expand distribution channels. >> translator: it would be great if i could sell my apples online. i am pretty sure people would buy them. they are cheap and tasty. >> reporter: the startup is based in shanghai and helps farmers expand their sales channels. it started just five years ago. but annual active users are already over 680 million. the firm analyzes users'

data to further increase revenue to farmers. based on data analysis, it advises farmers on what to produce and when. the firm aims to better utilize technology in farming. they are experimenting with growing strawberries in greenhouses equipped with sensors and cameras to monitor temperature and other conditions. artificial intelligence allows even inexperienced farmers to produce large yields. >> translator: from growing crops to distributing and consuming them, we would like to turn the traditional agriculture into a digitalized one. >> reporter: the chinese government aims to increase income in farming villages through digitalization. at the same time, rural ars are aging. elderly farmers may not take to new technology. it remains to be seen whether china can achieve this goal through technological innovation.

iga akito, nhk world, beijing. mong on world weather. with our meteorologist tsietsi monare. we are experiencing warmer than usual temperatures in some parts of japan. walk us through the details. >> yeah. it's getting slightly warmer, especially towards western japan. temperatures are well above average. that might continue for a few days before it dips back to normal again. we have seen a low purchase system and a very strong front that is basically controlling the weather towards the northern parts. these are the numbers we're seeing in kumamoto prefecture. we saw the highest around 26.6 degrees. november record, these are temperatures you normally see in the summer. we expect it to basically get back to normal once the frontal system as well as the low pressure moves closer towards the sea of japan, affecting much of the weather across the coastal line. also certain parts are

experiencing normal temperatures. it's cooler and rainy weather moving in towards hokkaido. temperatures dipping to the single digits. if you are in tokyo, look at this. 24 for thursday and friday. sunday and monday, things will get better. the rest of asia will be slightly cooler for the northern part. snowfall expected along those regions. sun yun -- sunny skies in towards the capital of china. rainy weather for those that are in south korea and southern north korea. across central america, people have been dealing with devastating hurricanes. weather-like condition there is quite disastrous. let us lk at this deo to see what people are dealing with in terms of the aftermath after thousands of homes were destroyed after a hurricane slammed the northeastern parts of nicaragua. many people were left homeless after strong winds and heavy rain lashed the area. many towns are partially flooded.

the soils are well saturated with water. the problem is there will be more rainfall. the storm has downgraded to a tropical depression, expect lots of moisture to move towards that northeastern interior. that could lead to further flooding. for the northern part of america moving into the united states, we see snow and cold weather towards the northwestern pacific and temperatures dwindling down into the single digits along those parts. that's all your weather. take care. that's all for this hour. thank you for watching nhk

"newsline." hope you'll join us again. ♪ welcome to "newsline in depth." i'm shibuya aki. these days, we are hearing more about ways to build resilience to overcome the challenges we face at home and work due to the ongoing pandemic. a key word that comes up is endurance. today we look to people in the world of extreme sport and martial arts for their message that you are stronger than you think and can adopt in ways you

never dreamed possible. first off, we bring you a daring story of scaling new heights literally. we watch as two japanese climbers climb a treacherous mountain face. the pair received mountaineering's highest honor this year. their goal was to scale the 7,788 meter mountain in northern pakistan. not on the various known routes. instead, the peak via the unwelcoming southern side, which no man has climbed before. as if that wasn't enough, they also document their life and death decision making in the unpredictable harsh terrain in stunning visuals. lucky for us, it just so happens, they are professional high altitude cameramen.

>> its almost vertical face points towards the sky. >> these two men took on the mountain in june last year. they climbed the challenging southern face, a route no one had ever attempted because of its treacherous terrain and threat of avalanches. in fact, while climbing, they saw frequent snow slides. >> translator: there are many large avalanches which missed us only by a few steps. >> to get through the danger zone, the two climbers focused on speed. they carried minimal equipment and food.

their goal was to reach the peak with as few stops as possible. the climbers roped up and headed toward the summit. team work was essential. the younger and more energetic went first and plowed a new route. the more experienced climber monitored their safety from behind as they ascended the demaing terrain. >> translator: it would not have been good if both of us were only accelerating forward, nor if both of us were over cautious. >> translator: we worked together to compensate for each other's weaknesses, which is how

we were able to stand on the peak. >> on the third day of climbing, at 6,800 meters, not far from the summit, a sudden blizzard struck the mountain. they stayed in their tents and waited for the weather to break. >> the temperature, minus 15 degrees celsius. oxygen levels are 40% that at sea level. the climbers are traveling light and counting on speed. >> translator: we were already splitting one meal between two people. later, we each got a quarter ration to stretch the food.

