welcome to nhk "newsline." it is thursday, november 17th, 10:00 a.m. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> south korean prosecutors say the president's lawyer will speak thursday about their hope to question the leader over a continuing political scandal. park geun-hye's lawyer already declined a request for an earlier date saying he needed more time to prepare. the prosecutors asked park to voluntarily sit for an interview with them by friday. the day before they plan to indict one of her longtime friends. they believe choi soon-sil conspired to abuse the president's power and attempted to commit fraud. park has admitted to giving her access to some policy documents on state affairs. south koreans have been angered by the scandal and have staged massive protests. they'll be watching to see how park handles the questioning. at the same time, the governing and opposition parties plan to pass legislation to appoint a prosecutor with more power to investigate the matter. the special prosecutor would be infeint and have the authority to look into suspected

nhk world. >>> and there's more to come here on nhk "newsline," but first here's the three-day outlookn the world's weather. >>> and before we wrap up, palestinians have enjoyed a rare chance to see performances of a country far away. japanese officials organized the cultural event in the west bank city of ramallah titled "we are friends." ♪ this soprano sang japanese songs accompanied by traditional dancing. a fashion show featuring traditional palestinian costumes also delighted the audience. ♪ [ applause ] >> it was amazing actually. it was a nice opportunity to meet international japanese performers. >> children belonging to an origami paper craft club showed their creations while looking forward to learning more about japan. >>> and that's all for now on this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. from all of us at nhk world, thanks for watching. >> this week global 3000 heads to the nile delta, home to some delightful and nocturnal fragrances. we go to china, where tragically child abductions have become part of every day life. but first, we visit honduras in centr

"nhk world" tv from japan. >>> hello, welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. south korean prosecutors are seeking an arrest warrant for a longtime friend of president park geun-hye. the prosecutors charged ch soon-sil of attempted fraud, accused of large sums of money to her non-profit organizations and accusedahnjong-beom is accu. he was later detained. the prosecutors are also questioning people connected to the two non-profits. choi is reportedly denying all allegations. >>> hong kong's legislature has seen more turmoil. scuffles erupted on wednesday after two pro-independence lawmakers were forced out of the chamber. last month, the man and woman displayed a flag with the words "hong kong is not china" at a swearing in ceremony. the government asked the court to disqualify the pair. it said their action violated the basic law which acts as hong kong's constitution. the legislative council president banned their attendance pending the court ruling, but the two members entered the chamber anyway only to be ejected. >> i'm not from beijing so i don't know wha

nhk world reports. >> reporter: he's an executive at the plant. he led a hastily arranged news conference on tuesday morning. >> translator: a one-meter high wave was observed at fukushima daichii. fukushima daichii suffered a triple meltdown five years ago. the daini plant is ten kilometers to the south. both plants were hit by tsunami after 40 minutes after the quake. >> translator: there have been no reports of anything wrong with the workers at either plant. they have been confirmed to be safe. >> reporter: the work had already started at fukushima daichii. workers had to stop the decommissioning work and evacuate to higher ground. he said all the emergency steps had gone smoothly at daichii. but that wasn't the case at fukushima daini. a cooling system for spent nuclear fuel shut down for over 90 minutes. more than 2,500 rods of spent nuclear fuel are stored in a pool in one of the reactor buildings. they must be constantly cooled by water or they will heat up again. if the temperature of the spent fuel rises unchecked, there could be a meltd

