hello and welcome back to "newsline." i'm shery ahn. a bomb has torn through a venue in northeastern nigeria where fans had gathered to watch a world cup soccer match. at least 13 people, including young children, have been killed. the explosion happened in the town of damaturu, capital of yobe state. reuters news agency quoted witnesses as saying an attacker dropped a device in front of the venue on tuesday night before running off. no one has claimed responsibility for the

explosion. the surrounding area are at the heart of an insurgency by extremist group boko haram. al qaeda linked islamist militants are pushing closer to baghdad. they're locked in fierce fighting with iraqi troops, and they're using the country's second largest city, mosul, as their stronghold. militants are battling to take control of baquba about 50 kilometers north of the capital. they fired mortars at a police station on the outskirts of the city. sunni extremists have advanced in areas where many sunnis live, but baquba has large numbers of shia residents who support the government of prime minister nuri al maliki. government soldiers are using land and air attacks to try and reclaim the region. u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon has condemned mass killings by the militants.

>> there's a real risk of further sectarian violence on a massive scale within iraq and beyond its borders. >> ban called for unity and is urging political and religious leaders to cooperate. u.n. officials suspect in the last few days, several hundred iraqis were executed. they believe many of the dead are civilians and government forces will surrender. for a look at how these developments are affecting markets, ron madison joins me now. ron? >> in particular the rising tension in iraq is really pushing up oil prices here in tokyo. in fact, crude oil futures on wednesday reached their highest level so far this year. crude oil for november delivery drew heavy buying on the tokyo commodity exchange as soon as trading began. the price reached above the 69,000 yen level or about $675 per kilo liters. market players say buying was

spurred by speculation the situation in iraq is worsening. they say the uncertain outlook in the region will likely keep prices high. the higher cost of crude oil is causing gasoline prices to rise. they've gone up for the eighth consecutive week now. the oil information center says that as of monday the average retail price of gasoline was 167 yen. that works out to about $1.63 a liter. it's up .4 yen from the previous week. officials say prices may keep going up. they say confusion in ukraine could disrupt russian supplies of oil to europe. we'll see how other markets in asia did today. most asian shares finished lower this wednesday. investors cautious before the u.s. federal reserve wraps up its policy meeting later on in the day. chinese equities under pressure. that's after the country's average price for new homes fell in may from the previous month. that's a first time that's happened in two years. this fueled concerns about the country's property market. the shanghai composite slid half a percent, finished at 2,055.

some investors adjusted their stock holdings as a restart of new share listings draws closer. in sydney the as -- declines of .3%. 5,382. the lowest close since the end of march. the index was dragged down by a decline in the oil sector. australia's top oil and gas producer tumbled following the sale of a stake in the company by a major shareholder. meanwhile tokyo's nikkei average saw gains today. up more than .9%, 15,115. a weaker yen lifted market sentiment pushing up export related issues. japan's trade balance is still in the red. the nation recorded its 23rd straight month of trade deficit in may. but deficits shrank for the second month due to falling imports and a stronger yen. finance ministry officials say preliminary figures show the trade shortfall for may was $8.9 billion. imports fell 3.6% compared to

the same month last year. that's the first time in 19 months that imports have fallen. japanese companies bought less crude oil and mobile phone imports from china also decreased. exports were down 2.7%. that's a first time they've fallen in 15 months. automakers shipped fewer vehicles to the united states. the 23 month deficit streak is the longest since comparable data became available in 1979. japanese prime minister shinzo abe wants to lower the corporate tax rate starting next year. that's part of the growth strategy that he's scheduled to release later on this month. economic revitalization minister akira amari says the government should lower the rate to about 29%. that's the same level as germany's over the next few years. amari met with the chairman of the nation's largest business lobby on wednesday. sadayuki sakakibara said the revenue would be enough to offset the lower corporate tax rate. amari agreed. he said the government is

pushing for structural reforms to overcome deflation and increase tax revenue. japan's effective corporate tax rate is currently about 35%. that makes it the second highest among developed countries following the u.s. the corporate tax rate is 33% in france, 23% in britain and 17% in singapore. government officials plan to hold talks with the tax panel of the main ruling liberal democratic party late this year. amari says he wants to puersuad members to accept the plan. argentina has been given the lowest credit rating by standard and poor's. s&p downgraded the country's sovereign debt citing a higher risk of default on its foreign curanly bonds. analysts at the u.s. credit rating agency say they cut ashlgen tee's long term credit rates by two notches from ccc plus down to ccc minus. back in 2001 the country has defaulted on i wants payments to u.s. investment funds. the u.s. supreme court on monday ordered argentina to repay its debts to them.

