tokyo. this is nhk "newsline." it is wednesday, august 17. russia says it's used an iranian air base for the first time to carry out a concentrated air strike against the islamic militant group and other groups in syria. the move appears to be a gesture against the u.s. and other countries that are supporting anti-government forces in syria. russia's defense ministry said on tuesday that russian long-range bombers and tactical bombers flew from the air base in western iran. the ministry says the bombers struck targets related to a group that recently changed its name from the nusra front.

it said late last month that it was cutting ties with al qaeda. russian media reports say this is the first time the russian military has used an iranian military base to launch air raids in syria. russian officials explained that flying bombers from iran will save fuel. the head of iran's supreme national security council, ali shamkhani told the state-run news agency that iran and russia enjoy strategic cooperation in the fight against terrorism in syria and share their facilities and capacities. he indicated that iran will work with russia and syria until they destroy the islamic state militants and other groups. myanmar's defactor leader will begin a four-day official visit to china on wednesday for talks with chinese leaders that both sides are pinning high hopes on. the myanmar state counselor and

foreign minister will visit the country. she's expected to seek chinese cooperation for a peaceful settlement of the civil war with rebel groups from the country's ethnic minorities. china has a strong influence over the rebel groups operating along it's border with myanmar. peace talks are scheduled to begin on august 31st in myanmar. during the visit, chinese officials are expected to request an early intervention to build a dam. the military government froze the project citing the effects on the environment and opposition from local residents. china deepened ties with myanmar during the previous rule. students from the atomic bombed cities of hiroshima and nagasaki

have delivered a speech at the u.n. conference on disarmament. 22 senior high school students attended the international meeting on tuesday in geneva, switzer land. >> i wish to take this opportunity to ask all of you to listen to the voices of hibaksha. and to pay attention to the need to reduce nuke here weapons. >> she said she firmly believes that if her and her colleagues join hands something can be done to -- after the speech the students visited the u.n. office for disarmament affairs. they handed over letters from the mayors of hiroshima and

nagasaki. nhk has learned four nationals are attending a forum hosted by the russian government. >> an organizer told nhk on tuesday that 18 people from eight countries are taking part in this second event of its kind. more than 300 people have been camped since august 6. they include young researchers and entrepreneurs. they're discussing the future of the region. unlike last year, however, no russian cabinet members are attending the forum that ends on september 3. some observers say the russian government may be showing consideration for japan. the leaders of the two countries are scheduled to meet next month in russia's far east. russia controls four islands

that japan claims. the japanese government maintains the islands are an inherit part of japan's territory, it says they were illegally occupied after world war ii. #. investors have been waiting for the latest u.s. inflation data saying it is a big factor for the federal reserve when it decides to raise its key interest rates. now they learn that con excuse meer prices were unchanged in july. the consumer index was flat from the believous month. the figure is in lightning with market expectations. meanwhile the core consumer price index for july excluding food and energy was up 2.2% from one year ago. the index remained above the 2% level for the ninth month in a row. cars continued to get cheaper

but medical care is on the rise. now wall street ended lower after that data came out. all three major indexes were down, one stay after hitting all-time highs. speculation about an early rate hike in the u.s. weighed on markets. the dow jones industrial average finished nearly half a percent lower, the nasdaq a third of a percent. the broader s&p 500 was also off, one senior federal reserve official said the u.s. economy is strong enough for one rate increase within this year. another said a hike as early as september is possible. the dollar rebounded slightly against the yen, following these comments. the u.s. currency dipped below the 100 yen level on thursday for the first time since early july. toyota motor announced that

it's april to june operating profit was down by 15% from last year. executives changed their assumed exchange rate against the dollar from 105 yen to 102. and they revised down their operating profit forecast for the current fiscal year by almost 44% to $16 billion. sony made an even bigger readjustment. the electronics maker revised it's assumed exchange rate from 110 yen to 103. sony officials also lowered their sales projections by nearly 9% to $74 billion. fewer people are working japan's farms as the country's population ages, but there's an exception to this trend, more women are choosing a career in agriculture. >> reporter: this woman grows

mushrooms, eight years ago she gave up a career in tokyo to return to the family farm. but she isn't pursuing the quiet life. she sees a rich future in agriculture and she's busy getting business. her parents had a limited customer base, the local supermarket. but she's taking down new clients, she's already signed up 13 restaurants. she's also developing new products. she supplies ten varieties of foods, including a sweet milk paste. >> translator: agriculture has great potential because i can decide what i grow and how i sell my produce. that's the most interesting aspect of farming.

