. >>> next, we go to our bureau in bangkok and pachari raksawong is there to find out what's going on in the region. >>> floodwaters continue to pose a threat to central bangkok. water levels have fallen in some parts of the city, but residents ar sllnhe art ashe spring tide will peak at the weekend. massive floodwaters from central thailand are only five kilometerom the center of the city. bangkok ridents are tryingo prevent inundation by piling up sand bags and transferring water from flooded roads to canals. an official says water levels have begun to fall in some areas. >> translator: the situation is improving. because we are discharging water from the main river to the ocean. >> on friday morning, the water level of the chao phraya river rose, but stopped short of overflowing unlike the last spring tide in late october. however, riverside areas are on high alert, as the tide is expected to peak on sunday. >>> thailand's capital is still battling devastating floodwaters, but there are signs of recovery in the central city of ayutthaya. more than a month after the disaster hit, pe

. >>> next we go to pachari raksawong in bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >>> asean has kicked off a series of meetings on the indonesian resort island of bali. foreign ministers met on tuesday, ahead of the leaders' summit later in the week. among items on the agenda, myanmar's bid to become chair of the group. >> the ten asean foreign ministers discussed whether to support myanmar's proposal to lead the bloc in 2014. myanmar has been coveting the role as a way to gain international recognition after years of isolation. indonesia is the current chair of the group. its foreign minister expressed confidence that myanmar is up to the task. >> myanmar is actually creating positive conditions that makes it more possible for them to chair the asean in 2014. and then some countries were quite explicit in expressing their strong support for myanmar. >> the final decision on whether to endorse myanmar's bid will be taken when asean leaders meet on thursday. >>> here in thailand, hopes that the worst of the flood crisis was over for bangkok have proved short-lived. tensions b

. >>> next, we go to our bureau in bangkok and pachari raksawong is there to find out what's going on in the region. >>> floodwaters continue to pose a threat to central bangkok. water levels have fallen in some parts of the city, but residents are still on their alert as the spring tide will peak at the weekend. massive floodwaters from central thailand are only five kilometers from the center of the city. bangkok residents are trying to prevent inundation by piling up sand bags and transferring water from flooded roads to canals. an official says water levels have begun to fall in some areas. >> translator: the situation is improving. because we are discharging water from the main river to the ocean. >> on friday morning, the water level of the chao phraya river rose, but stopped short of overflowing unlike the last spring tide in late october. however, riverside areas are on high alert, as the tide is expected to peak on sunday. >>> thailand's capital is still battling devastating floodwaters, but there are signs of recovery in the central city of ayutthaya. more than a month after

. >>> next we go to pachari raksawong in bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >> india and pakistan have agreed to accelerate efforts to improve relations. indian prime minister, manmohan singh, met pakistani prime minister yusuf raza gilani on thursday. they exchanged views on the territorial issue of kashmir, as well as how to expand trade. nhk world's sukiyaya reports. >>n a joint news conference, both sides expressed strong willingness to improve bilateral ties. >> we have wasted a lot of time in the past in acrimonious debates. the time has come to write a new chapter in this relationship. >> i think the next round of the talks would be more constructive, more positive and it will open a new chapter in the history of both countries. >> reporter: the issue of control of kashmir has clouded relations between india and pakistan for dede ewo sesesedaud aluen ly thgrdoimifis ocur. isnthe pisni cabinet decided to provide india with most favored nation status. india has a target for islamic terrorists, it says who are based out of pakistan. it apparently hopes dialogue an

i'm pachari raksawong, reporting from bali. >>> wish her well, pachari. unesco has begun a survey of the flood damage to the ancient ruins and buddhist towers in the thai city of ayutthaya. >> this is one of the world heritage sites in ayutthaya. the color of bricks become paled because they were under floodwater. >> unesco officials were able to visit the ruins with thai researchers on thursday, now that the floodwater has finally receded after more than a month. >> it's still early to assess, you know, what actual damages have been. probably the main concern is damage to foundations. because of the water that under which they've been submerged. >> the ruins stand in low-lying area and have been flooded in the past. but they have never been under water for such a long period of time. later this month, unesco plans to start a detailed analysis of the damage and will undertake repairs with the help of specialists from japan, italy and other countries. >>> the japanese government on thursday ordered fukushima prefecture to suspend rice shipments from one di

i'm pachari raksawong in bangkok. >> pachari, thanks.he second in line to japan's throne has made some unexpected comments to the media. prince akishino revealed his >> the bank will coordinate the measure. the other is explaining the details at a press conference as we speak. once again japan central bank has announced tonight new measures to expand into the money markets amid europe's debt crisis. the bank will coordinate the measure with europe's central bank and the federal reserve bank. the governor is splaping the details in a press conference. >> released data. the nuclear fuel from the number one unit is going at the vessel. they made public their analysis of the melted fuel rods. at three of the plant's units. tepco says the worst estimate suggests that 1% of the nuclear fuel from unit number 1 melted through bottom of the reactor, and much of it fell into the containment vessel. the high temperatures of the eroded concrete. in the worst case scenario, tepco says the molten fuel may have reached 65 centimeters deep between the c

and that wraps up our bulletin, i'm pachari raksawong in bangkok. >>> people in egypt are marking ballots on this monday. picking politician who is will serve in their country's parliament. they fought hard for this vote. many died and many were hurt in nationwide protests this year that ended three decades of rule by a former president, hosni mubarak. the vote is regarded as a key step in the country's move towards democracy. but protesters have taken to the streets again against the provisional military rulers. they say the military is slowing down democratization efforts and is reluctant to give up power. people are waiting to see what kind of impact the demonstrations will have on the elections. voting will be held in three stages in different regions until january. >>> egypt's transition to democracy began back in january. here's a look at some of the key events. nationwide demonstrations against mubarak's rule started on january 25th. organizers used twitter and facebook to spread the word. four days later, mubarak appeared on television and vowed to stay in power. the protests cont

. >>> next we go to pachari raksawong in bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >>> thailand is struggling to maintain as flood water continues to spread in bangkok. the main crisis center is under threat for a second time. and the city subway system also now looks to be at risk. the devastating floods are creeping ever closer to central bangkok. on friday, water came close to the new location of the government's flood relief operations center. it's also a temporary home to about 600 evacuees. the center was moved there from submerged don muang airport just a week ago. workers are hurrying to raise the road before access to the center gets cut off. waters have also been seen around entrances to subway stations in northern bangkok. the authorities say they might have to consider suspending subway services if the situation worsens. there is chance that could happen sooner than people expect. >> translator: i didn't see flood waters in this area this morning. i didn't expect the water would rise this fast. >> life in the capital is becoming increasingly difficult. this buddhist

. >>> next we go to pachari raksawong in bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >>> thailand is struggling to protect the essential functions of its capital as the floodwaters spread in bangkok. the main crisis center is under threat for a second time. and the city subway system also now looks to be at risk. the devastating floods are creeping ever closer to central bangkok. on friday, water came close to the new location of the government's flood relief operations center. it's also a temporary home to about 600 evacuees. the center was moved there from submerged don muang airport just a week ago. workers are hurrying to raise the road before access to the center gets cut off. waters have also been seen around entrances to subway stations in northern bangkok. the authorities say they might have to consider suspending subway services if the situation worsens. there is chance that could happen sooner than people expect. >> translator: i didn't see flood waters in this area this morning. i didn't expect the water would rise this fast. >> life in the capital is becoming increasin