welcome to "nhk newsline." here are the stories at this hour. in japan the government say it is can earn new coronaviruss on monday. three prefectures remain under a state of emergency in response to a recent spike in infections. tpz the total number of infections in tokyo now stands

at 76,163, a record 131 people are in serious condition. amid the pandemic, monday marks coming of age day in japan. that's when young people celebrate turning 20. enyear local municipalities hold ceremonies for them. many of the events were cancelled due to the pandemic, but under the state of emergency, authorities split the ceremonies between two venues and held eight separate events. officials urged the participants not to celebrate in group gatherings afterwards. >> translator: my parents were so happy that i can go to ceremonies. so i can help them more as an adult. >> meanwhile, a photo studio west of japan is offering special sittings for new adults and their families. the local municipality postponed their ceremony.

a stylist dressed them in kimono in a room ventilated and disinfected. >> translator: i'm so happy to wear a kimono on the day the ceremony was originally planned. >> translator: i came to see my daughter entering into adulthood. i feel like this is the last thing i need to do for her as her mother. i can't stop crying. >> around the country, officials reported almost 4,900 new cases on monday. that brings the total to more than 294,000. over 4,100 people have died. a research team based in britain says an arthritis drug can significantly improve covid-19 patients. researchers from imperial college london and elsewhere reported their findings from a clinical trial of the rheumatoid arthritis drug, aktemra.

they say the mortality rate was nearly 36% for about 400 patients in a control group receiving standard care, but was reduced by more than seven points to 28% for about 350 people who received the drug. it was developed by japan's osaka university and shugi pharmaceutical among others. the drug is expected to help inhibit the overreaction of the immune system. the british government said on its website that it encourages the use of the drugs to treat covid-19 patients in intensive care uni. the seychelles islands off east africa have begin administering a coronavirus vaccine developed by the chinese state-owned drug maker sinopharma. local drug makers say this is the first time a covid-19 vaccine has been used in africa. the country says it received a donation of 50,000 doses from

the united arab emirates. the president explain why he became the first in the country to get the shot at a hospital in the capital, victoria. >> i want this to be an example for all seychelles. i want to show that the vaccine is safe and that it will give us another tool in our arsenal for victory. >> most african nations including south africa, the hardeshit couny on the continent have lagged supplies in getting the vaccine. some obserrs t campaign as a sign of efforts to increase its presence in africa. weather officials in japan say heavy snow has passed its peak in some coastal regions, but they're still warning of dangerous conditions and avalanches.

this comes as some areas have seen more than double the average amount of snowfall for this time of year. the meteorological agency says a strong winter pressure pattern and a massive extremely cold air caused large amounts of snow to fall in the hokoda region. more than one meter has accumulated in some places along the sea of japan coast. the conditions at one point left more than 1,000 cars stranded on a expressway. about 80 vehicles were still stuck as of monday afternoon. grounds self-defense force personnel are continuing rescue operations. the snow has also led to a number of accidents in the affected areas, as residents try to clear their homes. so far, nine people are dead across five prefectures and over 270 are injured. the bitter cold is pushing up demandor electricity. power companies are calling on

households and businesses to use energy efficiently. meanwhile, a separate low pressure system could bring snow to the other side of the country. officials say some areas along the pacific coast, including parts of kyushu may see some accumulation through tuesday. the u.s. house speak says democratic members of congress will urge mike pence to take steps to remove president trump from office nancy pelosi unveiled a plan in a letter to fellow lawmakers on sunday, just days after trump supporters laid siege to the u.s. capitol. congress was inside at the time, certifying joe biden's election victory. pelosi said democratic leaders will request unanimous consent on monday to bring up a resolution calling for invoking the 25th amendment of the constitution to remove trump as president. she said the horror of the

ongoing assault on our democracy perpetrated by this president has intensified and so has the immediate need for action. pelosi asked the vice president to respond within 24 hours. but various media outlets are reporting that pence has no intention of responding to calls to remove trump. pelosi also expressed her readiness to proceed with another draft resolution that could lead to trump being impeached for a second time. switching now to north korea, where state media says the country's leader has a new title. kim jong-un is now general secretary of the ruling workers' party, a post that was held by his late father. the party's newspaper says the move came on the sixth day of a big political gathering in pyongyang on sunday. it quotes the party congress saying kim has completed plans to build up the north's nuclear capabilities, turning the nation into world military power.