>> japan's government is encouraging more women to follow in her footsteps. it's offering financial aid for agricultural education. the number of female newcomers has risen 13% in three years. as more women choose farming as a career, women into the field need new products. >> it features a pink blade and heart shaped holes. it's not just a style makeover. the customer straps on like a baby swing. so it's easier to use. there's even a pouch for a smart phone. the product is whipping up some attention. >> it's very light and cute.

>> women farmers are afraid to use machinery, we hope this cute pink device will get them interested and then maybe they will try out other equipment. there's people -- they have been talking to farmers. potential customers. >> when i plant seedlings, i use this posture for a long time, it's tough on my lower back and knees. >> translator: when i get all sweaty, it feels uncomfortable. >> it seems the company have been listening, its developed a new material for women working under the hot sun. the fabric absorbs sweat instantly and dries much faster that traditional types of fabric. as for women planting seeds,

here's once solution. these pants are made with highly elastic fabric so they won't squeeze the stomach. the testing continues. the company plans to announce the final products in november. >> we think agriculture is an industry with great potential. the connection with women farmers could lead to fostering new customers. so developing these products is a big thing for us. >> more women are making their mark on the land. in doing so, they're creating a promising new market, as producers and consumers. on day 11 of the rio

japan faced singapore in the third place match on tuesday. in the first singles match, the team captain narrowly missed the wing with a game count 2-3. but in the second singles. a great win. her victory gave the japan team a boost. in the doubles, powerful smashes and beat the singapore pair 3-1. the 15-year-old easily won the last singles match straight. but the japan team won the bron bronze medal defeating singapore 3-1. the team won the previous gold medal in london. outside the stadium, olympic organizers are trying to deal with claims of a series of thefts at the athletes village. about $55 in cash was stolen from the room of a french

handball player. police are questioning a cleaner. police are also question two track and field athlete who is reported about $3,500 in cash from their rooms. there's tight security around the village, so intrusions from outside are considered unlikely. organizing officials have promised to work hard to prevent more thefts, but they have been swamped by almost daily requests to strengthen the security. a coach for the german olympic team has died in a car crash in rio. police say stefan hence died in hospital from massive head injuries, he was a coach for the canoe slalom team. he was on his way to the venue early friday morning when his car slammed into a concrete

barrier. the german team is planning a memorial service for him on tuesday, flags at all olympic venues will also be lowered to half mast. the russian doping whistle blower says she's been hacked from the database for international athletes. yulely stepanova said she has no regrets over exposing russia's state backed doping scheme. earlier the world anti-doping body cleared her to run in rio, but the ioc overruled it, citing her prior role in the doping system. stepanova says the ioc and its president thomas bach never tried to understand her situation and that the officials say whatever is going to serve them.

the international humanitarian group, doctors without borders, says a hospital it supports in conflict-stricken yemen was hit by an air strike. 11 people were killed. the group says the air strike in the northern province of hajja happened on monday. the victims include hospital staff and patients. and in another air strike last saturday, doctors without borders says ten children died at a school in northern yemen. civil war broke out in march last year between the government of president abd rabbuh mansur hadi and anti-government forces. u.n.-sponsored peace talks began in april but they were suspended earlier this month without an agreement. that led to the resumption of air strikes by the saudi-led coalition, which supports the yemeni government. millions of people in beijing use electric bikes to get around and make a living.

the high numbers have caused traffic problems and safety concerns. but steps taken to rein them in are causing a headache for some small businesses. here's a report from beijing. >> reporter: weaving through the heavy traffic, almost all of them powered by electricity. >> i always use an e bike, i can avoid traffic jams so it's quick. >> reporter: but all e bikes are banned from a central thoroughfare, that's because bikes were involved in nearly 40% of total traffic injuries last year. the ban is fixed on eliminating e bikes from certain areas.

people have enough to use e bikes. to avoid injuries, they are using this road. >> reporter: now it has become a danger zone. locals say e bikes have had bad accidents. >> translator: there's lots more bikes now, people are riding here to avoid banned roads. >> translator: the riders are pushy, they're a menace. >> reporter: the ban affects the delivery business. this company relies on 1,000 e bikes for their delivery staff. the drivers are older.

they express concerns but the company is facing trouble. it's not getting any easier, as he expects the ban to grow. >> translator: if there are further restrictions on e bikes, we'll need to deal with the impacts by cutting more of the delivery area and streamlining staff. >> reporter: companies using e bikes have been striving for a resolution, under the new rules, they are looking for other ways to continue their business.

