hello there, and welcome to "newsline." it's wednesday, july 23rd. i'm catherine kobayashi in toky united nations secretary-general ban ki-moon has urged israelis and palestinians to put an end to their fighting. israeli commanders launched an operation in the gaza strip two weeks ago to stop rocket attacks. more than 600 palestinians have been killed and at least 27 israelis. still, diplomats have been unable to convince the two sides to lay down their weapons. ban met in tel aviv with prime minister benjamin netanyahu. he urged him to exercise maximum restraint.

>> my message to israelis and palestinians is the same -- stop fighting. start talking. and take on the root causes of the conflict. >> but netanyahu blamed milit t militants with hamas. >> they must hold hamas accountable for using palestinian civilians as human shields, putting them in harm's way. >> u.s. secretary of state john kerry is making his own efforts to stop the fights. he headed to cairo to meet with egyptian leaders. they've been trying to organize a cease-fire. kerry told president cici that u.s. officials support their efforts to brick about a truce. dutch authorities are planning to take the lead on the investigation of the downing of

the malaysian flight. more than 190 of the 298 people killed were dutch. now officials in ukraine are sending the remains to the netherlands. the plane went down in an area where government forces have been fighting pro-russian separatists. investigators have moved the bodies in a refrigerated train to the city of kharkiv. and ukraine's deputy prime minister says later in the day, about 50 bodies will be flown out of the country. >> we recommend that the netherlands lead the international investigation into the cause. >> ukrainian authorities have wrapped up their search at the site. they confirmed the deaths of all 298 people on board. they and forensic experts from other countries will continue to check the rest of the remains until friday. then they plan to send the bodies to the netherlands for autopsy and identification.

the british prime minister said investigators from his country have agreed to help retrieve data from the flight recorders. malaysians have grown frustrated watching the investigation from afar. many marched to the russian embassy in kuala lumpur. >> reporter: more than 100 people gathered tuesday afternoon in front of the russian embassy in kuala lumpur. >> let us go to the evidence and then we will know exactly who has shot down the plane and who is responsible for it.

>> reporter: at a news conference, the russian ambassador -- she refuted accusations that moscow provided armed separatists with surface-to-air missiles. >> i want to make it very clear, in russia, we are not play thing game that our western counterparts are engaging very much into, blaming someone and accusing some parties without any evidence. >> reporter: claims by the u.s. but pointing the finger at the pro-russian militants. the russian ambassador responded by measuring u.s. claims before th. she said washington had yet to show any evidence of weapons of mass destruction belonging to the regime of saddam hussein.

in a separate development, the malaysian prime minister spoke by phone with the leader of the pro-russian separatists. he said afterward that international investigators would be guaranteed safe access e. >> i must stress that, although agreement has been reached, there remain a number of steps required before it is completed. there is work still to be done, work which relies on continued communication in good faith. >> reporter: 43 malaysian nationals were among the victims of flight mh-17. malaysians are clearly angry as the country still reels from the disappearance of malaysian airlines flight 370 over the indian ocean. tuan earn yee, nhk world, kuala lumpur.

a man who says he represents the common people is on course to become indonesia's next leader. electoral officials announced joko widodo as winner of the presidential election. nhk world's yusuke ota reports from jakarta. >> reporter: the election result is unprecedented in modern indonesia. all of the country's previous leaders were from the military or wealthy elite. joko was born to a family of modest means, and he remains close to the common people. the results announced tuesday were for the elections that took place july 9th. the electoral officials said joko got 53.15% of the votes. his rival, former army general prabowo subianto, took 46.85%. >> translator: this is a victory for all indonesian citizens.

let's forget who was first or who was second. we should unite again. >> reporter: joko is 53 and currently serves as the governor of jakarta. he gained wide support from the poor and the young while promising economic growth and better social security. joko is from a humble background. all of the country's previous presidents were authoritarian leaders. with a population of 250 million, indonesia has one of the largest economies. it has enjoyed annual economic growth of around 6% in recent years.

more and more foreign companies are coming to the country to invest. but there are concerns about the future. in january, an export ban affected minerals. one of joko's main challenges will be improving infrastructure to support stable economic growth. on tuesday, prabowo complained of large-scale and systematic misconduct by the election commission and others. prabowo's campaign said it rejects the election result. >> translator: we withdraw from the process that has been under way. >> reporter: the election process could be thrown in turmoil, including clashes between supporters of both candidates.

i'm yusuke ota in jakarta. a suicide bomber has attacked a government compound in the afghan capital kabul. he killed four security guards and wounded seven others. the taliban have claimed responsibility. police say the man rode in on a motor bike. he was dressed like a security guard and entered the compound, then detonated his explosives. international troops have been using the compound to train afghan police in the fight against the narcotics trade. the site is near the airport. taliban fighters launched an assault there last week. militants staged a series of attacks over the results of the presidential election. central bankers in the u.s. want to figure out the timing for raising interest rates. here is more on that. good morning. what can you tell us?

