welcome to nhk world "newsline." a powerful earthquake has shaken southern pakistan. officials from the municipality say the earthquake has cut communications with the mountainous areas so they cannot accurately assess the situation. experts with the u.s. geological survey say the magnitude 7.8 quake hit at about 4:30 p.m. local time on tuesday. local media say the roofs of two

schools have collapsed in awaran, about 70 miles south of the epicenter. about 200 kilometers away say they felt a tremor. that lasted about 20 seconds. there have been no immediate reports of injuries. experts say the focus has an estimated depth of about 15 kilometers. municipality officials expect relief goods to take at least eight hours to reach the affected areas. senior diplomats at the general assembly have agreed to kick-start talks on iran's nuclear program. the iranian foreign minister will sit down this week with his counterparts with six major powers. he's been holding a series of one-on-one meetings. he met with the eu's foreign policy chief, catherine ashton. she chaired talks between the

uni iranians. and she met with the british foreign secretary. william hague welcomed recent statements from the iranian leaders about improving relations with the west. >> the time is now right for those statements to be matched by concrete steps by iran, to address the international community's concerns about iran's intentions. >> japan's foreign minister says he, too, is encouraged by what he's heard from iran's leaders. he urged them to be flexible in their approach. negotiations over iran's nuclear program broke down in april. rowhani has demonstrated more openness to discussing nuclear issues. now the latest on the mall attack at kenya. kenya's foreign minister told the u.s. media some of the militants came from the united states and the uk. the kenyan interior ministry announced that the military has

control of most of the mall. however, those in the area reported sporadic gunfire on tuesday. >> in the morning around 8:00, we heard some exchange of guns into the building. >> the islamist group al shabaab based in neighboring somalia has claimed responsibility for the attack. at least 62 people have died. the foreign minister spoke to u.s. public broadcaster pbs about where the attackers are from. >> from the information that we have, two or three americans, and i think so far i've heard of one brit. >> mohamed said the americans are of somali or arab origin and lived in minnesota and one other place. u.s. authorities are trying to confirm the information. white house deputy national security adviser ben rhodes said the u.s. has been concerned about efforts by al shabaab to recruit americans. fbi agents say there are reports that more than 40 young people

from somalia exiled communities in minnesota and other states have traveled to somalia over the past few years. the agents say they went there without letting their families know. deaths from a bombing at a church in northwestern pakistan on sunday have risen to 82. it's the country's worst-ever attack against christians. two suicide bombers blew themselves up amongst hundreds of worshippers at a church in person a wa. se sectarian violence has been rampant. but attacks against christians are rare in the predominantly muslim country. all nonmuslims are attacks to retaliate against u.s. drone strikes in pakistan. christians called for an end to the violence. they protested across the country in cities, including the

capital islamabad, and karachi in the south. a chinese government official is vowing to take a tough line on north korea. beijing will play a leading role to strip the north of weapons of mass destruction. chinese authorities have released a long list of materials banned from exports to north korea. officials at china's commerce ministry say the materials could be used to make nuclear and biological weapons. >> translator: the list shows a chinese government strictly handles the matter based on resolutions by the u.n. security council, and the domestic law. >> hon said he hopes members of six-party talks on north korea's nuclear program can resume negotiations soon. the talks have been suspended since 2008, but the u.s., japan and south korea say they won't

rejoin the negotiations until the north takes steps to dismantle its nuclear program. the president of south korea has sent a clear message to leaders in tokyo. park said she won't make any concessions on territorial disputes with japan. park attended a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the maritime police. her comments were an apparent reference to the disputed islands in the sea of japan. >> translator: south korea won't yield to any challenges to sovereignty over the islands, continental shelf or exclusive economics. >> park said protecting the islands means protecting her nation's pride. south korea put the islands under its control in the 1950s. but japan maintains that the country is occupying the territory illegally. the islands dispute strained ties between the neighbors who are sometimes described as

geographically close, but psychologically distant. some south koreans in japan are working to turn things around. hiro has the story. >> reporter: tokyo's district is home to one of japan's largest korean towns. it has about 200 south korean restaurants. 61-year-old runs one of them. he said recently things have been more challenging than anytime since he moved to japan from south korea in the 1980s. >> translator: the number of people visiting the main street in this area dropped significantly a year ago. >> reporter: that was around the time the outgoing south korean president visited the islands.

