i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. please stay with us. want to feel cooler - or warmer - without running up your utility bill? you can reduce your bills with a flip of a switch on your ceiling fan. in summer, set your fan counter- clockwise. it stirs up the cool air that hangs near the floor in winter, just flip the switch again so your fan runs clockwise on low speed. this pushes the warm air down where you need it. and if you're buying, choose an energy-efficient fan. now that makes sense.

i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> thailand's worst rainfall in 50 years caused flooding in northern and northeastern parts of the country. residents of bangkok are on maximum alert as high tides will continue several days. our reporter has more on that. >> reporter: northern and central parts of thailand were inundate with the flooding of the river that runs towards the thai capitol. it is in and around homes. they are bracing for possible flood damage and tides reached the highest levels since the heavy rainfall began. now the water level of the river is still rising. as you can see, water spread its banks into the shopping streets. bangkok residents are on high alert because of heavy rainfall and high tide. bangkok is located in a delta area. if the river overflows, it will cause widespread damage. >> the damage is getting worse day by day. we are losing business. >> all i can do is to wait for the rain season to end. workers are reinforcing barriers by piling sand bags at subway entrances and in front of department stores. residents are stockpiling necessities for possible emergency. the boats la

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us.

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. we'll be back with more of your updates at the top of the next hour. we'll see you then. >> "california's gold" is produced in association

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. i'm catherine k tokyo.o stay with us. >>> our first pick this week, a science program known for breathtaking misty scenery. its milky fog is on an island. the fog formed on the ocean surface some 500 kilometers away. the latest filming technology captured the mechanism behind its journey. >>> next, a program on mal asia. an islamic country with unique export strategy. the islamic term means it is allowed. in mal asia, products including food stufs are certified as halal according to a national standard. now businesses use these certifications as lefrmg verage the business market. >>> and then introduction to japanese aesthetics. this edition of the mark of beauty introduces free spirited use of color of this.

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. cl hi, i'm alex guiriba outreach program services coordinator at college of san mateo. and csm alum. csm gave me the opportunity to transfer and graduate from the world's top public institution. and also, it gave me the opportunity to work in public service, which is a dream i've always had. i'm concerned about the current budget situation in california, and how current and future students may not have the same privileges and opportunities i had. to find out how you can help support csm, please go to the web address below. thanks for your support.

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. libya's national transitional council says its forces have killed deposed leader muammar al gadhafi and one of his sons. rebels are celebrating in the capital of tripoli. the leader announce they are captured the dictator in sirte. sirte was the last stronghold for gadhafi loyalists. gadhafi disappeared in august. while reportedly hiding in a suburb of sirte, he used satellite tv to call on his supporters to fight until the bitter end. crowds of libyans burst into songs of jubilations after the demise. to put an end to eight months of civil war. moous ta fa jaleel is expected to hold a conference on saturday and declare all of libya liberated. disagreements within the ntc are dlae ii ining launch. >> this marks the end of a long and painful chapter for the people of libya. who now have the opportunity to determine their own destiny in a new and democratic libya. >> people in libya today have an even greater chance after this news of building themselves a strong and democratic future.

i'm catherine kobayashi. the yen hit a new high against the dollar in sydney. it followed the previous high marked on friday in new york. now on sydney's foreign exchange market, the dollar briefly changed hands at 75.32 yen after trading for the yen accelerated. it is now trading at 75.74-75. >>> the european union asked a group of 20 developed and emerging economies to unite to contain the euro zone debt crisis. eu president and the european commission president sent letters to leaders of the g-20 countries. the letters say the eu will progressively implement measures to increase the capacity of the european financial stability facility, the bailout fund, to 1 trillion euro to assist financially troubled members. the measures were agreed upon at the eu summit last week. letters mention the stepping up of the functions of the international monetary fund and also referred to the introduction of a financial transaction tax to strengthen monitoring of speculative financial trading. an nhk correspondent says the eu wants to show case its measures at a g-20 summit

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. rescue efforts are continuing in eastern turkey after sunday's major earthquake. the workers are racing against time. as the chances of anyone surviving beneath the rubble are said to fade dramatically after 72 hours. 459 people are confirmed dead, and more than 1300 are injured. the magnitude 7.2 earthquake also destroyed at least 2200 buildings. in the hardest hit down of urgess, crews are using heavy machinery to search for people under the debris, but they're being hampered by a series of strong aftershocks. a two-week-old baby girl and her mother were found alive in the rubble. and a 10-year-old boy was also rescued. >> translator: it's incredible. i hope other people will be found alive. with overnight temperatures dropping to freezing point, many survivors are sleeping in tents and huddling around fires to stay warm. emergency food supplies are still not reaching all of the affected communities, and electricity and water remain cut off. >>> thailand's prime minister has urged r

