>> welcome to "newsweek south asia." cloud bursts and flash floods wreak havoc. the u.s. holds direct talks with the taliban in doha. one of the worst tragedies of the millennia has hit a northern indian state. flash floods and cloud bursts every tactic in the region. thousands are thought dead and trapped. a rescue operation has been mounted i the army and the air force. the death toll from flooding and landslides following heavy monsoon rains in the northern indian studio has passed 500. bodies can be seen floating or buried in slush. the army is working to recover them. the charity organization action aid said 5000 people are missing in the area, many stranded hindu pilgrims visiting local shrines. the worst affected is holy town town where the temple was completely devastated by mother nature's ferry, described as a himalayan tsunami. >> [speaking a foreign language] >> the prime minister described the situation as distressing, and announced in a package for the state. the relatives of those missing a weight the news. there is a relief effort, with medicines and food

experiences that i had, or have had since i left the white house, is the opportunity to work in south asia after that horrible tsunami which occurred a couple of years before hurricane katrina. it was devastating to indonesia and southeast india and sri lanka. parts of thailand. president bush asked me to work with his father for a while. i did that. i work with the u.n. for two years. we had a great time. because of the disaster am a long-standing civil conflict in indonesia was settled, because it brought back the fishing to them together. we brought new opportunities to grow and sell coffee to them together. but in every disaster, as you remember from katrina, and as we see in haiti, where i'm working, the housing is always the hardest thing to fix. there was one tent city, which 40,000 people in indonesia were sweltering, miserable in these hot tents. as the u.n. coordinator, i had to go visit and let them on load me because we were six months late in getting them out of there. i showed up and the president of the camp was there. they had elected a president. he introduced me to his wi

experiences that i had, or have had since i left the white house, is the opportunity to work in south asia after that horrible tsunami which occurred a couple of years before hurricane katrina. it was devastating to indonesia and southeast india and sri lanka. parts of thailand. me to workush asked with his father for a while. i did that. i work with the u.n. for two years. we had a great time. am ase of the disaster long-standing civil conflict in indonesia was settled, because it brought back the fishing to them together. we brought new opportunities to grow and sell coffee to them together. in every disaster, as you remember from katrina, and as we see in haiti, where i'm working, the housing is always the hardest thing to fix. , whichas one tent city 40,000 people in indonesia were sweltering, miserable in these hot tents. as the u.n. coordinator, i had to go visit and let them on load me because we were six months late in getting them out of there. the president of the camp was there. they had elected a president. me to his wife, and to his. a 10-year-old boy, that i still believe to

. >>> officials in china are hoping to increase ties with their neighbors in south asia. they've opened a trade fair in the southern province to promote commerce. it's the first event of its kind in the region. the fair is partly sponsored by china's commerce ministry. about 1200 companies from india, pakistan, afghanistan as well as other nations are taking part. chinese vice premier kai spoke at the opening ceremony. he said asia is shaping up to be the world's most vibrant region and that china's development benefits all nations in the area. exhibitors are showcasing a variety of locally produced goods. they include woodwork, indian jewelry and also afghan carpets. an indian jeweler at the fair said that expectations are high for inland regions of china. it's developing into a promising market with high demand for imported luxury goods. >>> the baltic state of latvia will likely join the eurozone next year, becoming the 18th member country. european commission, the european union's executive body, asked member nations to accept latvia's application for membership to th