japan protested over the visit. since his visit, more japanese have joined demonstrations in the district. tokyo won the bid to host the 2020 summer games. oh had a sense of amazement when he saw it, especially since the olympics bring together people of different nationalities and ethnicities. >> translator: i wonder why people took part in the rally, when others celebrated tokyo's successful bid. i also wonder what people around the world will think of it. >> reporter: oh's concerns about worsening relations prompted him to participate in a japan-south

korea festival last weekend in tokyo. about 50,000 people attended the cultural exchange. >> translator: bilateral ties will become even chillier if there are no exchanges. i welcome this kind of event. >> reporter: oh demonstrated a south korean dish for the opening ceremony. >> translator: this is a south korean dish which is rice mixed with seasoned vegetables. it's very popular in japan. the bowl contains enough for 100 servings. the dish will symbolize the mixing together of both countries to create a strong friendship. japan's foreign minister and south korea's ambassador to

tokyo mixed the ingredients together. it's said to be more delicious the more it is mixed. japanese visitors to the festival got a chance to learn about korean people and their culture. >> translator: i hope japanese and south koreans become friendly, like mixing the beambok together. >> reporter: oh says he wants this kind of event to encourage more cultural exchanges in the future. he and other south koreans living in japan hope citizens can make progress where politicians have failed. and to make relations between his neighbors more neighborly. nhk world, tokyo. cambodia's parliament has given long ruling strongman hun sen another term as prime minister. we're in bangkok following this story.

hundred sen has governed cambodia for 28 years. parliament on tuesday re-elected him to serve another term as prime minister. hun sen has received credit for developing economic -- hun sen is already asia's longest serving prime minister. the lower house of the cambodian parliament on tuesday appointed him for another five-year term. the vote took place in the absence of opposition lawmakers. they boycotted the assembly to protest alleged voting irregularities during the election in july. >> translator: the national election committee and the king have announced the election results. but the opposition claims a different outcome. do they want a different government? they cannot operate above the law. >> the official election result gave hun sen's cambodian people's party or cpp a majority

of 68 out of 123 seats down from 90 seats before. but hun sen is now free from some of the difficulties that used to constrain him. in past governments, the cpp formed a coalition with the royalist party f sakheof tional unity. but hundred sen failed to win a single seat in this election. that means cpp can now govern by itself. hun sen is less dependent on donors that have been vocal on human rights and corruption such as united states, japan and the european union. these dais his biggest sponsor is china. hun sen facts a new challenge from the opposition. the cambodian national rescue party almost doubled its presence in parliament to 55 seats. some analysts say this unexpected result shows how hun sen's autocratic style alienated many voters. the july election was followed by weeks of turmoil with the opposition calling for an

independent investigation into alleged irregularities. last week hun sen met opposition leaders to discuss a way out of the political stalemate. but they were unable to reach a settlement. >> translator: we need peace. the opposition should attend parliament. >> the unexpected success of the opposition in the july election has brought cambodia close to what some observers call a two party system for the first time. but it's impossible to predict when the assembly will be in a position to be an effective counterbalance to the power of the prime minister. in another controversial vote now in the maldives, the supreme court has postponed a presidential runoff election scheduled for this weekend amid claims of vote rigging. in the first round on september 7th opposition leader and former president mohamed nasheed came first with 45% of the vote. he fell short of the 50% needed for an outright victory. he and his closest challenger were scheduled to face a second