>>> hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan with the news from tokyo. >>> south koreans are waiting to see whether and how investigators will launch an investigation into park guen-hye. >> translator: i am again deeply sorry from the bottom of my heart for causing so much disappointment and concern. i will sincerely comply with the prosecutors' investigation if it is needed. i will even agree to submit to a special investigation. >> if the probe goes ahead it will be the first involve ag sitting president. the investigation is likely to focus on whether park issued orders to help her long term friend. she's under arrest. the woman is suspected of meddling in state affairs. a former presidential aide was detained on thursday on suspicion of giving choi state secrets. president park named a person close to the opposition as her new prime minister. the move comes as she tried to survive the storm and serve out her term through early 2018. all 129 lawmakers bowed their heads after her speech friday at the national

nhk world reports. >> three, two, one! release your lanterns. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: a sea of lanterns float up into the night sky. the annual festival takes place on the full moon of the 12th month in the lunar calendar. according to thai folklore, the lanterns take with them people's pain and sorrow. the tradition of making lanterns in thailand has lasted more than 700 years. this year's festival was especially emotional for many. people have been mourning the death of king bhumibol adulyadej in october. the festival came close to being cancelled but ultimately went ahead in a restrained fashion. >> translator: this year i'm making lanterns for the late king. i want it to be released in the sky so it can guide his soul to peace. >> reporter: about 4,000 people gathered. prayers were made for the late king's soul to rest in peace. >> release your lanterns. ♪ >> translator: i was thinking about the late king when i released our lantern. i prayed for the happiness of every thai person even during this time of

for now on nhk "newsline."ou for watching and have a good day. host: this week, global 3000 heads to mumbai in india. the megacity is expanding at an uncontrolled rate. will that be the end of mangrove forests and the flamingos? in egypt, the police force seems to operate according to its own rule, leaving many citizens traumatized. but first, a rare glimpse into life in north korea. more and more people are successfully escaping the world's most isolated country. we hear one young woman's story. it's been almost 70 years since the korean peninsula was split in half. since then, north korea has been ruled by a communist dictatorship. life in the two countries could

nhk world, tokyo. >> lots of love at that event. switching gears now, sky gazers around the world have a special treat. the biggest supermoon in decades is lighting up the night sky. people in japan enjoyed it despite poor weather conditions. the phenomenon occurs when the moon is both full and at its closest point to earth. supermoons appear a few times a year, but this one is quite special. it's the largest to be seen since 1948. it appears to be about 30% larger than when the full moon was at its smallest this year back in april. heavy clouds are hanging over many parts of japan, but some lucky children had the chance to view the moon from up in the sky. japan airlines operated a special flight to offer fantastic views of the supermoon. about 100 people were invited to join. many of them children from earthquake-hit regions in the northeast and the southwestern prefecture of kumamoto. the plane climbed to an altitude of 11,000 meters. >> translator: it looks bigger than usual, and it's super bright. >> translator: i'm thankful to

look for nhk world "and business wrap." i'm going to leave you with the markets. >>> the words of a young boy from fukushima have focused the attention on the problem of bullying. the family and the boy moved away from the region, but the way he was treated in his new home led him to the brink of killing himself. >> translator: i thought of suicide many times, but i decided to keep living, even if it's tough. i thought about how the disaster killed so many other people. >> reporter: these are the words of a boy from fukushima. he doesn't want his name used. he survived the 2011 nuclear accident that happened not far from his home. his family then moved when he entered second grade and that's when the bullying started. classmates teased the boy by adding the word germ to his name. it is a reference to the area that covered the nuclear plant. >> they treated me like a germ. i knew it was of the radiation in fukushima and it made me very sad. i thought about how people from my region are becoming the target of bullying. >> rep

nhk world. >>> prime minister modi spoke to nhk in new delhi ahead of his trip. he said india must make the shift to nuclear energy to address global warming. and he said japan is a promising partner in that field and others. >> translator: our countries have a win/win relationship. we need technological support that japan can offer. >> he said that india has a growing market while japan has ample funds. modi also made an apparent reference to china which is wary of stronger ties between india and japan. he stressed the importance of the bilateral relationship. >> translator: our relationship will not harm any third country but rather it's aimed at better serving global interests. >> his three-day visit begins thursday. >>> here in tokyo, it's looking dark and gray and it's feeling chilly out there. let's get a check of the weather with our meteorologist robert speta. >> yes, definitely one of the cooler blasts of winter air across most of japan this autumn, not autumn, feels very winterlike across many areas of northern japan, extending across northern hokkaido

