Spinoff of its prized chip business. And gamechanging technology. Boosting supermarket sales and some customers cant get enough. South koreas ousted president is at a Court Hearing that will decide whether she will be arrested. Park is facing charges in connection to a corruption scandal. Local media are reporting that she decided to attend the hearing to try to persuade the court not to arrest her. Park was greeted by a few hundred supporters as she left her home thursday morning, amid a heavy police presence. She then made her way to the seoul Central District court. On the way in, she passed reporters without stopping. Park has been embroiled in a scandal that led to her being booted from office. Allegations include bribery, abuse of power and leaking state secrets. She is alleged to have colluded with her longtime friend choi soonsil to extort millions of dollars in bribes from the samsung group. Park is also suspected of pressuring countries to donate money to foundations linked to choi. Prosecutors asked that park be arrested, saying she may try to destroy evidence. Park is expected to deny the charges and claim there is no risk of her destroying evidence, therefore, no reason to arrest her. Local media report that a decision is expected late thursday night or some time friday morning. Two former south korean president s have been arrested in the past after losing immunity from criminal prosecution. Chun doo hwan was president for eight years from 1980. He was arrested and indicted in december 1995 for taking bribes while in office and his armed suppression of prodemocracy citizens and students in the 1980 uprising. A District Court issued the death sentence. The Supreme Court sentenced him to life in prison. Roh taewoo served as president and was sentenced for five years in 1988 for bribery in the uprising. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison. Both were pardoned in december 1997 by then president. If arrested park geunhye will be the third expresident arrested and the first in 22 years. Part of parks impeachment hearings included allegations she violated the constitution by failing to protect people on the ferry sewol. Nearly 300 people died when the ship sank in 2014. Most of them were high school students. Years after the disaster, South Koreans may finally find some closure. Nhk worlds kim chanju explains. Reporter grieving parents heading out to sea to try to feel closer to their daughter. Ha dayoon was on the sewol when it sank and has never been found. And for the first time, theyre getting a look at the vessel above the water after its been resting on the seabed for three years. Translator i tried to look smart by shaving today, just in case she didnt recognize me. As i came closer, i just felt like i could hear her telling me, dad, you came. Reporter dayoon was on a high school trip with hundreds of schoolmates when the ferry capsized. 295 people died. She is listed as one of nine still missing. The government was hesitant to raise the vessel, concerned about high costs and the challenge of getting it out of the water. Its now shelling out more than 90 million to do so. But that decision didnt come without a fight. Huh hyung wan campaigned tirelessly for its recovery. He traveled the country, urging people to support raising the ferry. But some questioned his motivations. Translator i felt very sad when people in the street told me that i was so greedy and trying to earn extra money in addition to normal compensation. Reporter it didnt deter him. He quit his job and the couple moved into temporary housing at the nearest harbor to the wreckage next to other grieving families. This family photo serves as motivation for them to continue looking for answers. Translator i want to tell her that i love her, and i want to say i really want to see her. Reporter family members are not alone in their grief. News of the ships recovery opened an old wound for many South Koreans. [ speaking Foreign Language ] reporter there is still hope for those missing. Officials say they will conduct a fullscale search when the ferry arrives in port on friday. But for many relatives, including huh, it isnt enough. Translator we would not have been annoyed so much if people in charge of operating the ferry had been faithful in their service. I think we need to reveal what went wrong. I hope the disaster reminds people t that we need to make t country safefe enough to live. Reporter although the ships captaiain has been sentenced to life in prison and the court says it was overloaded when it sank, he wants a thorough investigation to know exactly what went wrong and why his daughter never came home. Kim chanju, nhk world, chindo. U. S. Lawmakers are trying to pass tougher sanctions on north korea. One of those is putting it back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. The Foreign AffairsCommittee Approved the bills wednesday. The move follows recent missile tests by pyongyang and the murder of kim jonguns half brother. Another bill would allow thes government to impose punitive measures on foreign nationals purchasing Natural Resources and Agricultural Products from the north. Meanwhile, tokyo plans to extend sanctions against north korea for two more years. The sanctions were set to expire next month. The measures are a total embargo on trade with north korea and on all vessels that have made port calls in the north from entering japanese ports. Japans toshiba has cleared a major hurdle. Favor of the move thursday at an extraordinary shareholder meeting. It comes after toshibas westinghouse filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Losses for the Current Business year could reach 9 billion. The plan is to spin off the chip unit to raise money and revive the company. Shareholders face management with questions about the losses at westinghouse. Translator im wondering if there were any other options besides spinning off the chip business. Translator i want toshiba to survive even after it scales down its operations. Toshiba plans to settle the sale for the chip unit by june. Nhk spoke with the chief executive of a u. S. Utility that contracted westinghouse to build two nuclear reactors. Southern company ceo thomas fanning says toshiba must fulfill its responsibilities under the deal. The Firm Provides electricity for 9 million businesses and households across the southern u. S. It signed a contract with westininghouse in 2008. Wee have a long relationship with not only westinghouse but toshiba and were committed to work through these challenges. Fanning says he wants the reactors ready to go in 2019 and 2020 as scheduduled. They s signed an agreement thah covers job a and constructioion sts for thehe next00 days. Toshiba will help sort out the work schedule and costs of the projects. 