round on saturday. but the country' election commission on tuesday said the runoff will be postponed following orders from the supreme court. the court is considering a case filed by the third place candidate who claims the vote was rigged and should be annulled. the first run election was watched by monitors from countries including japan. it was seen as executed fairly. there are fears that extended delays could lead to political instability. a controversial rice purchasing scheme in thailand is causing unintended social problems. the thai government says the policy is raising living standards for rice farmers who make up nearly 70% of thai farmers. but as nhk world reports, the scheme has widened the gap between rich and poor. >> reporter: i'm here at a government rice storage unit where over 28,000 tons of rice are being stored and waiting to be released into the market. all over the kingdom there are

over 1,000 storage units like this. the price purchase team was introduced two years ago by then newly elected prime minister shinawatra. her government pledged to buy rice from farmers at almost 40% higher than the market price. critics say the scheme is ruining the nation's finances with estimated losses so far of at least $7 billion. they claim it was simply designed to win votes. central thailand is blessed with rich soil and extensive irrigation. rice farmers here are happy with the scheme. this 48-year-old farms more than 40 acres and harvests twice a year. his income has more than doubled. he's been able to buy an additional 12 acres and new farming equipment, including a

six-wheeler pickup truck. he even started a side business selling garden furniture. >> translator: i never made this much money before just by farming. there was no way to earn a decent living. i made enough to send my kids to school. the rice purchase scheme is excellent. i hope it continues. >> reporter: but not everyone is reaping the rewards. a think tank, the thailand development research institute, estimates that 6 out of 10 farmers have not joined the scheme. in northeast thailand, people hold a different view from those down in the plains. farms here have small fields and depend on seasonal rains. they're among the poorest farmers in the country.

>> translator: those that really benefit from the scheme are farmers who have a lot of land. but farmers here can't produce much rice. the most important thing for us is the water supply. the irrigation system. we have been asking the government for help, but it never comes. >> reporter: this 26-year-old farms this 1 1/2 acres. she's one of the many farmers unable to produce enough rice to sell to the government. >> translator: i wish i could make money through the rice purchase scheme. but i simply can't produce enough to qualify. times have never been worse. i have no income. not even enough to feed our family. and the soil in my rice field is bad. >> reporter: the family has been growing rice for three generations. but they still struggle. last year she and her husband made barely 180 u.s. dollars all year.

>> translator: i have to borrow money to buy rice for my family. sometimes i need to borrow rice. i want help from the government. but it doesn't reach us. >> reporter: rice farmers used to be the backbone of thailand's economy. the government's rice purchase scheme is supposed to help them. but instead, many farmers feel excluded and helpless. nhk world. >> that wraps up our bulletin. i'm cholaphansa narula in bangkok. here are the latest market figures.

the autumn sumo tournament has moved into the second week. our sumo reporter joined us earlier. >> with just six days left in the tourney, one man is sitting at the top of the standings with a perfect record. it's grand champion hakuho. he is in a field of 42. the 28-year-old mongolian's performance has been perfect. he's looking for his fourth consecutive title, his 27th overall. his challenger is goeido.

hakuho tries to pull him down, but goeido keeps up the pressure. goeido finishes him off. handing hakuho his first defeat. now, let's turn to the others. harumafuji bounced back with five straight wins. also, there are two who have managed to stay in the title race. both at 7-2. you have to give them lots of credit. it's not often you find such low-ranked grapplers fighting for the top spot. here's how these fighters fought on day ten. harumafuji won his last tournament in january, so it's been a while. his opponent is holding his own

with just six wins and three losses. it's over in a blink. harumafuji easily sends sensai to the mat. he seems to be getting better and stronger with age. habo is competing in the top division for the first time since the november tournament. so far, he's making the most of it. homasho with a hard charge. he doesn't ease up and keeps going forward. homasho puts him away and still only has a pair of losses. finally here are the standings after ten days. hakuho is still alone in first place with nine wins and one loss.