welcome to nhk "newsline." prime minister shinzo abe is hosting myanmar's aung san zusu kyi in tokyo. in the meeting abe stressed his commitment to supporting the new government. abe commended myanmar's nation building efforts such as freedom, democracy, respect of human rights, and the rule of law. he said both japan's public and private sectors are ready to support myanmar's new government as a friend. aung san suu kyi said she is writing a new chapter in her country's history. she is relying on japan to help her country move forward. she said japan's relationship in the past had helped her build stability. abe said they will encourage japanese firms to invest more in myanmar. he's also expected to promise to help stabilize the country's domestic security. myanmar's government forces have been fighting for decades with ethnic minority rebel groups. >>> on wednesday aung san suu kyi met with members of the local myanmar community. >> reporter: the long line of people waiting for aung san suu kyi. in the sfront

edition of nhk "newsline." edition of nhk "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi on this edition of "native report," we attend the national training program and the society of american indian government employees. we learn about saiges native youth track, designed to help native students learn about careers in the federal government. come down the see prairie island and see what our history is. we interviewed the prairie island indian community president, ron johnson. we also learn about leadership in indian country and hear from our elders on this edition of "native report." production of "native report" is made possible by grants from the shakopee mdewakanton sioux community, the blandin foundation, and the duluth superior area community foundation [music playing]

chiaki ishikawa, nhk world, tokyo. >>> nhk "newsline" comes to you live from our studios here in tokyo. as voter turnout is more critical than ever in what has become a tight race to the white house, weather conditions can be a decisive factor for voters not all that hell bent on going to the polls. jonathan oh has the weather outlook. >> well, it's a very interesting study. it was one of the more comprehensive studies done when it comes to comparing weather data and voter turnout. for every presidential election year since 1948 to the year 2000, all the county weather data was interpolated from 30,000 weather stations and also the voter turnout and how the of the voter shares took place in each of the counties. they were computed together to give us interest data. one of the interesting pieces of data we got out of this is how much impact did rain and snow have in some of these locations? one of the numbers that caught the attention of those studying there in 2007 was in the 1972 presidential election in mississippi we saw rainfall that was 110.5 millimeters above the average. this is

look for nhk world and business wrap. that's a look at business news. i'm going to leave you with the markets. >>> japan has sent the latest of a series of protests to beijing after confirming a new bid to develop gas fields in the east china sea. foreign minister fumio kishida said his government has proposed through a diplomatic channel. >> translator: we deeply regret that despite repeated protests, china continues its unilateral activities even though we have not agreed on the establishment of a marine boundary. >> japan and china agreed in 2008 to jointly explore natural gas resources in the sea but have not concluded a treaty. china has built structures near a median line between the two countries that was established by japan. kishida said japanese authorities have confirmed the presence of a chinese ship operating in the waters. >>> two of china's new stealth fighter jets made their debut at an air show on thursday. the j-20 jets performed a series of maneuvers as they showed its military hardware to public for the first time. chinese media said

shinichi noro, nhk world. >>> nhk "newsline" comes to you from tokyo. time to bring you the weather. >> during the weekend as much as 120 centimeters of snow fell in parts of calilifornia.. thee same snowmaker is now lingering over the dakotas causing days of heavy snowfall. i want to take you to bismarck to show you the situation out there. the first winter storm of the season to hit the dakotas has dumped heavy snowfall and brought powerful winds to the region. the winter blast comes after an unusually warm november. some highways had to be closed due to the poor driving conditions. no serious injuries have been reported. but winter system warnings are still in place in the dakota, at least into wednesday evening. the combination of the strong winds and also heavy snow could cause very low visibility making for hazardous driving conditions. the snowmaker will continue to heads towards the east and greatly a affect the great lake region. down towards the south, w we ha 15 tornado reportsts i in the d south. the severe weathermaker will continue to slid