>> good morning. central bankers follow price trends to fine tune raising rates. investors follow the central bankers, because they don't want to be surprised by sudden increase. both are learning that u.s. consumers are facing higher prices after a spike in gasoline costs. specials at the u.s. labor department said tuesday that the consumer price index grew a -- seasonally adjusted 0.3% from a month earlier. that was almost in line with economist expectations. a 3.3% surge in gasoline prices during the holiday season, along with mounting tensions in the middle east pushed up the cpi. the consumer price index advanced 2.1% in the 12 months through june, surpassing 2% for a third straight month. the federal reserve sets an annual inflation target of about

2%. it watches a separate inflation gauge that runs below that target, but economists say higher cpi growth may prompt the fed to start raising rates earlier than the market expects, possibly around the middle of next year. investors took a pause on tuesday from worrying about geopolitical tensions and bought stocks across the world. wall street too ended the day in the positive. let's go to ramine mellegard for what's happening in tokyo this morning. l us? >> it looks like fears over events in ukraine and gaza have not caused any massive selling and we have seen a rebound in shares. let's have a look at how tokyo shares are opening up. 15,361, and the topix also in the positive in the first few minutes of trading. the nikkei saw a bounce on tuesday after hitting a one-week low, coming back from an extended weekend break. some of the optimism is

from hopes of corporate earnings. apple, in fact, came out with modest numbers after the markets closed on tuesday. but analysts are hopeful, because the expected release of the latest iphone 6 and a brand new wearable product that apple will be coming out with, investors and market players keenly looking at that sector of markets. i have to add that apple shares traded lower after hours in the markets, because apple's outlook was a little bit lower than market consensus expectations. now, we'll check component makers in japan for further reaction to apple's numbers later this morning. the positive lead out of wall streete positives, if you will, for asian indexes, and also we're going to keep track of

indonesia's main index. the governor of jakarta, joko widodo, has been confirmed as the next president of indonesia, so we'll have to see how that affects financial markets there. >> what can you tell us about currencies? >> currencies have been a big play how the nikkei has beener if forms. dollar-yen in dollar. 104.49-53 right now. consumer prices in the u.s. down on the ten-year u.s. government treasury. that didn't really give any traders any reasons to buy back last week's selloff triggered by the events we saw in the ukraine. the euro-yen, 136.70-72. the euro also remains under selling pressure falling to its lowest level so far this year against the dollar and the yen. i'm going to track markets and how they relate to japanese shares across a lot of asian indexes. but for now, the nikkei and topix trading in the positive.

we'll have another update in a couple of hours. back to you. >> we'll talk to you in a few hours. a u.s. judge has ordered negotiations between argentina and holders of their debt. they must reach an agreement by july 30th. a federal judge in new york held a hearing to listen to opinions of both parties. the argentinian government has not reach a -- if the government fails to repay its debt to american investors, the country faces a second default. the first was in 2001. the judge urged both sides to settle the issue, saying that a default would hurt not only the investment funds but also the people of argentina. the two parties are expected to meet in new york on wednesday for direct negotiations.

that's the latest in business. i'll leave you with a check on markets. japan has a massive publishing industry. but book sales are falling. as online media expands, traditional businesses are being driven out of business.

>> at a promotional event in tokyo, tom cruise is back in town with his new hollywood film. cruise's sci-fi adventure "edge of tomorrow" is screening in more than 60 countries. the actor's character dies repeatedly in battle but comes back to fight aliens attacking earth. >> how many times have we been here? how many times? >> for me, it's been an eternity. >> the basic concept is really was very cinematic, and gave us an idea for -- it's just inspiring. >> reporter: the film is based on a japanese novel called "all you need is kill." it was this book that grabbed the attention of the producer. >> that's really, from the very first that i read it, i saw what the potential was. i currently am working on

another japanese story, which is based on a japanese property. >> reporter: the original novel was released by a major publisher. the film adaptation is the fruit of some hard work. for the past six years, the publisher has been trying to fiuy but publishers abroad are reluctant to bet on a japanese novelist without a strong track record. one strategy is for publishers to open offices abroad. all you need is kill was released by the joint venture in san francisco. drawing on an extensive catalog of mango and anime, they find something that will strike a chord with foreign audiences. it has so far published about 30 volumes. the release has led to a tenfold increase in the print run of the japanese book.

translated editions are now on sale in 20 countries and regions. >> translator: this case is very unusual. but it just shows if a book is good, it can get published and read by people all over the world. >> reporter: another company that's working on building sales abroad is studying the tastes of foreign readers. this company has long tried to enter overseas markets but unable to clinch a deal. the company is consulting with agents to narrow down which novels might be popular in the west. >> translator: if we can get a good translation, and edit it and publish it in a way that's marketable, we'll have a hit on our hands. >> reporter: the company will release several stories in the u.s. in august as low cost e-books.