10 major utilities in japan will increase electricity rates from may. They cite higher costs for promoting solar and other renewable energies. Average households will have to pay an additional 1. 50 per month for Customers UsingTokyo Electric Power company, the typical monthly charge will be 59. This is the first time in three years all Major Power Companies are raising rates by more than 90 cents. Meanwhile four Gas Companies are raising their rates due to higher lng prices. Average residential customer will have to pay an extra 50 cents per month for gas. This will be the seventh straight month for rate hikes by Gas Companies. Tokyo shares closed lower. Giang nguyen has more. Despite the stronger dollar and rise in energy stocks. Take a look at the closing levels for this thursday, march 30th. Nikkei closed at 19,062. The broader topix fell 0. 9 . Toshiba stocks ended the day up 4 . The firm warned of a possible net loss for the current fiscal year of about 9 billion. But the vote by shareholders in favor of spinning off the chip business is seen as paving the way for a turnaround. The Energy Sector outed most others on the backs of the recent rise in oil prices and gasoline stocks that point to increasing demand. Jx holdings and showa shell both ended higher. The dollar touched a oneweek high against t the yen in early trading hours and also against the euro. The European Central bank is wary of changing its easing money policy at the moment. On the other hand, some u. S. Federal reserve officials expressed support for a couple more rate hikes this year. Thats something to keep an eye on in the months to come. Giang nguyen, reporting from the tokyo stock exchange. Many other markets in the asiapacific region ended lower. Shanghai composite was down almost 1 . Hong kong fell. 4 . Kospi, 2164 the closing number. Samsung electronics was higher after it announced the launch of a new galaxy smart phone. Australias s p asx200 index rose. Energy and material related shares were among the winners as futureres and material prices climbed. In south korea, Samsung Electronics has rolled out a new smart phone. The company is hoping to gaiain lost ground over batteries that overheated and caught fire. Samsung unveiled its galaxy s8 at an event in new york. It has been a challllenging year for samsung. Valuable lessons, hard decisions and important new beginnings. Samsungs battery problems helped apple overtake it in the final quarter of last year works as a touch screen. The model has fingerprint and iris scanners as well as facial recognition that enables users to unlock their phones by looking at them. Supermarket operators in japan face big challenges, including steep price competition from other retailers and consumers are keeping a tight hold on their purse strings. Many stores are looking for Hightech Solutions to keep afloat. Nhk world has more. Reporter no waiting. The store has a data charging system. It counts how many people enter the store using infrared sensors. The system uses the to determine how many cashiers will be needed at any time of the day. Checkout counter, please. Reporter the data is sent to staff in real time. Translator counter number three is now opening. Reporter that allows staff to open counters before customers arrive at the checkout and people dont have t to waitn long lines. Translator Competition Among stores is intense. Weve done everything we can on price and product quality. One of the biggest customer complaints is waiting to pay. Our data system is an effective solutio solution. Reporter checkout is one way to keep customers happy. Another is to use discounts. They are doing just that. A smart card. One special feature, hitting coupon. This coupon only appears when the customer walks past a product. Translator the alarm alerts me to a hidden coupon so i wont miss it. I always walk around trying to locate them. Reporter the smart coupons benefit the managers in other ways, track shopping behavior, showing what customers get in the store and where. Staff are constantly reviewing the data. They use it to adjust their floor layout and, hopefully, boost sales. Translator before, there were just three rowows of these sausages. Now weve expanded this section. The smart coupons are really effective. Reporter sales for some items have jumped 10 times since the system was introduced. Transnslator we are trying offer customers a new experience. Smart card coupons have boosted sales because they think these discounts are just for me. Reporter hightech services are changing the way supermarkets operate, and the way people shop. Sakura koyama, nhk world. And you can catch the report online together with a full transcript. Look for nhk world and business wrap. Thats it for business news. Im going to leave you with the markets. Two weeks ago, a Court Ordered them to pay damages to a group of evacuees. About 40,000 to 62 plaintiffs, who had to leave the prefecture after the accident and suffered mental distress after losing their livelihood. The court said the defendants couldd have foreseen the massiv tsunami. The Power Company says the courts decision is unacceptable. The ruling was the firsthanded down in a series of similar suits filed by more than 12,000 people across japan. One District Court has dismissed a request from nearby residents who want a reactor shut down. The reactor is in western japan at the Power Companys ikata plant. It was reopened