"south asia is a cornerstone in our effort at ending poverty, if we don't take action now, we'll never reach our goal and the impact could be devestating." climate change is still heavily debated. despite that, funding efforts spiked in 2012, and are expected to go even higher. as the immigraiton bill winds its way through congress... the congressional budget office estimates-- the bill would reduce the deficit by $197 billion during the next 10 years. the study shows by moving immigrants to legal status-- they add to the economy and become taxpayers. critics have said passing the immigration bill would be costly to the country. on the hill this week, a house panel passed a measure making a federal crime for illegal immigrants to live in the u.s. so much for liking the way george zimmer looks. zimmer, the founder,. chairman -- and pitchman -- for the discount suit chain, men's wearhouse, has been abruptly dumped by the retailer's board. zimmer had reportedly been in transition with the company and according to annalysts, may have been struggling with a diminshed role. in a statement, z

and says more than 150,000 people are trafficked in south asia every year poor rural girls are oftencities with the promise of jobs as maids and nannies and then forced into the sex industry. eight soldiers have been killed by a roadside bomb in southern thailand while they're on patrol and their truck hit the device. two of the officers were wounded. come stays after the government rejected a ceasefire offer by muslim rebels in the region. share is in blackberry have plunged 29% in new york. investors were reacting to its warning of future losses despite releasing a new range of products this year. here is an analyst view of why the shares dropped. >> one part of the report that disturb me was the fact that they lost 4 million subscribers. that is what disturbs me. the handsets were light and it is a little bit concerning but the fact that their subscriber base has been what has been sustaining them and the fact that these are the people potentially that will upgrade. >> they are the unsung heroes of america, the men and women who pick up the trash. their job is more dangerous than

by 3:00 week to be checking in and 90 degrees and '80s for patient for south asia hours. the peninsula '80s 80 in san bruno 82 in san mateo and redwood city. for our east bay shores '80s as well and '80s degrees and berkeley in union city and fremont. 90s for concord 95 in livermore and danville. south bay in the '80s and '90s but the mix of the two. 98 for comfort to know 93 morgan hill. temperatures dropped from 5 to 10 degrees until monday and tuesday as the fog returns and to the bay area. on a contest on 193 and you can watch the >> catherine: family in virginia, when a small plane came crashing through the roof. it happened after midnight -people in an apartment say they were stunned to find inside their living room. one resident says it sounded like an explosion. the pilot is a professional aerial photographer. infrared photos when plane ran into problems. injured. >> catherine: killed after a fire broke out at a houston hotel today. it happened at a motel on the southwest freeway. firefighters were looking for people in the building when the roof collapsed. everyo

get news and insight on and south southeast asia every weekday live from bangkok. enl on nhk woronly on nhk world" >> beijing opera's roots go back hundreds of years. just as old are the masks that preserve the colorful make up. we have a report on efforts to conserve this traditional culture for future generations. >> for centuries, masks have been made to record the color make up worn by opera actors. some 5,000 varieties are said to exist. 49-year-old joe is a mask maker not far from the chinese capital. his participating techniques earned him designation of master. his family has been making masks for six generations. since the early days of beijing opera. this 150-year-old tradition barely survived one of the darkest episodes of contemporary chinese history. the cultural revolution sed in motion by the chairman in 1966 banned beijing opera and mask making as occupations. >> translator: when i was a child, we had masks everywhere. all masks were destroyed during the cultural revolution. >> against his father's advice, he quit a stable position as a civil servan

pointing fingers -- who's responsible for the haze choking south east asia?and, trash mountain -- litter and crowds threaten japan's iconic mount fuji. the biggest stories in asia, the latest buzz on social media, all here on "linkasia."

and pamela constable covers south asia for the washington post. she's recently back from kabul. back last week, tell us a little bit about these twinings that are happening today how much of a difference does it make that there's a hand over and is afghanistan ready and how much difference does it make. >> it's been really quite a set of stunning developments, when i was there just a few weeks ago everything was gloom and doom, the taliban were exhibiting extraordinary ferocity and reach and going after international charities, even going after international red cross, supreme court, they really seemed to be going for broke. so this obviously we're now learning that there was a double track going on and they have been quietly negotiating with american officials and others the whole time. but they're very good at playing games. so we are not going to -- >> ifill: taliban you mean? >> yes. saying that they want to talk they have been wanting to talk with the americans a long time. >> ifill: which leads to my next question, how karzai prepared to go to that table also to accept sec