the title race is now tighter than before with hakuho's loss. harumafuji and two others are right behind with just one victory off the pace. hakuho seems on his way to another win, but his loss gave hope to several contenders. harumafuji will be doing everything he can to stop hakuho in the final days. i'll be back here next week to tell you how it all turns out. there's a severe tropical storm in the southern islands of japan. we turn to meteorologist robert speta on this situation. robert, what's the latest? >> well, let's start off with this tropical system. really, it has packed pretty gusty winds especially where it's located right now. you see that pretty well defined, starting to wrap up around the center of circulation. an eye even developing near the

center of the storm system. i wouldn't be surprised if this becomes a typhoon in the near future. s gusting up near 112 kilometers per hour reported out here. in the coming days, this is going to be upgrading to a typhoon. winds sustained about 108, gusting up to 144 kilometers per hour. you can see it making a hart right-hand turn to the northeast. that's because we have the cold front pushing in from the west. that's like a snowplow, and basically shoving it off into the northern pacific. but what it will be doing is basically putting the brunt of the force on the islands here. you could be seeing gusty winds. but also right near the coastal areas there in the tokyo bay, sustained winds around 90 kilometers per hour. that could be possible going through thursday as it pushes off to the northeast. something to watch. the bulk of the rainfall, that's going to be staying offshore. we're still be seeing coastal showers. all that heavy stuff, that's going to be hitting the islands, up to 120 millimeters of

rainfall is possible in some areas here. i was talking about the front pushing in. that's going to dive in from the northwest bringing cooler temperatures as well. very much autumn-like, not only across japan, but the korean peninsula. down in the south, into the philippines, a new tropical depression forming to the west of luzon. you do not need any more rainfall. we've been seeing that enhancement of the monsoonal flow. that has been causing some severe flooding out here. also, you have landslides ending up with over 20 casualties reported at this time. serious situation there. showers continuing to linger. also farther north into taiwan. in seoul, you'll see the cooler temperatures. just 22 for your high going into wednesday. let's take a look at the americas. high pressure dominating much of the eastern seaboard at this time. frost advisories in some areas across the great lakes. in the south, really a stationary boundary is continuing to linger, bringing heavy rain showers, especially

across florida. about 40 to 80 millimeters could be expected there. there is a decent risk of flooding out there, flash flood watches already in effect for a few locations. something to watch through the coming days as that continues to linger. look at the risk of snowfall in the northern rockies. low area pressure pushing through. idaho, montana, also western wyoming, you could be seeing up to about 30 centimeters of snowfall. not so much snow, but cooler temperatures diving in from the north wrapping around the delow pressure area in eastern area. you can see that spinning up on the map. that's already bringing gusty winds and heavy rain showers. much of central and western europe, though, at this time clear skies in place. look at this high pressure. it's just dominating out here. like i said, with the temperatures, stockholm just 7 for your high on your wednesday. berlin at 16. all these temperatures are going to be going down. moscow at 6. by friday, you'll be right around 4 degrees. that's a look at your world

weather. here's your extended forecast. we've been following this

story, a powerful earthquake has shaken southern pakistan. local media report that six people have been confirmed dead. experts with the u.s. geological survey say the magnitude 7.8 quake hit at about 4:30 p.m. local time on tuesday. officials from the municipality say the earthquake has cut communications with the affected area, so they cannot accurately assess the situation. local media say that the roofs of two schools have collapsed in a town about 7 kilometers south of the epicenter. residents of the commercial center of karachi say they felt a tremor that lasted about 20 seconds. there have been no immediate reports of injuries in the city. experts say the focus has an estimated depth of about 15 kilometers. municipality officials expect relief goods to take at least eight hours to reach the affected areas. that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo. from all of us here at nhk

world, thank you very much for joining us until next time. good-bye.

oh, yeah! roast beef. now that's living. there's a lunch story behind these pieces of scrap beef. and its main character is hiroka tanaka who cooks for 100 people every day. what's the secret of the lunch that makes people keep up on their plates? lunchtime for miss tanaka at the employee's cafeteria.