hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. barack obama has begun a visit to south africa. he arrived as people are worrying about the country's anti-apartheid hero and former president nelson mandela is in critical condition in the hospital fighting a lung infection. he begins the second of three african countries. he was cautious and said the last thing he wants to be is be

obtrusive. he won a nobel peace prize for leading the struggle to apartheid. he is 94 years old and went into the hospital earlier this month. obama said after the abolition is of apartheid is his ideal. tensions are mounding ahead of planned demonstrations. both opponents and supporters of mohamed morsi called for protests throughout the country. anti-morsi demonstrators are demanding that the president step down. they say the economy and security have worsened since he took office a year ago following the collapse of the government. many have gathered in tahrir square where security perimeters have been established. >> we will protest until the president resigns.

morsi's one-year tenure is full of failures. we demand he steps down. >> morsi's islamist supporters are rallying in defense of the president. many set up tents near the presidential palace where they plan to hold sit ins. >> morsi is an elect and legitimate president. we support the president at the risk of our lives. >> health ministry officials say one was killed and 400 others injured in rival forces earlier this week. they deployed troops across the country. the number of demonstrators is expected to rise further after friday's weekly prayers. south korean president is building stronger ties with china. she began a visit to beijing by getting to know the president. now she has been talking with other chinese leaders and showing how determined she is to work with them.

she spent some of her second day in china meeting senior officials including the premier. she is believed to have proposed chinese and south koreans invest more in each other's countries and thought to have suggested they work together to transform economies so they are led by doest inndo e mostic demand. she quoted a chinese proverb that making friends brings success in business. the father of the american intelligence leaker edward snowden said he does not think his son committed treason. he went on national to explain how he sees his son's actions. >> he had betrayed his government, but i don't believe that he betrayed the people of the united states. >> the elder snowden does not want to put his son in peril, but is concerned about people

around him. he has not spoken to his son in april, but fears he is being manipulated by wikileaks. the elder snowden said he told u.s. attorney general eric holder through his lawyer that his son might return voluntarily on certain conditions. he said justice department officials would have to agree not to hold his son before trial and keep the public informed. foreign nations will be sharing tables from their counterparts and will be focusing on maritime security and how to resolve concerns over the north korean nuclear program. the minsters will spend four days talking in the capital. their agenda includes disputes over islands in the south china sea. the islands are claimed by china, the philippines and

vietnam. foreign minsters couldn't agree how to handle them when they met in july of last year. that meeting was the first in history to end without a joint statement. observers are focussing on whether chinese and asean leaders can agree on rules for settling disputes peacefully. north korean foreign minster will join the talks on tuesday. observers will be focussing on what he said to help resolve the nuclear issue. leaders decided to relax visa requirements, hoping a tracking foreign travelers will play a key in revitalizing the economy. deregulation will take effect on july 1st. and malaysian tourists will no longer need a visa for short-term stays. they may receive three-year multiple length visas. the length will double to 30

days. japanese transport minster met with ambassadors from four southeast asian countries. >> we would like to promote the wonderful attractions of japan as a brand. for example, the beauty of the four seasons and delicious cuisine. >> it would be opportune for both asean and japan to introduce new initiatives like tourism in elevating the relationships to new heights. >> japan hopes to attract ten million foreign visitors this year. the united states is cutting off trade benefits for bangladesh. it follows a series of deadly factory accidents in the south asian country. we have more from bangkok. >> the u.s. willy is spend from a long running program from duty cuts designed to help developing

countries. it's likely a bid to encourage the country to improve conditions in the garment industry. u.s. president barack obama calls it appropriate in a statement released on thursday. bangladesh is not taking steps to afford recognized worker rights to workers in the country. u.s. trade representative michael pfroman hopes they will restore for the trade benefit and he wants workers in safe appropriate work situations. the bangladeshy foreign ministry criticizes the decision in a statement released on friday. it said the suspension comes at a time when the government is taking concrete and visible measures to improve safety and worker rights. they said the u.s. government will maintain contact with the dpft and will review the status of the trade agreement at the

appropriate time. 1,129 people died when a garment factory collapsed in april. a fire at another garment factory killed 112 workers in november of last year. the accidents are triggering calls for around the world for immediate improvement. a senator said in a statement that no one will want to wear clothing that is made in bangladesh if it is made on the blood of workers. clothing accounts for 80% of bangladesh exports. they attracted a number of companies and the company is home to more than 4,000 garment factories. the union has also been considering whether to suspend status for bangladesh. the announcement from the u.s. may influence eu discussions of the matter. rescue workers are fighting against time to save survivors of severe flooding in india over