life can be tough in south africa's townships, now some young people are outlining a new future for themselves, they're working on a cartoon depicting different faces of africa. >> a new animated cartoon series with a story of jabu, a boy from a very poor neighborhood who finds a magic drum which allows him to travel around the continent. >> hello. >> can you help us get across the river? >> of course i can, jabu. >> the studio where jabu is made

is in cape town. this man is the lead animate for. most cartoons shown in africa are imported from japan and other countries. but his aim is to create one that is uniquely african. >> i think there is a time now to start showing youngsters or people in africa that you can make animation as well. you can make animation in africa. >> reporter: their stories is set in a township during apartheid era, while some south africans were forced to leaf some areas on the perimeter of the city. to make room for white people. even today, most township residents, still live in poverty. where i am standing now is typical township houses, which are included in jabu's story. jabu's jungle depicts daily life

in this community. despite their physical hardships, the children are cheerful and find ways to play. in the cartoon, they are always positive and full of energy. some young animate fors who work on jabu's jungle come from the township. the studio was a local ngo, he and his colleagues train young people as interns. it's a great opportunity as half the youth from the township are jobless. >> if i learn and if i become really good, which i know i'll become, then obviously i'll be able to be an animate for. >> hey, hit me. hey, hit me. >> this boy performs the voice part for jabu, he's also from

the township. he says until recently, he couldn't imagine life outside his community. but through his role as a main character, he's discovering the whole of africa. >> i like to be a writer, having an opportunity like this, inspired me to shoot higher and to someday become successful. >> my dream is to see all the kids really doing what they love. i also want to have more animation in africa, especially in south africa, where teams of people, students they can find jobs. >> by thinking and acting locally, the creators of "jabu's jungle" are encouraging south african young people to dream.

>> it is time now to get a check of the weather with our meteorologist robert speddo. it's a nice, sunny day in tokyo, but that rain has now moved on to northern japan. how sit affecting people there? >> this is going to continue to bring some rough weather through tohoku through hokkaido. we're going to still see some scattered showers out here. taking a look at the satellite her, this is our tropical storm that approached overnight. it was actually relatively weak or we're starting to see this reintensify and bring in still some gusty winds out there, up to 85 kilometers per hour, even reported overnight there at tokyo's airport. we saw some delays, even a little bit closer to the coast, 92 kilometer per hour winds and look at that, 7 meter high surf. let's see some video we have

coming out of this area. this is in ibaraki prefecture. this is a time where you want to stay away from the beach. in ibaraki, some 150 homes lost power overnight. over 160 trains further towards the north have already been shut down, especially hokkaido in preparation for the storm system. now as we take a look at the radar imagery, we still are watching this track along the coast, and the main thing with this, this is moving over the current, so still maintaining some sort of intensity, it h hassennha hasn't quite made landfall quite yet. so around sendai, you're going to see some gusty winds through your morning hours, but also the heavy rainfall, look at the landslides out here, extreme risk, especially with the

moisture still coming onshore. so that is going to be one of the big topics. take a look at where this storm is going. 83, gusting to 106 kilometers per hour in that center of circulation, especially on the right side of it. wednesday afternoon this is going to push over through hokkaido and then eventually back off to the north heading to thursday morning, to still something to watch out for as we go through the day. behind it, high pressure is actually going to be setting in, so clear conditions continuing to set up, and that is going to be making for some much warmer temperatures out there and you might see some afternoon thunderstorms, especially in tokyo, very hot and humid, you had all that tropical moisture coming, so some showers still possible toward thursday, but look at all this heat setting up. temperatures in the mid 30s. let's take a look at what's going on out mere into europe. specifically eastern europe, we want to talk about western

russia, you have this large low pressure area continuing to set up. specifically in moscow. take this for example. you have about 77 millimeters on average in the city for the month of august. the 24-hour period here you have seen around 80 millimeters, there has been some flooding taking place, not everybody is dealing with it the same way. this is some very interesting video. how about that, one way to get through a flooded road. definitely do not recommend driving through flooded roadways, but if you're going to do it, you have the equipment, that's one way to go about it. we still have more showers in eastern europe, but back towards the west, another low is going to be tracking across the swiss alps. for now, sunny skies in london, 23 for your high, here's the extended outlook.

and that is all for this edition of nhk "newsline." thanks for staying with us.

announcer: welcome to "global 3000." this week we pay a visit to the south african coast to see the only penguins at home on the continent. but their numbers are dwindling. how can they be saved? in colombia, we meet motivated young people who want to develop innovative ideas to improve conditions in their country. but first, we take a closer look at a photo series. a swedish photographer has captured arresting images depicting the lives of children fleeing war. all of our heads are filled with pictures. images are a powerful force, we absorb their content 60,000 times faster than information conveyed in text. pictures appeal to our emotions.