kim took up the newly created post of party chairman at a congress five years ago. meanwhile, south korea's military says it's detected signs that the north held a military parade for the congress on sunday night. it is trying to confirm more details with u.sforces. and moving to japan, the central asia they elected a new president. he has been projected as the winner of sunday's vote, which followed months of political turmoil. preliminary results cited by the national election commission showed that he won more than 79% of the vote. the 52-year-old was elected to parliament in 2005 and at one point served as a presidential adviser. but he was imprisoned in 2017 for kidnapping a regional governor as part of a protest. kyrgyzstan was swept up in the political upheaval last october when allegations that a

parliamentary election was rigged forced the then-president to resign. he was freed by his supporters amid the unrest and served as interim president for about a month. he now faces the challenge of promoting economic reform. the country's long-struggling economy has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. heavy rain has triggered two landslides in western indonesia, leaving at least 11 people dead and 18 injured. weather authorities are warning of more rainfall. officials say the first landslide took place in west java on saturday. the second hit as a search and rescue team tried to evacuate people. some rescuers were among the victims. authorities are watching out for more landslides in the area. landslides and flooding often hit indonesia, particularly during the rainy season from november to march.

some christian priests in japan are respond iing to the worries people have in these challenging times. by looking to listen. we sat down with one of them under the condition we use a different name. also change the voices of some people in the report to protect their identities. >> this buddhist temple, priests here have been giving consultations over the phone. they have taken special training in how to listen to people's concerns. they are counsellor priests. it was born after the earthquake in 2011. at this temple, counsellor priests set aside one day every

two weeks to take calls from people and listen to their concerns. the big difference from their usual role as priest is that they listen attentively without impoesing their faith or asking for ntribution. he was certified as a counsellor priest in 2020. the 2011 earthquake attacked a local community. in the aftermath, he visited many shelters and encouraging evacwees. >> translator: i hope to say something meaningful, but i became uncertain wondering where i was really listening. >> in 2017 he came to a certain reallization when he attended a lecture given by a counsellorer. the speaker said that our

personal duty, making pressure on those who were already suffering. he realized that the first step toward helping people is to listen sincerely. he decided to become a counsellor priest and train for two years. in april 2020, he finally started his new mission. he had difficulty discovering the deep roots of his problems, so he asked advice from a more experienced counsellor priest. >> reporter: in phone conversations, we concentrated on the speaker's words. but we should try to understand that emotions behind the words.

>> reporter: after he received this advice, he talked to a woman who lived alone and has been unemployed for a few months. he focused on the expression in her voice and tried to imagine the emotion inside. >> he must have been trying hard despite the mount iing challeng. i feel bad for the only thing i can do is pray to find a good job. >> i hope to be on their side and walk along with them.

this is my goal as a priest. >> as priest and as counsellor, he hopes to continue to support those in need of help by lending an ear. here's the weather forecast for the next three days. and that's a wrap for this edition of "nhk newsline." thank you for joining us.

welcome to "newsline in-depth." the secretary general made repeated calls for global peace to focus on defeating the covid-19 pandemic. but even in the face of this common threat, war and conflict continue to plague humanity. today we'll examine how deeply these scars can can run and to bring choe sure to two wars.

our first report, it's been 45 years since the vietnam war ended. thewo sid fghtac oth d soh, fomore thaten year a showdownetween world powe. cordinto the vernment abou 850,000 soldiers lost their lives and many have yet to be identified. last year the government recruited new technology to identify the unknown casualties and finally bring some closure to bereaved families. fpz. >> translator: he lives in a village in vietnam. his brother at the age of 18. he says that the authorities told him his brother was killed in 1972, but no remains have ever been returned. despite repeated requests for more information, the families

do have no idea what happened to their loved one. >> it would mean so much to us to have my brother back in some way even just a small piece of bone would help. >> the former border between the two vietnams, he's helping locate h fallen cam rad. he serve d as medic during the war. he still remembers some bower y'all sites and is helping the military identifying the location. so far, he has contribute d to fighting more than 20 sets of e remains. >> many of my comrades were killed in that fighting. since they were my fellow soldiers, it's really important for me to find them now.