>>> hello there, welcome to nhk "newsline." it's wednesday, november 30th, at 10:00 a.m. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. ans to scrap a troubled nuclear reactor. mon ju is a prototype fast-breed reactor, it's run for 250 days since it began operations in 1994, because of safety problems. officials say resuming operations would be too costly. they estimate the decommissioning will take 30 years, and retrieving spent nuclear fuel will take at least five and a half years. they've gathered research for the next phase, which is to develop a demonstration reactor. they'll make a final decision on the fate of the reactor next month. >>> a giant steel structure has been completed to confine radioactive substances at the sites of the chernobyl nuclear accident in ukraine. the arch is 108 meters call, and 257 meters wide. the cost of construction was about $1.6 billion. those vflds in the construction say the arch will be able to contain radioactive materials for 100 years. workers will continue the task of retrieving nuclear fuel from the reactor. [ applause ] >> translator: i h

look for nhk world and business wrap. that's a look at business news, i'm going to leave you with the markets. >>> the president of kazakhstan will visit hiroshima next week and give a speech on world peace. he'll call for the abolition of nuclear weapons. the president spoke before his visit to tokyo and hiroshima which begins on sunday. many people in kazakhstan suffer from radiation-related health problems. more than 450 nuclear tests were conducted in the country during the soviet era. >> translator: i want to send a message from hiroshima protesting all nuclear tests and calling for the world to unite abolishing all nuclear weapons. japan and kazakhstan are leading the global movement towards denuclearization. >> he says he'll call for more cooperation with japan to achieve the goal. when asked about north korea's nuclear and missile development, he made the following remark. >> translator: the existence of nuclear arms will no longer guarantee a country safety because such weapons already exist. >> t the president s

>>> hello, welcome to nhk "newsline." it is tuesday, november 8th, 10:00 a.m. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> official in the western japanese city of fuge nobody ka have issued evacuation advisory to people in a busy commercial district. they're investigating the cause of a growing sinkhole that's causing blackouts and disrupting traffic. the hakata district hosts the busiest train station in the region. officials say construction was being done on a subway line and water began coming in early tuesday morning while workers were digging a tunnel. >> translator: first there were two holes then they became bigger and bigger. i felt real scared when the traffic light nearby fell into it. >> the sinkhole has grown past the 14 meter high road to swallow the sidewalk. there are no reports of injuries. the gas company has shut off supply because of the possibility of leaks. nearly 200 houses and businesses are without electricity, including part of fukuoka airport. officials say so far there are no flight cancelations. more on this as details come in. >>> it's b

yuki yamamoto, nhk world. >>> you're watching nhk "newsline" live from tokyo.onathan oh joins us now with this hour's weather update, starting with the first winter storm in the u.s. >> we are seeing some winter weather moving through northern portions of the united states. it is the week of thanksgiving, and so for those who are living in the country, they're getting ready to see more of that late fall, winter type feeling. as a low pressure system moved through portions of upstate new york, we saw a decent amount of snowfall. let me show you video coming out of the area monday. look at the wind blowing through. the first winter storm o of the season has pummeled the state with as much as 15 centimeters of snow and it was heavy. it triggered numerous car accidents and forced businesses and schools to close. the worst accident occurred near marathon. that's where a bus carrying high school students skidded off the road and overturned. unfortunately 11 people were injured because of that. we are looking at more snowfall coming up as we go throughout the day on t

and welcome to nhk "newsline." we star off with a quick look at some stories we're following. >>> strengthening ties -- japanese prime minister shinzo abe is preparing for a meeting with donald trump. >>> catering to tourists -- some people in japan's tourism industry are turning to wi-fi data to better understand the needs of foreign visitors. >>> and we meet one of the most promising young wrestlers ahead of this year's grand sumo tournament. >>> world leaders are looking at america's new president-elect and wondering what a donald trump white house will mean for them. prime minister shinzo abe is no exception. he's sending a special adviser to the u.s. next week. terp trp i want to make the visit a fruitful one to lay the groundwork for a meeting between abe and trump. >> high on the list for discussion, japan's attempt to salvage the partnership for the tpp. japan's foreign minister said he's reaching out to the new administration to keep the deal on the rails. >> translator: the government aims for an early ap

