you're watching "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. leaders of the islamist resistance group hamas have rejected calls for a cease-fire. israeli leaders had accepted a proposal to end more than a week of fighting. when the palestinians refused the israelis resumed their attack on the gaza strip. they used air strikes to destroy sites used by hamas militants to fire rockets. egyptian diplomats had asked both sides to stop fire asking call a truce. the israelis accepted and halted their strikes for several hours on tuesday. but hamas leaders rejected the proposal. their fighters fired more than

120 rockets toward israel. one shell landed at a border checkpoint and killed an israeli man. the first israeli fatality since attacks began. prime minister benjamin netanyahu went on television to address the country. he told israelis that his government would take all possible measures to protect them. he said when there is no cease-fire, the israelis' answer is fire. russian authorities have launched an investigation into the derailment of a subway train deep below the streets moscow. they say at least 21 people were killed when several cars went off the tracks. 130 others were september to hospital. commuters had packed into the train at a height of the morning rush hour. it was approaching a station when three cars derailed. passengers were thrown from their seats. investigators say the derailment may have been caused by problems with the switching gear, the track bed, or the train itself.

four years ago, terrorists bombed the moscow subway, killing 40 people. but the derailment is the first major accident on public transportation since the collapse of the soviet union. a bus packed with passengers in southern china has exploded. two people were killed, 32 others were hurt. dozens of passengers in the city of guangzhou had boarded the bus in the early evening. a witness said it pulled over at a stop then blew up. passengers rushed to the doors. many couldn't get out. >> translator: there was a big bang. and flames spread very quickly. >> local media say police suspect a passenger may have been responsible. but investigators are still looking into what caused the explosion. arsonists have staged a string of attacks on buses in china over the last year. people in hong kong are marking the 17th anniversary of

the region's return to china. test of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets to march against what they call china's interference. many are concerned leaders in beijing are trying to take away their independence and they're dealing with mass arrests as authorities crack down. >> reporter: as mainland china's presence is more greatly felt in hong kong, pro-beijing residents say hong kong can't survive without china's support. people who want democracy fear hong kong will lose its freedom. 40 million tourists from the mainland visit hong kong every year. and as the two economies become more integrated, hong kong's

tourism and the financial services industries have evolved rapidly. but hong kong's economic dependence has made some people uneasy. this shopping center opened 21 years ago. its small shops cater to locals. abruptly, plans were announced to convert it into a mall pack the with international big-brand stores for mainland tourists. may chin has run her own clothing store here for a long time. but recently she received a note saying, by august 5th, she must vacate the premises.but recentle saying, by august 5th, she must vacate the premises.time. but recently she received a note saying, by august 5th, she must vacate the premises. >> translator: i was really angry and perplexed. i began wondering what i would do from now on. >> reporter: she feels that chinese tourists are carriaging hong kong society and

threatening its quality of life hong kong society and threatening its quality of life. >> translator: they gradually invade the neighborhoods that we live in. >> reporter: in june, the chinese government issued the hong kong white paper. it's a stark message about who controls the territory. the paper states that the high degree of autonomy of hong kong is not an inherent power, but one that comes totally from the authorization by the central leadership. many hong kong residents strongly oppose the document. in 2017, chinese authorities plan to allow locals to choose the city's chief executive in the direct election. but candidates must be nominated by a special government committee. so many think that only beijing sympathizers will be chosen.

civic groups protest against this. they demand that the elections be run democratically. so they propose reforms that allow ordinary citizens to run. they also held an official public referendum based on proposals for free and open elections. >> translator: the government should operate under election laws that meet international standards. we're asking for genuinely democratic elections. >> reporter: but the latest demonstrations have not swayed chinese authorities. so as beijing gets us through another turn it's sure to provoke more backlash against china.