under stricter regulations the government issued after the fukushima accident. People living there claim theres a risk of a serious accident if a strong earthquake happens. The ground in the area contains active faults. The Power Company says it calculated the maximum likely tremor and took sufficient safety measures. The court found the companys judgment reasonable and said there is no substantial danger to nearby residents. Those who brought the action are disappointed. Translator weont wanant to be exposed to radiation. Translator we appreciate the reasonable ruling. We will do everything to keep the ikata plant runningng safel three o oer district couourt are cononsidering separate requests fromm people who want the reactor shut down. Only two of japans nuclear plants, including ikata, are operating. The Chinese Government is making final arrangements for the first offfficial meeting between president xi jinping and his american counterpart, donald trump. Xi will travel to florida next week. The meetings will be held next thursday and friday at a resort owned by trump. Trump is likely to urge xi to steadily implement sanctions against north korea, based on u. N. Security council resolutions. China has strong economic and historical ties to the country. Trade and Foreign Exchange rates are also likely to be on the agenda. During the president ial campaign, trump repeatedly called beijings trade policies unfair and emphasized the need to protect american jobs. Meanwhile, beijing seems to be criticizing trump for over turning his predecessors environmental policies. Climate change affects everyone, he says, and urges him to honor the Paris Agreement. Translator should honor their promises and take action to implement the Paris Agreement together. The spokesperson also said no change in another countrys Climate Policy will affect chinas resolve. He spoke a day after trump signed an executive order to overhaul environmental measures introduced by barack obama. China is the worlds biggest emiter of greenhouse gases. Paris agreement is as a result of fortified ties between beijing and washington. Lets now get an update on World Weather with jonathan oh who starts off with the stormbattered u. S. Plains. Hello. The southern united statates wi need to contininue to monitor t weather as the s same area off pressure that has caused problems for the Desert Southwest and also into the Southern Plains will continue to slowly push toward the east, bringing the possibility of severe thunderstorms and that includes the possibility of tornadoes and strong winds and even large hail. Over the past couple of days, tuesday y and wednesday, we had9 tornado reports with 94 wind damage reportsts and 7 78 largel reports. So this is a pretty potent system. It is not a very fast mover,r, which means that areas just slightly east of the areas impacted by this low pressurure system are likely to see unstable weather once again as we go into thursday. Let me take you to some video coming out of tetexas. It will give you an idea of some of the damage that has been visible because of these storms. 200,000 homeses were withoutut r after a s series o of storms mo througugh texasas early wednesd morning. Tennisisball s sized hail and tornadoes w were repeported tue after seseveral houses were damaged. Schools were forced to close wednesday due to Power Outages and at least one person was injured. In addition, three Storm Chasers were also killed when their two vehicles collided, as they were tracking this particular system. It is a very tragic story to hear that. We still have the same low pressure area thats moving into the deep south. Areas extending from the ohio river valley down toward the bayou in louisiana. Were all looking at the possibility of severe thunderstorm. Be on the lookout for that. A separate system is coming onshore from the west coast. Thats bringing the possibility of winter storm conditions in the rocky mountains. We are looking at heavy snow possibilities as we go through thursday and also into friday. Down toward the Desert Southwest, we a also have fire dadanger weather because of strg winds that will be part of the forecast as we go throughout the day on thursday. So for those of you living in chicago and as far south as atlanta and back toward the west, looking for the possibility of severe thunderstorms as we go throughout the day on thursday. Rain for vancouver and seattle with areas in the mountains looking at some more snow as we go into thursday. Meanwhile, down toward australia, the remnants of deb continue to bring rainfall into brisbane and the coastline of new south wales. It was a pretty impressssive sysystem when i it was approach tuesda t this is an image from the International Space station. No longer keeping t that characteristic circrculation, w are still look at occasional downpours betweenen brisbane an sydney throughout the day friday. Be on the lookout for that. Most of the heavier rainfall may be further off the coast. Some places may be looking up to 100 millimeters of rainfall as we go throughout the next day. Showers are expected friday and also into saturday. Be on the lookout for that. Wrapping things up with a look at japan, tokyo had a very nice day with sunny conditions, but changes are on the way. We have one low thats skirting on the pacific side of japan but another systetem will be coming onshore into western japan as we go into friday and that will bring some rainfall late friday into saturday and we are looking at a big drop in temperatures for tokyo. Saturdays high, 9 degrees. But that will only last for a day. We should rebound back into the teens as we go into sunday and monday. Have a good day wherever you are. Here is your extended outlook. That was this q . Q . Q . Q . Q . Q . Q . Good afternoon. You are watching live from paris. I marshall ferguson. Growing tensions between ankara and washington. There are several points of contention topping the agenda. Laws made in westminster no longer in brussels. The day after formally triggering britains divorce from the eu the Prime Minister will publish a bill set to