1,000 people have been stranded for more than a week under the thread of disease as whether conditions improve. rescuers are evacuating the victims by air. days of heavy rains, swelled rivers and damaged roads and houses in the himalayan state. landslides have cutoff many areas. they confirm 822 people dead as of friday. they said the final death toll could surpass 1,000. the state-run television said rescue operations picked up pace on friday. 17 helicopters were sent in to evacuate people trapped at locations not accessible over land. 1,200 remain trapped. aid workers warn those still stranded are under the threat of disease due to unsanitary conditions. they are calling for clean water and food to be delivered to

prevent the situation from further deteriorating. india is experiencing the worst floods since at least 2008 when around 5 helped helped people were killed. communist attacked a group of police trainees in the island in the philippines. one of the trainees died and nine others wounded. the am push is the latest example of four decades of violence by the members of the new people's army or npa. they report the npa guerillas opened fire on trainees as they jogged in the northern mountain town on friday. a national spokesperson said strikes against unarmed targets were typical of the guerillas. the npa is believed to have at least 4,000 active fighters. police estimate that 44 years of violence claimed at least 30,000 lives. attacks this year alone killed

dozens of people. filipino leaders suspended peace talks on april after rebels rejected an immediate ceasefire. the move is a government target by the year 2016. that will wrap up the bulletin. >> worries about a credit central bank chief said they will pump enough liquidity to keep them stable. >> we will take various steps to adjust market liquidity in a comprehensive way and appropriate times to maintain market stability. >> governor of the people's bank of china spoke at a forum on

friday. chinese markets have been volatile. short-term interest rates touched off fears that higher rates could force financial institutions to run short of funds. he said monetary authorities will continue to monitor financial institutions and try to keep their lending practices and balance she'ds sound. he indicated that the bank will guard against easy lending to prevent a fixed asset bubble. they gave relief to the markets and they staged a rebound from the previous seven sessions of losses. the composeilate closed at 1,979 jumping 1.5%, the best percentage gain in two months. for this week, the main benchmark tumbled 4.5%. this was due to a 5.3% nose dive roared on monday. market players remain nervous about instability in the banking system throughout the week following a jump in short-term

interest rates. this was seen to be impacted that beijing aims to crack down on lending outside the banking system, also known as shadow banking. lsa chinese leaders are walkinga i fine line as they tried to manage their best economy. they tell us why the situation is so delicate. >> the bond on the chinese market reflects a shift in the nation's monetary policy. the premier is now in control of economic policy and he is steering his country towards a more market-oriented approach. he sent a clear message to investors and traders that the government will pursue the financial reform. he is vowing not to rescue those involved and the sustainable property development. they played off these policies and limited liquidity to speed

money flow into the banking. the bank of china is trying to stop a market from overheating. investors agree there could be nights from china following the announcement from the u.s. federal reserve that it may start slowing down the stimulus by the end of the year. chinese central bankers say they have provided liquidity to satellites and market. that participates market industry. most believe authorities are still very much in control of the situation. they will need to hold on tight. reports suggest they may have reached $3 trillion. if the latest figures that come out in mid-july show slower growth as expected in the 7% range. reaction could trigger a roller coaster ride on the market. >> people who invest in the

tokyo stocks exchange are enduring a bumpy ride. they are enjoying the upside of the volatility, but the effect of abe's new economic policies could hurt the country and not help. nhk world spoke with rogers in the city he calls home. sing pour. >> many people know that this whole thing in the world economy in the past three or four years has been the official. they have been printing japanese, americans, english, have been printing huge amounts of money. this is not real. this is artificial. >> jim rogers cofounded the hedge fund with george soros in the 1970s. he moved from new york to singapore six years ago, seeing

the investment potential in asian markets. he bought heavily on the japanese stock market last november. some weeks before abe became prime minister. abe's promise of huge stimulus majors was all the encouragement he needed. >> he said he was going to print unlimited, that's his word, unlimited amounts of money. any time unlimited amounts of money get thrown out the window, a lot of it is going to go into the stock market. that's usually one of the first places it goes. and it did. >> are rogers made a hefty profit as abenomics pushes prices higher. the rise is abrupt in late may. rogers said the fall was well expected. >> japan is the second or third

