patchari raksawong joins us from bangkok with an update on the situation. patchari, good evening. >> good evening, gene. the protests may be over but the problems remain in pakistan. supporters of influential cleric qadri were demanding the government resign for rampant corruption. it called for the end of demonstrations on thursday. with elections approaching, pakistan faces more difficult weeks ahead. we have this report from islamabad. >> reporter: qadri declared victory in front of supporters as the four-day protest ended thursday. the muslim cleric said the government agreed to dissolve parliament before march 16th and hold free and fair elections within 90 days. protests in islamabad began monday. tens of thousands were there to denounce official corruption and demand resignation of the government. some say the military was covered with supporting qadri who undermined the government ahead of elections. political power has swung back and forth in pakistan between the two main parties. allegation of corruption and other irregularities are commonplace. mi

patchari raksawong in bangkok has that story and patchari, several more stories from the philippines today i hear. >> that's right, gene. we'll start with that stranded vessel. a u.s. navy official has expressed regret and says the united states is trying to remove the ship as soon as possible. the reef is a world heritage site and concerns are rising about possible damage to the environment. the uss guardian ran aground last week. the agency says rear admiral thomas carnie expressed his deepest regret. some 56,000 liters of fuel on board the stranded vessel needs to be removed. the navy then plans to use a crane ship to lift the mine sweeper off the reef. the reefs are located in the center of the sulu sea. it has a high density of marine life, including over 350 species of coral, about 500 species of fish as well as rare sea birds and turtles. >>> thousands of filipino victims of human rights abuses under the regime of ferdinand marcos are set to receive compensation. the philippine congress approved the measure nearly three decades after the former strong man fell from power. mone

. >>> survivors from other asian countries have started to return patchari raksawong has details. >> a malaysian man arrived home on wednesday afternoon. he was an employee of the engineering firm, jgc. ravi kappusany was reunited at the airport with members of his family. >> i'm happy i came back home safely, that's all. the government knows what's happening. >> in manila, four filipino survivors also returned home on wednesday from a passenger plane from algeria, via qatar. they were working at the gas plant in the algerian desert at the time of the attack. they came into the arrivals hall accompanied by a japanese employee of jgc. they looked tense and did not respond to questions from reporters. a vehicle sent by the company collected them from the airport. several asian countries suffered casualties in the attack. they include seven japanese, six filipinos and one malaysian. >>> julia gillard has called for easing of friction in the region. she made the appeal in what called the first national strategy. gilliard said the region seems increasingly unsetted by political rivalries

patchari raksawong joins us from bangkok with an update on the situation. >> good evening, gene. the protests may be over but the problems remain in pakistan. supporters of influential cleric qadri were demanding the government resign for rampant corruption. it called for the end of demonstrations on thursday. with elections approaching, pakistan faces more difficult weeks ahead. we have this report from islamabad. >> reporter: qadri declared victory in front of supporters as the four-day protest ended thursday. the muslim cleric said the government agreed to dissolve parliament before march 16th and hold free and fair elections within 90 days. protests in islamabad began monday. tens of thousands were there to denounce official corruption and demand resignation of the government. some say the military was covered with supporting qadri who undermined the government ahead of elections. political power has swung back and forth in pakistan between the two main parties. allegation of corruption and other irregularities are commonplace. military coups have worsened, a constant sense o

patchari raksawong has this update on the situation. >> the pakistani government's anti-corruption chief has rejected an order from the supreme court for the arrest of prime minister raja pervez ashraf. the political climate remains tense as anti-government demonstrations in islamabad entered their fourth day. local media reported that the head of the national accountability bureau, fasih bokhari, declined to arrest the prime minister. bokhari apparently told the supreme court that his investigations are incomplete. the court's demand for the arrest of prime minister rocked pakistan on tuesday. the order relates to charges ashraf took bribes when he was minister for water and power. meanwhile, tens of thousands of anti-government protesters remain camped out near parliament. protest leader and muslim cleric mohammad kadri has labeled the government a bunch of thieves and demanded they resign. >> translator: god heard our prayers and has saved us. we have pledged ourself to kodri. we won't turn back until we achieve change. we won't go back even if it rains, even if they spray us with tea