>>> welcome back to nhk "newsline." i'm kanako sachno. >>> japan and south korea have signed an agreement aimed at improving their response on threats from north korea. the pact is expected to speed up the sharing of information. officials from japan and south korea signed the general security and military information agreement on wednesday. japan has similar pacts in place with the united states and india. the deal strengthens cooperation between the two countries against the backdrop of repeated nuclear and ballistic missile tests by north korea. previously information on pyongyang's activities was channelled through the u.s. japanese foreign minister fumio kishida called the pact extremely meaningful. >> translator: i hope this agreement will enable ththe japanese and south korean governments to share security-relatated information more quickly and smoothly. >> officials witith the south korean defense ministry said they expect the deal to enhance their surveillance capabilities and response to provocations from the

nhk world, alaska. >>> you're watching nhk newsline.ntermittent rain is the forecast for us in tokyo, but the weather should clear up on tuesday with highs expected to be around 20 degree celsius. jonathan oh joins us from the weather desk with this hour's update starting with the cold air mass impacting parts of east asia. >> hello. we're talking about some really dramatic changes in terms of the weather. they'r're not tiny, they're reay big changes in terms of the temperatures dropping off. we'r're seeing lows that are dropping anywhere from 20, 30, even 40 degrees belolow freezin in some of these a areas in northern portions of china, even into mongolia, even into russia. that's impacting the weather over into northeastern china as well in terms of snow. let me show you the video and give you an idea of what's happening g on the grod d level. as we take a look at t the snowfall here, a combination of sisiberiaen cold air and low pressure has caused heavy snow into northeastern china since friday night that lasted through saturday eve

>>> welcome back to nhk "newsline." i'm kanako sachno. a south korean court will decide whether to issue a warrant for arrest. it's expected to make a decision later on thursday. prosecutors asked the court in seoul to issue a warrant on choi soon-sil. she's been a close friend of president park geun-hye for 40 years. conspired with former presidential aide to pressure companies to donate large sums of money to two foundations. the presidential office was indirectly involved in setting up the organizations. prosecutors detained aung late wednesday night. park appointed kim byong-jojoon over the scandal. kim told a news conference on thursday afternoon it's possible park will be investigated. the south korean constitution does not allow a authorities to press criminal charges against a sitting president. the only exception is for rebellion. earlier james tengan talked with nhk's senior correspondent. he's been covering the korean peninsula for years. >> kengo, how are they reporting it in south korea? >> well, every news program in the cou

rikako takada, nhk world, tokyo. >>> with the u.s.residential election about a week away, the editorial boards of many major newspapers have made their endorsements. so far, more than 50 have gone for clinton and just one for trump. for one paper, "the arizona republic," this year's decision marks a first. nhk world recently visited their offices to talk about what went into the choice. >> reporter: the long, bitter battle for the white house is almost over, and for the remaining undecided voters, time is running out. on the other hand, in phoenix, "the arizona republic's" editorial board published its endorsement back in september. for the first time in the paper's 126-year history, it endorsed a democratic candidate, and looking back, the paper has no regrets. >> we feel really proud of what we've done. >> reporter: phil boas is the director of "the arizona republic's" editorial page. he says the paper first raised the alarm on trump about a year ago. trump suggested a black protester deserved to get roughed up at one of his rallies