>> nakajima recorded what he felt at the time in hit notebook. "how i long for human warmth in this biting cold. it is not only my problem. at the time of their climb, his wife was expecting their second child. >> translator: i was thinking about my family. i really wanted to finish climbing quickly and return to my family. >> even so, the men stayed calm and observed the changes in air pressure and movements of the clouds. they waited until the weather broke for a chance to reach the

peak. >> translator: i think the most dangerous situation would be if i weren't scared. i need to realize the dangers surrounding each of my steps. >> the evening of the second day of biding their time. >> it began an eight-hour climb the next morning. and finally reached the 7,788 meter peak. from the summit, they could see

k-2, the second highest mountain in the world. >> translator: i am completely satisfied. there are still many mountains i want to climb. >> the two conquered the mountain and later received an international award. but they're already planning their next adventure, a never attempted route on k2. >> translator: hard work is needed to meet a new challenge. you need to get off your back side and move. you might not know if you can do what is beyond that. but you need to start somewhere. >> translator: when hitting a wall, looking for a reason not to do something is easy and simple.

i want to look for reasons to do something. there is hope on the other side of that difficult wall. >> searching for a reason to tackle your next challenge? look no further than two mountaineers who, despite accolades and awards, haven't yet reached their peak. >> now they are gearing up for that forbading k2 climb. k2 is the world's second largest mountain after everest, dubbed the mountain of ruthlessness. it's respected as the world's most difficult peak to climb, with more deaths and distress than any other. they plan to reach the summit via the western wall, a route never chartered before. while the pandemic has put a hamper on their training plans, they are running 20 to 30 kilometers daily at lower

elevations and analyzing weather conditions. all following their motto, never give up. the pandemic has given many sports their own mountains to climb. now let's move from snow to sun and head to thailand where things are tough for those in close contact sports. endurance, boy, have they got it. here is how people in one gym are using their discipline and fighting spirit to survive. >> in mui thai, trained martial artists battle using fierce kicks and purvelgs. thailand is said to have 20,000 of these athletes. the famous gym in bangkok has 40 such members. after being shut down for months due to the pandemic, practice resumed in june. the professional athletes are still facing tough times.

even the former champion can rarely find competition these days. he picked up some temporary work in construction to support his family. for the tournaments that remain, sponsorship is down. his prize money is a quarter of what it would have been before the pandemic. >> translator: before the coronavirus, my career was taking off. when the pandemic hit, it ground to a halt. >> the situation has cast a dark shadow over the gym as student numbers decline. foreigners made up 60% of the patrons here. most of them are gone and sales are declining. before the outbreak, the gym's main customers were foreign enthusiasts who came for erything from beginn lessons to serious training.

>> translator: foreign visitors were our main source of income. so the situation has had a serious impact. >> amid the tough situation, the gym has started a new type of battle. a fight to survive using social media. its popular athletes now personally sell t-shirts online. >> the gym has been streaming less experienced athletes who are unlikely to get opportunities to compete during these times. they are trying to promote themselves for staying motivated. recently, a new initiative was launched to vote for your favorite athlete. the winner was featured on a talk show stream and social media. the efforts are been a hit. fans around the world have bought the products.

athletes received responses from overseas, including singapore, south korea, laos and other asian countries. >> translator: we have to survive by employing new social media marketing tactics that will attract more followers and viewers. >> with the situation likely to remain difficult, the gym will keep trying new ways to use social media to battle back from the ropes. >> as restrictions are slowly lifting in thailand, stadiums are reopening, some with spectators. beginning last month, the government also began permitting the limited return of overseas visitors. but the path forward is still uncertain. it may be helpful to reflect on the way the gym made peace with the unknown and paced itself for the long fight. whether from soaring mountain peaks or a small gym, athletes

who have taken on and endured grueling tests of mind and body have a lot to teach us. trading impossible challenges as opportunity is a way to move forward. thank you for watching and see you soon. ֎֎֎֎l]ddddd"

anchor: 95% effective. drug maker pfizer is will be seeking efforts to produce its vaccine. this is pres. trump:, this is al jazeera, live fromdoha. breaking with tradition, mike pompeo is set to become the first top diplomatic visitn