ourselves so ing ach whether it is south asia, southeast asia, middle east, where they can utilize the army to build this trust. always think is easier to begin with those relationships. that is the number one priority. as an army i always have to be nation's wars.ur but that is the last resort. first answer.e >> i think we have time for one more question. row.t >> roger kirk with the atlantic council. you mentioned several things that give you concern. nonproliferation in the middle east. there is also a opinion scenario scenario that the israelis may be compelled to action.itary what is your view on that? any ain, i think third-party action has a impact on the united concern cause what my is first of all we have lots of ivilians and soldiers and sailors and marines in the middle east and there could be if this occurs. so that is a concern. then what does this mean in toms of what is the reaction this action. to this it mean fragility that we see in the middle east as a whole? does it move it forward? it draw a further line etween the sunni and shia concern. it can also have an impact

presence in south east asia. colduld discard war mentality and go beyond the outdated zero sum games and refrain from building military alliances set against imaginary enemies and take action against a third party. >> the u.s. and china have agreed to hold regular talks on cyber security. washington has complained that hackers and china have been stealing american government and corporate secrets. china insists it is also a victim of cyber crime and not a perpetrator. later this week, president obama will meet with the chinese premier. to get to know him better during an informal visit in california. the u.s. government is calling on china to account for ever been killed or detained in the 1989 tiananmen square massacre demand comes two days before the 24th anniversary of the military crackdown on pro- democracy protesters and china has accused the u.s. government of using political prejudice and ignoring the facts. there was a public outcry in thailand after a ban of a film exploring the divisions between the re

get news and insight on south and southeast asia every weekday live from bangkok only on nhk world "newsline." >>> some professional athletes live lives many people can only dream of. they work at something they love. they can be adored by their fans and they can earn millions of dollars, but some find their fortunes, like their fame, can disappear. nhk world's tomoyoshi komiya reports. >> reporter: americans are crazy about their football. even current championship games draw well over 40,000 fans. the good players victory gain media attention. teams in the national football league or nfl draft the top players. just by signing on the dotted line, quite a few become instant millionaires. despite all that income, an increasing number of players end up broke after they retire from the sports. the u.s. media reports that 78% of former nfl players declare bankruptcy within five years of their last game. former nfl star jamal lewis is among those who filed for bankruptcy. he retired after playing for the renowned baltimore ravens between 2000 and 2010. lewis set many records and he was named the

get news and insight on south and southeast asia every weekday live from bangkok, only on nhk world "newsline." >>> a japanese composer wants to help the people who died in the quake and tsunami two years ago. he's written a piano sonata in their memory. mamoru samuragochi lost his hearing 14 years aeg due to illness. he's often called a modern-day beethoven. ♪ intense passages express the anger and suffering of the victims. the music is rich in peaceful melodies that represent prayers for the dead. ♪ >> translator: i'd like many people to listen to this sonata to keep memories of the disaster from fading. >> translator: i'm so happy to have discovered this wonderful piano music. it really makes me want to keep going. ♪ >> samuragochi hopes the people who died on march 11 can find peace. he believes performing his music will relieve their suffering and anger. >>> some professional athletes live lives many people can only dream of. they work at something they love. they can be adored by their fans and they can earn millions of dollars, but some find their fortunes, like their fame, can

asia in this time of change. >> more than 70 business people are accompanying park. china is south korea's largest trade partner. the south sends a quarter of its exports to china. south korean companies needs to expand activities in china to survive the severe economic situation. chinese and south korean leaders also want to reduce their reliance on the u.s. and european markets to achieve stable economic growth. >>> australians have a new prime minister. he's actually one of their old ones. kevin rudd met a dramatic return to the job after ousting julia gi gillard. she's quitting politics and rudd is readying his party for the next election. nhk world reports from sydney. >> reporter: kevin rudd has been through this wince before. he once thought his days on top were over. now he's back in the prime minister's office after winning a leadership contest against his bitter rival within the ruling labor party, julia gillard. three years ago it was gillard who outed rudd as party leader and prime minister. but she struggled with the difficulties of a minority government. indust indust