nhk world. al. >>> police in tokyo are vetting an international fraud scheme targeting japanese banks. they have arrested four taiwanese men they believe withdrew cash using fake cards. they believe the men took out $40 million in fraudulent cards. the japanese banks withdrawals by the suspects were the tip of an iceberg, they suspect they have been cheated out of $90 million. the cards have credit and debit functions, chinese tourists use them for shopping in japan. >>> wrestlers are battling it out in southwestern japan at the november grand sumo four-point. our sumo expert has the latest after five days of intense action in the final contest of 2016. >> the man in the spotlight is the champion. he captured his first championship tournament with a stunning record of 15 wins. if he can duplicate that feat, the 31-year-old will take grand champion. it's vital he stays unbeaten until the second and final week when the competition gets very tough. he takes off his competitor. he has to keep up the

>>> hello there and welcome to nhk "newsline." it's wednesday, november 2nd, 9:00 a.m., i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> prosecutors in south korea are questioning a long time friend of president park geun-hye over her alleged interference in state affairs. they're expected to officially arrest the businesswoman on wednesday. the prosecutors have detained choi soon-sil for receiving confidential documents from president park. they also suspect she siphoned off funds from organizations that the presidential office was indirectly involved in setting up. choi has known park for 40 years. local media say she denies wrongdoing. the scandal has dominated headlines in south korea. one newspaper quoted presidential office sources as saying that at one time choi was free to come and go to government offices without passing through security. they allege she was given the same clearance as the president. local media are saying the scandal could weaken the administration and have a negative impact on its diplomatic policies. foreign mini

and that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline." thanks very much for joining us. >> greetings from berlin and a warm welcome to our highlights edition. coming at you this time with the following top stories -- bird's eye view. a british conservationist follows swans on their migratory flight. lap of luxury. an architect and her three-storey apartment in a milan high-rise a cut above. two designers from hamburg create beautiful paper art. the year 2016 had barely begun when the first massive shock for the world of arts and culture came -- just two days after his new album release, and his 69th birthday, david bowie died of cancer.

>>> hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." it's wednesday, november 16th, at 10:00 a.m. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. a lawyer for south korea's president has effectively rejected a request by prosecutors to question her by wednesday. it's the latest development in a deepening political scandal that has dogged park geun-hye. >> translator: i need to take considerable time to study the issues and prepare the defense. in principle, the prosecution should be carried out in written form. >> the lawyer said questioning park in writing will minimize the impact of the inquiry on state affairs. but that's not what prosecutors asked for. they have said they want to meet the president to ask about her links to a long-time friend who is at the center of the scandal. she's suspected of conspiring to abuse power and attempting to defraud two foundations. the prosecutors say they need to question park before kheu's detention expires on sunday. an opposition politician lashed out at park on tuesday. he said he will lead the public campaign until park steps down. under the country's

>>> hello there and welcome to nhk "newsline" broadcasting from japan. it's election night in the united states and voters are choosing who should be the next president. we are following the race to the white house, the results. and how they might affect asia. the first projections have come in and more are on the way. things are moving more quickly at this point. as you can see, at the bottom of your screen, the projections give clinton, let's see those numbers. the projections give clinton three electoral votes and trump 24. can we see those numbers? yes, they are on the screen. each candidate is in a race to get across the finish line of 270 electoral votes. so far, hillary clinton has secured the eastern state of vermont. she's vying to become the country's first female president, while republican donald trump is projected to win in kentucky, indiana, and west virginia. now we go to our raja pradhan for a closer look at the results. how's it looking? >> here's a breakdown of the latest numbers state by state. the states in blue are for clinton and th

look for nhk world and business wrap. that's a look at business news. i'm going to leave you with the markets. rblths tokyo police are set to arrest japanese pop singer oska on using illegal drugs. he has been on probation for drug offenses. sources told nhk that the 58-year-old singer called police on friday. they say he was slurring and incoherent when officers arrived at his home. a urine sample tested positive for stimulants. he's best known as half the music duo. theirr hit song sold millions o copies here in japan. they also became popular in taiwan, hong kong, singapore and else where in asia. in 2014 the tokyo district couot sentenced him to three years in prison, suspended for four years for using sim stimulates and the synthetic drug. >>> officials with the red cross want the international community to put politics aside and recognize the humanitarian emergency in north korea. nhk has learned that the president of the international federation of red cross and red crescent societies will assess the needs of flood victims. he will spend five day