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. tokyo. thanks for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

i'm catherine kobayashi. friday marks the tenth anniversary of the u.s. invasion of afghanistan. in response to the september 11 terrorist attacks. taliban fighters are stepping up their offensive, making prospects for rebuilding afghanistan unclear. a decade has passed since the united states launched military operations against al qaeda in afghanistan. the invasion also toppled the taliban regime. a new government was later formed under president ham i did karzai with international support, however, with public discontent during reconstruction has allowed the taliban to get stronger. the u.n. says over 1400 civilians were killed in the first half of this year. the highest number since the invasion. >> translator: things improved after the collapse of the taliban. recent recently, the security situation is deteriorating. >> translator: people's lives have become much worse since the u.s. army came to afghanistan. >> the u.s. military began its pullout in july and nato plans to withdraw combat troops from afghanistan by the end of 2014. >>> a japanese expert says measures are nee

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us.back with more of your updates at the top of the next hour.

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. much of greece came to a standstill on wednesday as tens of thousands of people walked off the job. the action is part of a two-day strike ahead of a crucial vote in parliament on a new round of salary cuts and tax hikes. >> reporter: greeks are descending on the streets in central athens to take part in the demonstration. >> the nationwide strike began on wednesday morning, when public transport and other workers left their workplaces in response to calls from labor unions. in athens more than 120,000 people took to the streets in the largest protests since the greek debt crisis surfaced in 2009. but the demonstrations turned violent when some of the protesters started smashing store windows and throwing fire bombs at police, who responded with tear gas. the greek parliament gave initial approval to a new round of austerity measures in a vote late on wednesday. a final vote is scheduled for thursday. the measures include tax hikes, cuts to pensions and wages, and a reduction of 30,00

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks so much for joining us.

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. tokyo. thanks for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> the first of three picks this week is a special program documenting a charity project by world renowned pianist bob james. in northeastern japan, iwate prefecture where the tsunami caused severe damage, bob james played with a local big band. he composed a new piece of music in the hope of raising the spirits of the people of iwate. our second pick looks at how the active participation of women in society is stimulating growth in mongolia. mongolia is known for gender par it ee in law and other professions. out of 800 small and medium enterprises, 80% are owned by women. this program studies how women are supporting the country's economic growth. and finally, we meet a japanese ballet dancer that received global acclaim. we'll explore the world view of this artist with the royal ballet, still aiming high, desp

i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> japan's prime minister noda is visiting south korea and will meet his counterpart in the capitol of seoul wednesday. >> translator: i want to have thorough discussions on future oriented japan, south korea ties, including an economic partnership agreement. >> noda will likely urge south korea to resume negotiations for an economic partnership agreement. the proposed free trade pact has been suspended for seven years. he will also discuss how the two countries and the united states can resolve north korea's nuclear program and issues. noda is expected to hand over a set of ancient korean books, with royal protocol that have been kept in japan. it is believed he will invite lee to japan in a bid to continue the high level talks between the nations. >>> decontamination work has begun on residential buildings in fukushima city tuesday. the cities is about 60 kilometers from the crippled fukushima daiichi power plant. high levels of radiation have been found in different parts of the city. the decontamination work began tuesday. radiation levels there are relatively hig

i'm catherine kobayashi. the european union summit tops headlines this thursday morning. we go straight to business news this hour with ai uchida. >> thanks, catherine. and welcome to "newsline" business. leaders of the eu have officially agreed to boost the capital of banks in the region. however, discussions still continue among the euro zone member nations on asking european commercial banks to reduce their greek debt holdings to a sustainable level. the eu leaders gathered in brussels on wednesday to follow up a meeting that was held on sunday. they're discussing comprehensive measures to address the sovereign debt concerns that are posing a threat to the global economy. eu leaders agreed to ask european banks to raise their core capital ratios to 9% by the end of june 2012. the meeting of euro zone members continues with talks on the specifics of a greek debt write-off -- writedown, rather. and details of an expansion in the bailout fund. but the leaders and banks do not seem to have reached an agreement on reducing greek debt and on the planned expansion of the europ

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. the hope of finding more survivors is what's driving rescue crews in turkey. they've been digging through rubble for more than 36 hours. the magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit the eastern part of the country on sunday. the tremors brought hundreds of buildings crashing down, killing nearly 280 people. in the city of van near the epicenter, footage from security cameras shows the moment the quake hit. the anatolia news agency reports 279 are dead and about 1300 others are wounded. about 1200 rescue workers from across the country and military troops are searching around the clock using heavy machinery. but aftershocks are forcing rescue operations to be suspended intermitntly. many of the collapsed buildings are in urban centers. there are no detailed reports yet on the damage in rural areas. many people are believed to be trapped under debris. the international community including japan and the u.s. has offered to help. but the turkish government says it can deal with the matter by itself.