the leaders of libya's interim government are weighing whether to call on international forces to help restore security. armed groups have attacked the airport in the capital tripoli, severing links with the outside world. rival militias have been battling for control of the airport. fighters have fired rocket after rocket. a spokesperson for the interim government said 90% of the planes have been damaged and the control tower and several fuel tanks have been destroyed. militant groups have been fighting each other since long-time ruler moammar al gadhafi was overthrown three years ago. secretary of state john kerry says u.s. officials are deeply concerned. >> it is not violence that has broken out every single day, all day. it's mostly fighting at night and it is not threatening

broadly every interest within libya. but it is dangerous. and it must stop. >> kerry said diplomats are doing what they can to support the libyan government. pomme ebombers have targete market busy with shoppers in eastern afghanistan. people were buying food to break the fast observed during the holy month of ramadan. a car bomb went off killing at least 89 people and wounding at least 42. the explosion happened tuesday in the province of paktika. police officers noticed a suspicious car and moved in to inspect it. then the car, packed with explosives, blew up. on the same day a roadside bomb went off in afghanistan's capital kabul. the device ripped through a minivan carrying seven employees of the presidential palace. at least two government workers were killed, five others were wounded. the attackers placed a bomb along the main road then dedicated remotely. members of the taliban have

claimed responsibility. the bombings are the latest in a string of attacks come as international forces prepare to leave afghanistan by the end of the year. concerns are growing about whether afghanistan's security forces will be able to prevent a further escalation of violence. leaders of emerging economies have been sharing their ideas. one thing they agree on is the need to create a new global order. ai uchida joins from us our business desk. the countries have held a meeting? >> as you know bricks is an acronym for brazil, russia, india, china, and south africa. the leaders from these countries are stressing the importance of multi-lateralism. they want a new global order centers on their emerging economies. the leaders of the five bricks countries held their talks in the brazilian city of fortaleza. they urged reforms to the united nations so emerging economies such as brazil and india can play a greater role.

they also agreed to establish a bank with initial capital of $100 billion to support developing countries. they also reached a final agreement on creating a fund to help emerging nations if and when they fall into financial crises. not all the brics countries are distancing themselves from centralized nations. india is stressing its relations with japan in order to boost its economy. federal reserve chair janet yellen confirmed that the u.s. central bank's bond-buying program will likely end in october. but she stressed the key interest rate will stay near zero for a considerable period. yellen testified at the senate banking committee. she said that although the economy continues to improve, the recovery is not yet complete. she added that before considering raising rates, the fed needs to be confidential to make sure that the economy is on a solid trajectory. >> there's no formula, there's

no mechanical answer that i can give you about when the first rate increase will occur. it will depend on the progress of the economy and how we assess it based on a variety of indicators. >> yellen also underlined the need for caution to prevent the continued zero interest rate from creating bubbles. she said low interest rates may encourage some investors to seek yields and the action could increase weaknesses in the financial system to adverse events. investors were of two minds about yellen's comments. they sold stocks and wall street ended broadly lower. but they also bought the dollar on hopes interest rates may be raised earlier than they expected. let's go to ramin mellegard for a full update. how are things looking over there? >> a mixed picture, a lot for investors to take in. take a look at the opening

levels for today, wednesday, july 16th. and by mixed picture you can see what i'm talking about there. the nikkei is actually marginally in the negative. the broader topix popped into the positive. we'll see how that develops. many were very keen to hear what janet yellen would say in her testimony to congress. on stocks the fed monetary report said the valuations of social media and biotech firms appear to be substantially stretched. the nasdaq, the index that's home to both sectors, biotech firms and media, fell 0.54% on the day. we're also going to be keeping track of how that may affect messaging service provider line which has applied for an ipo which will come later this year. the listing of the free phone and messaging service firm is expected to make the firm worth about $10 billion. a lot of focus on that sector of the market. let's not forget about corporate earnings as well and related news. with that in mind, we should

look out for pc and software-related shares here in japan. u.s. chipmaker intel, its shares actually rose after hours in the u.s. and that's following its robust earnings reports. it is also a ripple effect from news of a tie-up between apple and ibm in major data and apps partnerships. we'll look for related shares here as well regarding that, ai. >> ramin, so currency traders seem to like what yellen had to say. buying the dollar on it. where is that trading against the yen now? >> definitely, we did see a little bit of a rise in the dollar against the yen. she reiterated earlier statements that the rates would rise if economic data, especially jobs, continued to improve. dollar/yen right now is at 101.71-76. most market players are already taking into account what yellen was going to say but the dollar nevertheless rose. yellen's comments of course follow a strong series of jobs