get news and insight on south and southeast asia every weekday live from bangkok only on nhk world "newsline." >>> russian held islands claimed by japan are back in the spotlight. a senior official unveiled infrastructure plans for the disputed islands. sergei ababkov spoke to reporters in the main city. the infrastructure projects will be on the islands. these include the four disputed islands seized by russia immediately after world war ii. ababkov said federal and local governments will spend $200 million to carry out 14 projects. one project is constructing a pier on an island for large cargo vessels by this autumn. housing, hospitals and sport facilities will be built on two other islands. ababkov said chinese and south korean companies are already taking part in the projects. >> translator: we are interested in japan's latest technology for agriculture and vegetable cultivation. using geothermal generation. >> president vladimir putin discussed the islands with japan's prime minister shinzo abe when they met in april. putin said he must improve the lives of the islands' russian residen

services from south asia back to the u.s. or mexico, for example? >> i think so.y will become more democratic. we can suppress these jobs opportunities around the world. we have a lot of countries that, for example, in eastern europe, in asia, in latin america and the u.s. i think that we have a good opportunity to increase that all over the world. >> we are heading into a u.s. jobs report later in the day. what is your view on the job market and jobs in the u.s.? >> stefanini, we are hiring new people. our headquarters are in michigan. that is an area that was written a lot because of the crisis. and we build a very interesting model, how to train, how to hire more jobs. i believe the u.s. coming back can hire. >> thank you so much. back over to you guys. >>> plenty more to come on today's show. the polish prime minister is defending his record. but europe is casting doubts on his success. we'll rejoin louisa in warsaw right after this. >>> the polish prime minister has been defending his record in an interview with louisa this morning. let's rejoin louisa in war

which is wars are very easy to get into and very difficult to get out of especially in south asia. but diplomacy, diplomacy, diplomacy, it's long overdue in the region. basically what you're seeing there is a father saying it's time to have this conversation. >> all right. >> john miller thanks. >>> the senate is inching closer to a deal on immigration but a vote in the house shows how difficult it will be to reach the finish line. our political director john dickerson joins us from washington. john, good morning. >> are the latest moves in the senate to add border agents notch to get aenough to get a deal do you think? >> in the senate it's inching toward that. a number of senators mostly republicans, woeshrried if you create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers in the united states that you would get that but you wouldn't get tough measures to deal with new inflows of new immigrants. it's triggers that have to be met before that starts for undocumented worker. conservatives worry about two things. one, these measures these new border agents raising the fence. that wo

. >>> get news on south and southeast asia every day live from bangkok only on nhk world "newsline.">> policymakers with the u.s. federal reserve are noticing changes in the economy so they're planning some changes for themselves. ai uchida joins us from the business desk. what do they see? >> they've seen the housing market improve, consumer confidence, household spending. in fact when the chairman of the u.s. federal reserve looks to the future, ben bernanke likes what he sees ahead for the economy. the central bank has pumped billions into financial markets over the last several years, but bernanke says later this year the fed could begin slowing the pace of stimulus. federal reserve policymakers released a statement after meeting for two days. they decided to continue buying government bonds at the current rate of $85 per month. but bernanke says they could change their tactics as the labor market changes. >> and if the subsequent data remain broadly aligned with our current expectations for the economy, we would continue to reduce the pace of purchases in measured steps through

for example we have a cloud forest for south america, southeast asia and no where else can do that because we have unique climbate here and with the california native garden and with birds and insects from california. the volunteers provide a great service to the city in education and managing the nursery and many other tasks. these are services that enrich the garden and enrich the lives of californians and san franciscans so i urge you to support the management agreement, and for the continuation of the non resident fees. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon supervisors. my name is monica martin and i have two statements this afternoon. my own and one who had to leave earlier. i'm a botanical garden volunteer and a member of the board of trustees. in the botanical garden society was formed to look after the garden. its soul purpose was and is to support the development of the garden and provide educational programs. our partner in achieving that is the city. we couldn't do it without you. the non resident fee has worked well. it's important for the maintenance of the