i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> thousands of people waiting to go home. tons of debris waiting for disposal. vast tracts of land awaiting to be restored. overcoming the challenges of japan's 2011 disaster won't be easy but step-by-step people are moving forward. find out how on "the road ahead" every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time right here on "newsline." >>> japanese power companies are starting to install emergency ventilation systems in their nuclear reactors. there was a massive release of radioactive substances. one of the new systems will be reacted next week at the plant in nigata. in an emergency contaminate steam from the container vessel will be filtered through water before it enters the atmosphere. the process can reduce levels of radioactive iodine by up to 1,000. tokyo electric and other utilities plan to install the filtering systems at all their reactors. >>> the people who oversee nuclear safety in japan are still finding their feet. they got to work at the nuclear regulation authority in september after the government merged two othe

patchari raksawong in bangkok has more details. patchari, good evening. >>> good evening, gene. aung san suu kyi has expressed her intention to visit japan as soon as march. now, myanmar's opposition leader is the icon of the country's push towards democracy. she is expected to ask tokyo to support her cause. aung san suu kyi told an nhk reporter at the parliament in the capital on friday that she received an invitation from the japanese government. the visit would be her first to japan in 27 years. she stayed in japan from 1985 to 1986 as a guest researcher at the center for southeast asian studies of kyoto university. aung san suu kyi won the nobel peace prize in 1991 for promoting democracy and human rights. she spent many years under house arrest during myanmar's former military government. and last april she was elected to the lower house of parliament in an election. since then she has visited various countries, including the united states. she used those visits to seek international support for reform in myanmar. >>> afghanistan's president hamid karzai is meeting barack

patchari raksawong in bangkok has more details. patchari, good evening. >>> good evening, gene. aung san suu kyi has expressed her intention to visit japan as soon as march. now, myanmar's opposition leader is the icon of the country's push towards democracy. she is expected to ask tokyo to support her cause. aung san suu kyi told an nhk reporter at the parliament in the capital on friday that she received an invitation from the japanese government. the visit would be her first to japan in 27 years. she stayed in japan from 1985 to 1986 as a guest researcher at the center for southeast asian studies of kyoto university. aung san suu kyi won the nobel peace prize in 1991 for promoting democracy and human rights. she spent many years under house arrest during myanmar's former military government. and last april she was elected to the lower house of parliament in an election. since then she has visited various countries, including the united states. she used those visits to seek international support for reform in myanmar. >>> afghanistan's president hamid karzai is meeting barack

i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> emerging economic powers still struggling with poverty. embolden citizens still demanding democracy. the threat of violence. the push for peace. the shadow of conflict. get news and insight on southeast asia every week day live from bangkok only on nhk world "newsline." >>> there's heavy snow in west coast japan blocking roads and causing havoc. robert speta is here with the latest. robert? >>> yes, gene. actually, we have this cutoff low continuing to spin over okaido right now. it is bringing gusty winds, whiteout conditions already being seen across okaido. that sea effect snow continues to spin up. i want to show you video coming out of okaido showing you what it looks like on the ground. a different picture than what you see on the satellite. whiteout conditions. all the cars slowing down on the road. visibility is greatly reduced throughout the day to day. this is out of hokaido on friday morning. just shows you how heavy the snow is. needless to say, many officials are asking people to stay indoors across okaido and china. the storm

i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> emerging economic powers still struggling with poverty. embolden citizens still demanding democracy. the threat of violence. the push for peace. the shadow of conflict. get news and insight on southeast asia every week day live from bangkok only on nhk world "newsline." >>> there's heavy snow in west coast japan blocking roads and causing havoc. robert speta is here with the latest. robert? >>> yes, gene. actually, we have this cutoff low continuing to spin over okaido right now. it is bringing gusty winds, whiteout conditions already being seen across okaido. that sea effect snow continues to spin up. i want to show you video coming out of okaido showing you what it looks like on the ground. a different picture than what you see on the satellite. whiteout conditions. all the cars slowing down on the road. visibility is greatly reduced throughout the day to day. this is out of hokaido on friday morning. just shows you how heavy the snow is. needless to say, many officials are asking people to stay indoors across okaido and china. the storm