numbers of late and foreign exchange analysts suggest that if data continues to improve at this pace, then the federal reserve may take steps earlier than expected to raise rates. on the other hand we did have retail sales data which actually slowed more sharply than consensus expectations in june. also presenting a bit of a cautious tone for the u.s. economy. now, i'm also going to keep track of asian indexes, ai. we're going to have key data out of china industrial production and gdp for the april to june period. we'll see how that affects japanese shares as well as asian indexes. for now we're still a bit of a mixed picture. the nikkei lower, the broader topix higher. >> ramin, thanks for that update from the tokyo stock exchange there. that does it in business for this hour. i'll leave you with a check on other market figures.

every morning, investors turn our attention to asia. the tokyo market leads the way. and markets around the world follow. >> from the decisions that could change the course of an economy. >> to the companies at the forefront of change. >> up-to-the-minute market reports. >> and analysis by specialists from around the world. >> get all the latest business news and insight every day here

on "newsline." the south korean government will invite the leaders of ten southeast asian countries to a special summit with president park geun-hye in december. these asean countries are korea's second-largest investment destination. southeast asia is attracting global attention for its rapid growth. china is showing strong interest in the region. and the united states considers it a new focus in its asian policy. japan invited the ten asean leaders for a special summit with prime minister shinzo abe last december. a presidential spokesperson said that the meeting will be the most important diplomatic event to take place in south korea this year. leaders from tokyo and pyongyang have agreed to try to close an issue that's been in the way since the end of world war ii. they're in discussions of how to

handle the remains of japanese who died on the korean peninsula about 70 years ago. and now relatives of the deceased are asking their government to take more responsibility for the issue. the two countries agreed in may to talk about the return of the remains of about 20,000 japanese still in north korea. this was part of a larger agreement on an investigation into the fate of missing japanese, including those abducted by north korea. a group of bereaved families visited the country last month to pray, but they've decided to stop the visits for now. the group's leader says they fear they'll negatively impact the bilateral agreement if they continue. >> translator: i believe the government should bear the responsibility to solve these issues. >> the families say they need help returning the remains to japan and setting up grave markers. the leaders of india and

china have sat down together for the first time to talk over some issues of common concern. prime minister narendra modi and prime minister xi jean pin met. the indian leader wants to strengthen ties between two of asia's largest economies. the talks took place on monday during a summit of brics. modi, who took office in may, expressed hope the chinese will invest more in india's infrastructure development. a foreign ministry spokesperson said modi touched on india's $40 billion trade deficit with china. modi called for greater access to the chinese market. >> prime minister emphasized on economic relations between the two countries. he spoke about instructive cooperation, references made to investment parks, and the need to address trade deficits. >> ties between the two countries have been strained by a long-running border dispute. last year, indian and chinese

troops found themselves in a standoff in the himalayas. >> he said there was a need to find a solution to the boundary question and maintenance of peace and tranquility on the border was essential even while india and china work towards resolving this issue of the boundary question. >> the indian prime minister's office says the chinese president invited modi to the apex summit in november. modi showed an interest with building stronger ties with another power in the region, japan. sources say xi's invitation may reflect a desire to court favor with their indian neighbors. a natural hot string was recently discovered in the heart of tokyo's main business district.

the thermal water was pumped up from a depth of 1,500 meters underground at the site of a redevelopment project. officials from real estate company mitsubishi estates say experts confirmed it's a hot spring. the water is 36.5 degrees celsius and could help relieve neuralgia and joint pain. >> translator: the 2020 tokyo olympic games are just six years away. the urban hot spring could become an attraction for tourists from overseas. >> the thermal waters will be supplied to a fitness club and a japanese-style inn that will be built in about two years. jubilant german fans welcomed the return of their soccer team home to berlin. germany won the nation's fourth world cup in 24 years.