>> identify iing the remains is another challenge. there are graves of soldiers right across the country. the government has set up the testing center to extract dna to identify remains. it keeps samples of the where they were buried and other related information. researchers take the dna from each sample and try to match it to living people such as family members lost in the war. the government says it aims to test 4,000 sets of remains a year. however, only 500 have been processed over the last year at the center as researchers and the kept chemicals essential to the process are in such supply.

>> translator: i can't say when all the remains will be identified. >> despite the delay, the center is still a small source of hope for bereaved families. >> translator: i don't know how long i will be around. but i hope the government will be able to find the remains of my brother. >> 45 years since the guns fell silent, bereaved families across vietnam are still waiting to be reunited with those they love. nhk world. technical issues are prolonging the way for the families. it's difficult to get quality dna from remanes buried for over 40 years. the u.s. government recently offered $2.4 million in aid.

that should help accelerate the pace of identification. next we report on lebanon, a country not only wrestling with past trauma, but also still struggling to keep the peace. hope to 18 different religious sects, this wasorn apart by a r. the fight iinended in 199 but plilt ca situati remain unstle. situatn, a gro of expoers have jnedoet dialogu gog with tir formeenemies. >>eople w fight againach her in lebanos cil war are no discuing the untry's future. they belong to an organization called fighters for peace.

the group is made up of 50 former combatants. they got together in 2014 and began reaching out to lebanese society with a message of peace. they shared their experiences at the civil war and watched people kill each orr because of religious and sectarian differences. and they speak of the importance of mutual understanding. members have spoken to nearly 30,000 young people and they set up dialogue sessions for residents in areas where tensions run high between religious groups and sects. one of the group's key members is a former fighter who now works as a journalist.

religion, sects and ethnic groups are better twined in lebanese society. gabbi was born to a father and lebanese mother. they raised him as a christian. he first held a gun at the age of 12. about a year before the civil war. he was taught at school that fighting was essential in light of his father's roots, he joined a palestinian militia group. fpz the civil war began between violence between christians and palestinians. neighboring countries became involved the war became a quagmire. more than 100,000 people were killed. georg georg the 1 years of fighthrouout

he sometimes visits the graves of victims of the civil war. coming here reminds him of an experience he had as the war was drawing to a close. he encounter an enemy soldier who looked like his younger brother. he was so shocked he set soldier free. by realized that fighting people because of different believes

was point leless. the war ended, but people are mained hostile toward each other. gabbi talked with other former soldier who is had experienced the same tragic civil war and shared his feeling. they began a movement to tell physicfellow citizens that past mistakes must never be repeated. the group's members include form soldiers who were once enemies. he fought in the civil war as a senior officer of a right wing christian militia. he took part in massacres of palestinians. ten years after the war, he officially apologized. to a palestinian, he was part of the most unforgivable enemy.

>> they overcame their hatred through tie log. their message is that people should talk, not fight. and through their efforts, that message is starting to reach youngsters. >> people like you give me so much hope and it's absolute proof that change is happening. >> young syrians who fled the civil war in their own country had begun taking part in the dialogue.

>> we will need your help for our fighters. >> but now, he's full of anxiety. more than 190 people were killed in the explosion that devastate ed the capital in august. lebanon's politics and economy were thrown into turmoil. the public quickly became angry about the government's slow efforts rebuild. tn tensions became more intense. this led to deadly fights. gabbi and his group believed dialogue is more important than ever.

they held a workshop to help achieve reck sill yigs. 25 citizens from different religious sects came together to take part. they promise to put what they learn into practice in their communities. gabbi and his group still face challenges, but little by little, their efforts to encourage tie log are baring fruit. >> the ngo is now working with groups in iraq reaching out to former soldiers who fought with islamic militants. you can check out the talk. they posted an open lot ter on the internet to the fighters of today. time heals all wounds, the old saying goes, but the two reports we saw today remind us how deep

and long lasting the scars can be. healing is possible in a fractured world, but it will take effort and willingness by people on all sides to reach out. thank you for watching and see you again next time. ñai>úogfv

>> you're watching al jazeera, these are top stories. president donald trump's twitter account has been permanently suspended, two days after a mob of trump supporters encouraged by the president stormed the u.s. capitol building. the social media platforms cited the risk of further incitement of violence. we have more from washington. >> donald trump's personal account is now gone. there will be no more tweets from his account. he still does have access to the official