analysts at s&p say this ruling higenned the possibility of argentina falling into another financial crisis. it was only late last month that argentina agreed with its main creditors, including germany and japan, to repay $9.7 billion in five years. that is going to do it for business hour. here's a check of the markets. every morning, investors

turn their 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 presidents of ukraine and russia are trying to find a way forward in a conflict that's showing no signs of letting up. petro poroshenko talked to vladimir putin by phone about a possible seize-fire in southeastern ukraine. ukrainian forces have been trying to end an uprising there by pro-russian separatists. more from nhk world's craig dale. >> reporter: officials in moscow say presidents poroshenko and putin had a late night conversation that touched on a possible cease-fire in southeastern ukraine. the ukrainian president has said

the truce would give each side breathing room to work out some sort of peace agreement. pro-russian militants have taken over towns and cities in the southeast, and they've declared independence. ukrainian forces have been carrying out an operation to try to end the unrest. hundreds have died, including dozens of soldiers last week after the separatists downed a military transport plane. people covering the crisis have also been killed. a reporter and crew member with a russian state-run tv channel died following a mortar attack. in the phone call, putin expressed concern over the deaths. poroshenko gave his condolences and promised to carry out an investigation. ukrainian leaders have said again and again that russia has been fueling this conflict with agents and weapons. but putin and members of his

administration have long denied they're involved. foreign minister sergei lavrov says the ukrainian government is refusing to implement a road map to end the crisis. the organization for security and cooperation in europe crafted the plan which includes a call to end the violence and start national dialogue. the head of the u.n. says finding a way forward is a must. >> i urge the parties to do all they can to de-escalate the situation, bring ukraine back from the brink and work towards a solution through negotiation and dialogue. >> reporter: but this is complicating matters. an explosion rocked a gas pipeline in central ukraine that supplies europe. the flow continued using a parallel pipe. ukrainian leaders say the blast was a possible act of terrorism designed to discredit their country as a reliable supplier.

they've been focused on gas in recent days. their angry russian energy giant gasprom cut off their supply. company officials say the nation missed a deadline to pay part of its multibillion dollar bill. but the ukrainians say the russians have been overcharging them. both sides have launched lawsuits. the issue is as much political as it is practical. and it's produced further ill will between these neighbors. craig dale, nhk world. rescuers are searching for passengers of a boat that sank off malaysia's western coast. 97 people were on board. two people are dead and 35 are missing. malaysia maritime officials say the wooden boat sank about three kilometers off the coast of the suburbs of kuala lumpur. officials say 60 people have been rescued. reports say women and children were among the passengers. malaysian officials have sent boats and a helicopter to search for the missing.

officials believe those on board were illegal immigrants from indonesia. they say they were trying to cross the strait of malacca to return home. an increasing number of indonesians cross the strait to illegally enter malaysia to find jobs. now, over in china, officials are investigating an explosion at a military depot. they say they believe it was an accident. 17 soldiers were killed. the state run xinhua news agency says the explosion occurred on tuesday while soldiers were piling up ammunition at an armory in the city of hengyang. police say the blast damaged nearby homes. they say no civilians were injured. people in indonesia will cast ballots next month to choose nair next president. the new leader will face many

challenges. he will have to manage southeast asia's biggest economy, which has seen strong growth, but is now expected to slow down. nhk world's senior commentator hiro mir o,sa reports. >> reporter: the gam is narrowing between the two front-runners in the july election. joko is a former businessman and the current governor of jakarta. he's earned a positive reputation for improving government services. provo subiento served in the armed forces. he was married to a daughter of the late president who ruled in asia for more than 30 years. the winner will inherit the country that has enjoyed economic growth during the ten-year period of the shirabamba yudo presidency. during that time, the country saw an average growth rate of