about 400,000 people gathered near the brandenburg gate on tuesday. coach low told the crowd that he would not have won without their fans. he said the players and fans are all world champions. the players danced and sang on the stage. cheers erupted when captain philip lahm hoisted the world cup trophy. >> translator: this is the first time i have seen germany clinch the world cup. we were too young to see it when it happened the last time.

time now for a check of the weather. our meteorologist sayaka mori is standingpy in the studio. could you give us an update on a typhoon over the philippines? >> yes. the typhoon made landfall in the central philippines yesterday afternoon and it's still a typhoon, and actually this is the first typhoon to hit the philippines since super typhoon haiyan. the center is located very close to manila at this moment, bringing very stormy conditions in the city where 12 million people are living. gusts nearly 220 miles per hour, enough to cause destructive damage to crops such as banana and rice. this one will likely move toward the northwest. stormy conditions here will likely continue throughout the day. and then reach the south china sea by tonight as a typhoon. then make the second landfall in

hainan by saturday local time. rains are going to be quite high. on top of that, storm surges up to three meters likely and also heavy rainfall. an additional 200 millimeters or even more is likely in this area. enough to cause flooding as well as landslides. again, the system will likely make landfall in hainan by saturday. southern china, you're already receiving lots of rainfall due to a stalled frontal system. hunan has been experiencing the worst of it. we have some pictures to show you how bad the situation is. a 300-year-old town of fenghuang in central china has been flooded. a nearby river rose almost one meter above the warning level causing severe floods and power outages. 50,000 residents and tourists were evacuated. other areas in hunan have also been affected but no casualties have been reported so far. so many people are wading through in the waist-deep water

so conditions are already quite heavy rain is likely. probably an additional 100 millimeters possible for the next 24 hours. as the typhoon approaches, rain could become heavier. so watch out for flooding. landslides even further. temperatures are heating up in the middle of china. 37 degrees in xian. not too hot in beijing today but thundershowers are on the menu. nagoya hot today, 35 for the high. tokyo 32 with partly sunny skies. across the americas, it should be the hottest time of the year. however, very cool air for this time of year is invading from canada, covering most of the eastern parts of the u.s. for example, rapid city, your low on tuesday was only 7 degrees, that is the lowest temperature for the date. the cooler air is clashing with the hot and juicy air from the gulf of mexico, providing another day of severe weather along the eastern seaboard. we are expecting some thunderstorms, gusty winds and even some isolated tornadoes for the northeastern areas.

due to excessive amounts of rainfall, flash floods are already occurring. another area we have been watching is the central plains, central rockies i should say. severe thunderstorms popping up once again, even tornadoes cannot be ruled out. across the west coast, dry weather continues and temperatures are much higher than average. 29 degrees in seattle. 25 in vancouver. and in the middle of the u.s., quite hot in the south. 34 degrees in houston. but in the north, quite chilly for this time of the year. september-like conditions in chicago. only 24 the high on wednesday. here's the extended forecast.

here's our top story again. leaders of the islamist resistance group hamas have rejected calls for a cease-fire. israelis leaders had accepted a proposal to end more than a week of fighting. when the palestinians refused, the israelis resumed their attacks on the gaza strip.

the israelis launched air strikes to destroy sites used by hamas militants to fire rockets. egyptian diplomats had asked both sides to stop firing and call a truce. the israelis accepted a halt of their strikes for several hours on tuesday. when hamas leaders rejected the proposal, their fighters fired more than 120 rockets toward israel. one shell landed at a border checkpoint and killed an israeli man, the first israeli fatality since the attacks began. prime minister benjamin netanyahu went on television to address the country. he told israelis his government would take all possible measures to protect them. he said, when there is no cease-fire the israelis' answer is fire. that's all for now on "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. thank you for watching.

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>> so, have you placed your bets on which team will win this year's soccer world cup? if all you can think of for now is football, we don't want to distract you. most brazilians feel the same way in their hearts -- but they also can't ignore what this sporting spectacle is doing to their country. more on that in a moment. welcome to "global 3000" and here's what else we have coming up for you. maracana -- how rio's celebrated football stadium has become a focus of controversy. in chains instead of therapy -- how some mentally ill are treated in ghana. and breaking with tradition -- attempts to change vietnam's attitude towards wildlife.