for example we have a cloud forest for south america, southeast asia and no where else can do that

store, chances are good they were made in asia or south america, where labor costs are cheaper, fred de sam lazaro looked at an old ethical dilemma. can factories pay a living wage and keep costs low enough to stay in business? >> back in the 1990s, cambodia, rebuilding after the khmer rouge years, gave its garment industry a leg up and agreed to fair labor standards with a limit wage rule, unions to represent workers and freedom of expression, all would be open to international inspection. today there, are perhaps 400,000 garment workers and 300 factories in and near the capital, phnom penh. they are factories for retailers in europe and america. cambodia's garment industry has grown into the largest export earner for this country, three out of four come from the garment factories. the key question, how much all of this has benefited workers, almost all of whom are female. many factories have been plagued by labor unrest. occasionally it's been violent. there have been frequent reports of faintings on factory floors, the unions cite unhealthy conditions and workers weak from malnour

there are commercial available technologies that could be employed today that already existed in south asia, there are long-range wi-fi networks. tell has one called the rural connectivity platform but that is not the only system. fi up to 60smit wi- miles. you can also do this using technology you confided your local wal-mart. it could be very simple. the idea is by giving wi-fi access points, it could be as simple as parking a truck along the border, broadcasting back into the country, perhaps giving some networking technology to the opposition but then really allowing them to use their own innovations, a daisy chain networks together, and use those internet access points to bring the internet connectivity deeper into syria to enable freer communications and coordination between the opposition groups as well as to the syrian population host: should be monitored by the united states and for what purposes? guest: it probably should be thetore tod sure that regime does not gain access to that end is not using those networks to target the opposition and crack down. i would try to encourage an

there are latino immigrants, eastern european, south asia.ome from a city that has had a long immigrant tradition of folks coming from western europe, from ireland, from italy, from all parts of the world. it has made new york city the greatest city in the world, a tremendous international city. we come from a country of immigrants and that is a tradition that should be respected. host: our last call comes from barbara, a democrat. caller: hello? we are listening. just turned down the volume on your tv and state your question. caller: i hear about all of the jobs. what about the people who are married to american citizens. i am an american citizen. my husband is an immigrant. it is just so difficult. i am being punished because i have not been able to get everything legalized and everything. in other words, it should be a little bit easier for somebody who is married to an american citizen. you did not mind issuing why not license, so make it easier for someone who is married to someone who is illegal? guest: thank you for that question and o

facebook and google and skype to invade conversations about a whole variety of things in south america, in asia, and many times, people who are involved in these conversations and where they originate are people in the united states. it's all done without warrants and without accountability and the entire world is impacted. >> now, i've got to ask you this, because we've seen what's happened to a.p. journalists and to mr. rosen at fox news. are you worried now that they're going to come after you, big brother style, and try and come after your sources? >> well, i think the sources behind this are incredibly courageous people who could have sold this information for extraordinary amounts of money to foreign governments or handed it over, had that been their objective to harm the united states to enemies of the united states. they didn't. they came forward with immense amounts of courage because they believe that their fellow citizens should be aware of what their government is doing. so when i look at their courage, i get inspired by that and i know that the constitution right in the first amend