around 6%. gdp quadrupled. but it's drawing down. the central bank this year expects a growth rate of 5.15%. so what's needed to sustain further growth? the minister of finance, mohammed shatay vasray cites two factors. a further opening of the domestic market and expanding trade with china. >> there is no way that indonesia could achieve this 7% economic growth without being open. or being friendly to the -- when we look at the agreement, it is very important to put an open. in which that, you know, a country like china should be included. >> reporter: china is now indonesia's number two trading partner from japan. basri says it's imperative for china to be part of future

regional free-trade agreements such as the trans-pacific partnership. the minister of trade, muhammad gutfi, says the priority is on tackling domestic challenges, such as narrowing the income gap. he believes it's too early for indonesia to participate in tpp negotiations. >> indonesia is not part of tpp right now. we are watching it very closely. indonesia right now is still having its homework on how to strengthen infrastructure inside the country. we are very busy in development. >> the new winner will have to balance economic growth with finding ways to raise up the country's millions of poor. improve education and health care. and rebuild infrastructure. the presidential election is

scheduled for july 9th. hiromi hirose, nhk world. some south korean business owners are breathing new life into old products. they're helping to fuel global demand for second-hand goods, and this new line of exports is turning out to be profitable. nhk world's anna jung explains. >> reporter: this is a rental shop for wedding gowns in seoul boasting over 200 dresses. but it's a fickle market. wedding fashions change so often that the dresses have a rental life of only two years. cheaper dresses are china are also hitting the shop's product life cycle. that means a growing stockpile of used dresses that can't be rented. so the shop owners came up with a solution. export. they posted pictures of dresses on the shop's website, triggering a surge of orders from overseas.

the owners now export 500 old dresses a year. most are shipped to vietnam and other southeast asian countries. demand has been boosted by korean tv dramas, which are popular across asia. >> reporter: we can clear out old stock and make profit at the same time. killing two birds with one stone. >> translator: >> reporter: korea's farm machinery industry is working from the same playbook. this buyer from egypt has come to south korea to buy secondhand local machines. the they're high quality and 70% cheaper than new models. demand is high in vietnam, thailand and africa where rice farming is growing.

>> reporter: competition to sell used farm equipment is growing. so this company has added small parts to its output of complete products. >> translator: we sell more than 200 containers of exports a year. making about $10 million. >> reporter: this may look like a pile of garbage, but don't be fooled. these are all used household goods left behind when people moved. and they're now destined for export. even the smallest things, like this spoon and plate, can be exported to other countries. usable items are sorted and stored in a tent for export. among the most popular are electric products and

kitchenware. the korean cultural boom means many people like products that show the korean alphabet. so anything stamped with hungal characters is up to twice as valuable. >> translator: we export to cambodia and countries in africa. we sell two containers of goods a month, worth about $150,000. >> reporter: secondhand goods are a growing export earner in south korea. the business earns foreign currency and recycles unwanted items in the country's backyard. and popular culture is korea's shop window. anna jung, nhk world, seoul. people in butan are honoring a japanese man they call their father of agriculture. they've opened a memorial hall dedicated to the man who transformed farming in the himalayan nation. a japanese aid agency sent

agricultural export kaji nishioka to bhutan in 1964. he spent 28 years there helping to cultivate better rice and vegetables. he died in the country. nishioka imported farming machinery and helped farmers boost their incomes. the agriculture ministry built the hall for nishioka in western bhutan. the country marks 50 years of japan's official development assistance for the country. >> he has contributed a lot in bhutan. >> 14 ma heens are on display inside the hall. they include an irrigation pump from japan. the exhibition also has a leaflet that showed illiterate farmers how to make fertilizer. one farmer visiting the hall said people are grateful to nishioka for raising their standard of living. brazilians protesting against the world cup are showing no sign of stopping.

they're criticizing the government for the large amount of money spent on buildings for the event. [ chanting ] >> reporter: about 300 demonstrators clashed with police in the northeastern city of fortaleza. the riot happened just before a game between brazil and mexico. protesters threw stones at passing buses breaking windows. police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. >> translator: our country needs basic infrastructure, basic education, more hospitals and more schools. they say they don't have money for that, but they do have it for the world cup. >> people have been rallying against the world cup across brazil, including sao paulo, where the opening match was health. >> let's bring in our meteorologist robert speta. robert, what's the weather forecast for soccer fans across brazil? >> it does look like if you're off towards the north here it is going to be hot and steamy.