>> translator: we want to publish books that seem like they will interest westerners. we would love there to be nor frequent adaptations of japanese novels into hollywood films. >> reporter: with a new focus on foreign audiences, both for books and the theater, publishers hope to find their way back from the edge. as the tokyo summer heads for its peak, some people will take up ancient methods to keep cool. one of these is the eco friendly japanese way to bring down temperatures on the streets. here's more. >> reporter: the rainy season ended tuesday. the high pressure controls the tokyo area, bringing strong sunshine and high temperatures. the temperature has risen to 31

degrees. today i'm wearing my clothing here in tokyo, it still feels hot. when the heat and humidity become too much to bear, many japanese people turn to uchimizu, simple but effective. all you need to do is sprinkle water on the street, around your house or store, and on the garden. it was part of everyday life before air conditioning. i'll try it, too. oh, it already feels a little cooler. last friday some businesses launched a campaign. they hope to have everyone join in at the same time in the early evening. the campaign is running every day for a month. uchimizu doesn't just make you feel cooler. it has social benefits, too. >> translator: the air really

feels cooler. i can feel i'm doing something good for this town and the earth. it's kind of fun, too. >> translator: it's good because it makes us feel cooler and gives a sense of summer. >> reporter: uchimizu came back into fashion following the nuclear accident of fukushima daiichi in 2011. after that, all nuclear reactors in japan went offline. people became more aware of saving energy. some people doubt that such an old-fashioned practice really works. they say the effects of uchimizu are mostly psychological so the business group decided to test it. on this day, about 40 people sprinkled about 460 liters of water around the street. when they measured the ground temperature, they found it had dropped from 32.2 degrees to 30.5 degrees.

behind the uchimizu campaign is some enthusiastic support from tokyo's historic imperial hotel. every year, more businesses are taking it up. there are now 15 uchimizu organizations in the district. >> translator: uchimizu is more effective when many people do it so we ask neighborhood organizations to join the event. >> reporter: the hotel staff started uchimizu together at the same time. it requires a large amount of water, but the hotel uses so-called gray water from washing. the water has been filtered to remove bacteria. it's a clever idea that has spread to other practitioners. uchimizu may be an old way of coping with heat, but innovations like this have given

it a new lease on life. and for many people on the street, that's pretty cool. being back to the basics there. many people in taiwan are staying at home, a powerful storm is delivering torrential rain. mai shoji joins us with more on that. >> good morning. we have a typhoon that slammed into taiwan, and while it is bringing a direct impact, people are dealing with the brunt of it right now. we have footage from taiwan today. take a look at this. the typhoon hit around midnight. the entire island was put on alert with all schools being closed wednesday. structural damage is expected to be limited, but flying debris is still a risk.

this is the first storm to have a direct impact on taiwan. let me show you some digits here. these are your gusts and rainfall you have already received in the past 48 hours. 124 kilometers per hour and 500 millimeters of rainfall already. so landslides and flooding are going to be high risk. it's really gusty in the surrounding country, still packing gusts of 126 kilometers per hour. however, it has lost its typhoon status, and is likely to make a secondary impact to the southeast coast of china by wednesday evening. it could possibly make its way toward the korean peninsula over the next few days. now looking at more drenching rainfall, more of the rainfall rather than stormy conditions.

up to 500 millimeters of additional rainfall on top of the 500 we have already seen. so flooding and mudslide also be the threat across taiwan. and another 250 millimeters of additional rainfall over southeastern china already impacting these locations with stormy conditions. and the surge of the moisture still causing another round of heavy rain to the western coast. so lots of things to watch out for. again, the southwest monsoonal flow is being active. so about 150 millimeters of rainfall have been seen in the past 24 hours. looks like more to come. we have stretching front going through the korean peninsula and in the tohuku region, bringing additional rainfall to seoul and 180 millimeters in tohuku. so a very wet event over northern japan. but meanwhile, high pressure

system dominates some locations in china. tokyo looking at 33, so it is the start of summer and likely to continue with the 30s, 34 in beijing. shanghai stormy thursday through friday. in europe, another round of action of severe thunderstorms. hail has been reported across southern germany and the balkans. this is likely to continue again throughout your thursday. it's likely to move towards the east. meanwhile, a high pressure system dominating, well over your average range at 35 degrees and looking at the same digits here in the iberan peninsula. i'll leave you now with your extended forecast.

that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joini

>> life expectancy in rwanda has doubled in the past decade, and the number of people dying of hiv, tb, and malaria has fallen by roughly 80%! all this thanks to the government's healthcare reforms. hello, and a warm welcome to "global 3000," our weekly look at issues and trends that shape our world. i'm amrita cheema. coming up in the show -- trouble in paradise -- living with climate change on the pacific island of kiribati. modern medicine -- signing up for health care in rwanda. and tuneful trash -- how a youth orchestra puts garbage to use.