i'm catherine kobayashi. this just in to us. apple reported that its former top executive steve jobs has died. he resigned from the post at the end of august. jobs was a world renowned charismatic manager who was responsible for the success of best-selling products like the iphone and the ipad. once again, apple has confirmed its former stop executive steve jobs has passed away. he resigned from the post in august. he was a world renowned charismatic manager who was responsible for the success of best-selling products like the iphone and the ipad. >>> one of the most powerful politicians in japan is going on trial in an hr. former democratic party leader ichiro ozawa is facing criminal charges in connection with a political funding scandal. it's extremely rare for a powerful politician in japan to face criminal charges in court. security is tight in and around the tokyo district court. in a park next to the building, many people gathered for the chance to win seats for the public gallery. ozawa is accused of falsifying financial

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. welcome to "newsline." joining me with the details is ai uchida from our business desk. >> the euro foal a ten-year low against the yen dipping to the upper 100 yen level. euro/yen continues to hover at those levels this tuesday morning. investors sold the single european currency taking their cue from news that debt strapped greece will not be able to meet its deficit reduct whereon target this year. the euro is currently trading at 101.06 to 11 yen and against the greenback, it is trading at 1.3192 to 3195. your dollar is trading around an 8 1/2-month low. meanwhile, share prices also took a beating in europe and the u.s. they fell about 2.3% in frankfurt. nearly 1.9% in paris and 1% in london. in new york, the dow jones industrial average fell 258 points, or 2.4% to 10,655. market players say growing concerns over the european credit problems are dampening investors' appetite for risk. >>> now let's get a check on tokyo stock markets. the dow has dropped over 2% for the second day in a row. it's now at t

automatic' catherine kobayashi in tokyo. first the south pacific island of tuvalu, a country of nine islands in the south pacific ocean. about 10,000 people there are suffering from severe drought. new zealand is providing the country wa water. the new zealand government has said tuvalu has had virtually no rain for five months. it's said to be caused by the weather pattern la nina. funafuti has only 60 liters of water for its residents. the government declared a state of emergency last wednesday and asked new zealand for help. the new zealand government and the red cross sent water and desalination equipment. they're checking to see how to support the island nation. takielau also declared a state of emergency because of the lack of rain. >>> kiribas is facing a possibility of. >> on the road to tarawa, the capital of kiribas. because of climate change the ocean is rising. the waves pounding the shore can seriously damage it. the waves caused the courselias to erode and uproot trees. to protect themselves from the waves, loc

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. we'll be back with more updates at the top of the next hour. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. kcsm needs you financial support.an pledge at any dollar level that is comfortable for you. at the 50 dollar level, you will receive the kcsm polo shirt. whenever you wear it, you'll show your support of kcsm, the bay area's independent public tv station. this 100 percent cotton shirt features the kcsm logo on the front. it's a great way to show your appreciation for your local independent public tv station. also to say thank you we'll include a dvd copy of one of the many kcsm produced

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. we'll be back with more updates at the top of the next hour. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >p >>>> i'm here with world. tthe first pick is a documenta thp that loothat looks at tthe first pick is a documenta thp that loothat looks a in use of new energy sources. since the japan earthquake, interest in energy resources have skyrocketed. this follows the competition between companies to provide new energy systems for the energy saving smart cities of the future. next, a fresh look at water and how it is valued by japanese culture. in cool japan, people introduce fresh water from different viewpoints. free water is available in japanese towns and cities. reporters set out to discover the culture of water in japan. and our last pick, the mark of beauty. inside guide to traditional japanese aesthetics. cue tan ee yak ee we're. why the

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.

i'm catherine kobayashi. the prime ministers of france and belgium agreed on a restructuring package for the financial group amid growing credit fears in europe. this is the first time central governments launched the breakup and realignment of a financial institution affected by the euro zone debt crisis. the belgian french firm dexia has seen prices plunge since last week mainly because of holdings of greek government bonds. details of the rescue package have yet to be announced, but the package is believe to call for transferring their nonperforming assets to a new body and for governments to guarantee that body's handling of its finances. failing assets will be sold and a portion placed under state control. >>> in another move to deal with credit fears in europe, german chancellor and the french president have agreed to recapitalize european banks that have been effected by the region's debt crisis. the agreement between the two nations comes as dexia was the first group to fall to the crisis. >> translat