actually, temperatures climbing to the low 30s for a lot of you. very humid. again, remember, this is rain forest, so very tropical weather across much of northern portions of brazil. i actually have some video out of salvador here where you can just see these people having their sweat on. this is just really impacting a lot of fans out here for the world cup. even though it is fall season, temperatures still climbing there into the low 30s in northern portions of the country. in addition to the heat, that sweltering humidity definitely making it difficult for people to stay cool. tourists from around the world are gathering here in brazil to go to the various pitches. but the wide range of temperatures really forcing people to think what they're going to wear ahead of time. because i'll show an example here. as we go into your wednesday out here, the forecast off towards the north, you're going to be seeing some scattered showers. especially during the afternoon. you have these lows that twop. they bring rain showers for you. down towards the south if you plan on attending the netherlands versus australian match, highs into about 15

degrees. the overnight low very well could push to single digits. you want to bundle up out here. kind of reverse to a lot of those picturesque scenes you're seeing towards the north. let's talk about the severe thunderstorms, though, into north america. this has been the topic all week. several destructive tornadoes rolling across the central plains. on tuesday you had more reports o f this and even going over towards wednesday. you can see on the cloud cover all those really areas in bright white. that's indicating those storms starting to develop yet again. basically today extending from iowa, minnesota, wisconsin, all the way off here towards the east, even into new york city, you could see that threat of some severe thunderstorms on your wednesday. specially through the afternoon and evening hours. also flash flooding imbedded in here. you have that persistent rainfall coming down, even can bring some risk of some flooding out of this. also into southern portions of canada and over towards montana. this is one of the other big topics coming from this low. it's producing all this severe weather because all this cool air is pushing that warm air towards the east. washington, d.c., new york, your

temperatures into the 30s. by the time we reach the weekend that low is going to push by, make things a little bit more bearable. techtures up to the mid to high 20s by your friday in philadelphia and over towards new york. this is a big topic across eastern asia. it's the rainy season. take a look at this analysis. you have that frontal area just stretching from japan over towards southeastern china. actually, southeastern china, you've already been seeing the rainfall. still could see an additional 130 millimeters on top of what's already been coming down. back towards japan, much of northern portions of the country high pressure is going to set in over the next several days. you're going to be looking at afternoon rain showers and thunderstorms flaring up. for the most part decent weather until the weekend when things pass up. tokyo a passing shower on thursday. seoul with a high of 27, partly cloudy skies. shanghai also getting into the high 20s, partly cloudy skies with a monsoon dominating down towards the south. let's wrap things up here into europe, though, where we are continuing to watch some decent weather off towards the north. the low countries back towards

the uk. well, what we do have is a low pushing through italy over towards the balkan peninsula. this has been bringing the rain showers, some thunderstorms. we've seen several reports of large hail even on western portions of the mediterranean. a few storms flaired up there. brought about 10 cent meters of hail accumulation. almost looked like snow. that's going to continue to push east. still looking at storms especially near the immediate coastlines. for the most part a lot of you seeing some decent weather here on your wednesday. here's the extended outlook.

here's another look at our top story. a bomb has torn through a venue in northeastern nigeria where fans had gathered to watch a world cup soccer match. at least 13 people, including young children, have been killed. the explosion happened in the town of damaturu, the capital of yobe state. reuters news agency quoted witnesses as saying an attacker dropped a device in front of a venue tuesday night before running off. no one has claimed responsibility for the explosion. damaturu and the surrounding area are at the heart of an insurgency by extremist group boko haram. and that's all for this hour on "newsline." i'm shery ahn. thank you for watching. a7guc

>> welcome back to the france 24 newsroom. sunni militants in iraq takeover most of the country's oil refinery. evacuated were tuesday as a security forces brace for the attack. petroian president poroshenko says he is set to order a unilateral cease-fire and the separatist east. he says this is step one in a plan to de-escalation conflicts with russian separatists that have been growing since april. spain has a lot at stake for their world cup match against chile. they will have to mak f