look for nhk world and business wrap and that's a look at business news. i'm going to leave you with the markets. >>> south korean prosecutors say they want to question the president this week over a series of political scandals. it will make her the first sitting president to be investigated. huge backlash against her and many are waiting to see how she will handle the questioning. the prosecutors are waiting for a response from the presidential office. they want to question park on tuesday or wednesday. the scandal centered on park's long-time friend. she was arrested on suspension of attempting to defraud two foundations. park admitted to giving her access to state affairs. two officials have also been arrested. calls for park to resign continue. hundreds of thousands of angry protesters demonstrated in the capital on saturday. analysts say by allowing the prosecutors to question her, park is hoping to ease public criticism. the massive protests have led to another political development, the leader of the main opposition party will meet with park on tue

"nhk world" tv from japan. >>> hello, welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. korean prosecutors are seeking an arrest warrant for a longtime friend of president park geun-hye. the prosecutors charged ch soon-sil of attempted fraud, accused of large sums of money to her non-profit organizations and accused

look for nhk world and business wrap. that's a look at business news. i'm going to leave you with the markets. >>> officials in the japanese city of fukuoka have finished filling a giant sink hole. they've now reopened the road and lifted evacuation orders. traffic resumed in front of the main train station early tuesday morning, just a week after the hole opened up, shocking residents. the cave-in happened suddenly, cutting off powewer, water, and gas in parts of the city. but surprisingly, no one was hurt. city officials belelieve construction work to extend a subway line was the cause. >> translator: we think it is important to have a third party thoroughly investigate the cause as well. >> crews workedd aroundd the clock, dumping wet cement and sand into the hole. it was supposed to be fixed by monday, but heavy rain slowed the work. >> translator: i was surprised the road was restored in just a week. >> translator: ai'm still a little worried that sink holes may emerge on other roads. >> city officials say they won't resume the subway project until

>>> hello and welcome to nhk "newsline". >>> south korean prosecutors have arrested a businesswoman at the center of a political scandal involving president park geun-hye. local media say park will release a statement friday morning. choi soon-sil is charged and has been a confidant of park's more than 40 years. she's suspected of having conspired with aide ahn jong-beom to pressure companies to donate funds to two nonprofit foundations. the presidential office played a role in setting them up. she's also suspected of trying to defraud the organizations out of $600,000. on thursday afternoon, a court in seoul summoned her and began examining whether to issue an arrest warrant for her. it was requested by prosecutors the previous day. the court issued the order at around 11:00 p.m. on thursday. it acknowledged a need to arrest her as the facts of the crime became clear. prosecutors plan to seek an arrest warrant for ahn as early as friday morning. ahn is already in custody. under south korea's constitution, an incumbent president is immune to criminal prosecution except for charges of r

nhk world. >> you can catch our report, again, online with a full transcript. that is a look at business news. i'll leave you with the markets. >>> colombia's government and the largest rebel group signed a revised peace plan to end five decades of civil war. voters rejected the original deal in a national refererendum. the leader signed the accord on thursday. >> translator: the revised deal is better than the previous one. it's better because it includes the hopes and the observations of the vast m majority of colombians. >> the farks leader says the modified agreement is final. the original deal was signed in september and hailed as historic. it was supposed to end a conflict that claimed more than 2,000 lives. but voters in october's referendum unexpectedly rejected the deal. critics say it wasn't tough enough on the fighters. under the new deal, the rebel group must hand over its assets. the money will be used to compensate the families of victims. but the critics haven't won all the concessions they wanted. fark leaders won't face prison if they admit the