. >>> south korea's tourism organization has invited 100 female employees overseas to promote the country's tourism industry. officials in seoul welcomed the group from japan, china, southeast asia and other places around the world. the head of tourism said he hopes the reporters will promote south korea's attractions in their countries. tourism surpassed 10 million for the first time last year but japanese numbers were down due to the yen's decline against the local currency. >>> chinese government officials are looking into the possibility of joining the trans pacific free trade agreement. they're studying the idea and suggestions the united states has been making since march. following the u.s. urging, the premier is said to have instructed government officials to start examining the concrete impact the country's tpp participation would have on its economy. a spokesperson for china's commerce ministry says the government is now in the process of studying joining the pact. in the past, chinese leaders have been cautious about taking such a step. that's because of possible disadvantages for their domestic economy. they have apparently changed their minds after japan has decided

it is also reported in canada, europe, south and central america, and parts of asia. worldpers around the began to connect the pesticides to the vanishing bees. began with aoss pesticide that is sold in france aspects gaucho. french]king dern 2008, germany's iniegel reported bee deaths prime agricultural areas. many beekeepers pointed the finger to a pesticide. >> ," lay awake many nights thinking, what is going on here? changes are coming. this is systemic. in that time when they started getting more and more and more of this stuff, they were mute. --neo nick a titillates make all pollen toxic to insects. >> they are transferred to all portions of the plant, so any insect that shoes on that plant is affected by the insecticide. >> it is a chemical that causes exposure constantly. >> they are related to nicotine and are neurotoxins, or nerve poisons, that attack insect nervous systems, causing paralysis and eventually death. >> charles annenberg weingarten -- clothianidin is very toxic to bees. trillion is very toxic. in some cases it can kill them outright. in some c

asia. it says africa will have rapid growth in the latter half of this century. >>> south korean president park guen-hye is trying to get more north korean leaders to come to the negotiating table. she asked chinese foreign minister tang jiaxuan to try to persuade them. they say park expressed regret that the north koreans canceled talks because of a disagreement over who led the delegations. they say park told tang she wants chinese leaders to try to persuade the north koreans to me to the negotiating table. tang says he wants to see more exchanges and cooperation between the two koreas, and he says he's concerned about north korea's nuclear weapons. he said chinese leaders have told the north koreans that they don't recognize their country as a nuclear power. >>> government leaders in myanmar are considering a change that would make it possible for aung san suu kyi to run for president. a high ranking politician says they're weighing a constitutional amendment. on voice of america radio program during a visit to washington the speaker of the lower house and the highest ranking official u

asia are in japan and korea. a wide swath of geography in south east asia where we have fairly minimal presence.re are a bunch of questions in asia. ouris to what extent does presence in southeast asia meet our specific objectives there? as pointed out in the report, a lot of the facilities in japan and korea, almost all of them, these heavy missile threats. -- face heavy missile threats. that is something we did not have to worry about when we decided to locate a facility overseas. the number and accuracy of missiles can relate to a lot of damage. we have to think of those as a risk of investing in basis in a country that is close enough to be attacked by such weapons. host: he's the director at the center for asia-pacific policy. you can read the report online at rand.org. that is our show for june the 10th. we will see you back here tomorrow on "washington journal ." [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] correct 50 years ago today president kennedy signed the equal pay act requiring employers to give women and men equa

and, can a new law stop scenes like this in south korea's legislature? the biggest stories in asia, the latest buzz in social media, all here on "linkasia." [captions made possible by kcet television]

years ago -- years back, where it seemed every advanced degree was going to someone from india or south asia. and i thought to myself, what a sad situation. we ared handing them -- we are handing them advanced degrees which they earned in the united states at the best schools and we're handing them a map on how to find their way back to o'hare and leave. this is a better approach. if there's a job offer, we need to keep this talent in america. it just won't employ that person, it will employ many others who can work for the companies that they're going to help. employers under our bill will be given a chance to hire temporary foreign workers when they truly need it after they have tried to recruit americans for the same jobs. we also require that any employer who hires a foreign worker must pay a fee to be set aside for a fund to help train americans. let's -- let's put the cards on the table here. if you go to the graduation ceremonies at these schools, the best engineering schools in america, you will find a majority of foreign students. that is the reality today. so let's change the reali