largest economy in the world. the second largest stock market in the world or the second largest stock market in the world to go up 60% in six months is very strange. it's very unusual. >> in the aftermath, people's enthusiasm for abenomics cooled. critics asked if abe's administration will be good for japan, not just for short-term investors. >> he is not doing anything about immigration or the birth rate. he's not doing anything about many of the things that need to be done in japan. he is just building up debt and destroying the currency. this is not good for japan. >> economists agree japan has to urgently deal with the massive debt and shrinking workforce. it will take very decisive action.

rogers questions whether abe can deliver. >> the japanese rarely made bold decisions. if they do, it's realistic and going to help japan and help the world. sure. any bold decision that japan makes will cause pain at first. >> a common criticism levelled against speculators is that they exploit economic crisis for their own gain. but market players might say they behave as the market intends. and it's up to leaders like abe to create the best circumstances so that investment brings benefits to all. nhk world, singapore.

are pa. >> managers of japan's nuclear plants are getting ready for a new reality. they have been working on strengthening safety standards since the 2011 next fukushima. changes take effect next month and already people are questioning how tough the rules will be to put into practice. he walks us through the issues in today's nuclear watch. >> nuclear regulators spend nine months throwing up the new requirements. they revise the rules since the accident at the fukushima plant. an earthquake and tsunami triggered melt downs. the the new requirements operated to implement a number of measures.

>> operators must prepare for the highest predicted tsunami rate. they have to set up break waters and take other precautions to prevent seawater from international facilities. a loss of power triggered the melt downs. the new requirements obliged operators to back up power systems. in addition, they have to build alternative control rooms. they have to install filter vents that will remove radioactive substances when nrmnrm engineers monitor them. >> they are the most strirchlent compared to international standards. >> a cross alert reveals

potential problems. regulators will face obstacles in determining whether they meet new requirements. one issue involved, electric cabling. a dense network of cables snakes through nuclear plants. it serves a number to risk control. one reaction to the 2002 meters of cable. nears years ago, a fire exposes these cables. flame burned if are eight hours. looking out at the reactor-cooling system. japanese regulators recognize the importance. >> the fire could be a major cause of a melt down.

fire prevention measures need to be stepped up. >> the new requirements called for the use of special cables that don't catch fire easily. they also allow utilities to coat the cables with fire retardant materials. this method is in practice at japan's 15 nuclear reactors. operators say fire retardant cables or cabled in if fire retardant material are equally effective. >> translator: >> they disagree. >> sections with coatings are less resistant to fire. those sections are going to get damaged early on.

>> we asked experts to conduct tests to determine the difference. >> the experts compared coatings that are more than 1.5 millimeters thick to those this are less than one millimeter thick. the experts burned the cables for 20 minutes. after six minutes, fire engulfed the cables with a one-millimeter thick coating. it happened with a number of samples. it is evident, thinly coating cables burn easily. so plant operators need to

examine the thickness of fire retardant coatings to determine the effectiveness of fireproofing. regulators haven't specified how they will verify the performances at cable networks at nuclear plants. some say similar problems remain with other equipment and facilities. >> checking not only cables, but all the equipment will be extremely difficult expecting plants to verify safety. >> there 15 nuclear reactors in japan. monitoring all those reactors is not going to be easy. it may even prove impossible. the nuclear regulation authority has 80 inspectors. they will likely need more manpower and more expertise.

>> that was nhk world. >> here's a look at the latest market figures. . >> next up, the weather forecast for this weekend.

>> adults and children are looking forward to the summer holidays and the load of western eaches. people are gearing up for the festival that comes from a chinese folk legend about a couple separated by the milky way who could meet only once a year. two street cars were clad with the theme and decorations ahead of the festival on july seventh.

>> it's very cute. >> hanging from the rails are special papers that carry riches of good health and other hopeful messages. they are named after the names of the couple in the folktale. also in western japan, children get a firsthand introduction to horned beetles. 10,000 of them are set free every summer at the beetle dome. the 1,000 square meter structure in the forest is covered with nets. some children were a bit frightened at first, but soon they started enjoying watching the beetles trees and fight. that's all we have this hour on "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. from all of us here at nhk world, thank you for watching. xx

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