hello and welcome back to "newsline," i'm shery ahn, let's get started with the headlines. diplomatic efforts to stop violence in the gaza strip are increasing. the u.s. and u.n. are urging israelis and palestinians to lay down their weapons. the remains of victims from the malaysia airlines crash will be flown to the netherlands where grieving relatives are waiting. and a food scandal in china reaches japanese shores, fast

food outlets and convenience stores used a meat from a scandal-hit supplier. arab countries have submitted a draft resolution to the u.n. security council calling for a cease-fire between israel and hamas in the palestinian territory of gaza. the draft was submitted on tuesday at the request of the palestinian authority. nhk has obtained a copy of the draft, which strongly condemns israeli military attacks on civilians. it calls for a stable cease-fire and whatever measures needed to protect citizens. the draft demands that israel's blockade on gaza be lifted and u.n. aid be allowed in immediately. among the council members, the united states appears to be taking a cautious stance toward voting on the draft. the u.s. is a close ally of israel. it abstained from voting on a similar draft resolution five years ago when the israeli military invaded gaza. officials even vetoed another draft resolution in the past.

u.n. secretary ban ki-moon is pushing for a diplomat ic solution to the conflict. israeli forces are pressing on with aerial and ground attacks and hamas forces are still firing rockets into israel. nhk world's kral dale has more. ban ki-moon urged benjamin netenyahu to exercise restraint. the secretary-general is calling on both sides to end their attacks and deal with the root causes of the conflict. >> we must address these underlying issues including a mutual recognition, occupation, and denial of dignity. >> reporter: u.s. secretary of state, john kerry, is also saying israel and hamas must look at their fundamental differences. he met in cairo with egyptian president abdel fattah al-sisi. u.s. president supports a

cease-fire like the one supported last week by egyptian officials. that agreement called for both sides to stop attacks immediately and send representatives to cairo to negotiate a long-term truce. israel accepted it, hamas rejected it. hamas leaders are pushing for israel to ease its economic blockade of gaza and release prison members. they kept firing rockets, some of them penetrated israel's aerial defense system and one of them landed near been gerion airport in tel aviv. that prompted some airlines in the u.s., canada and europe and at least one in asia to stop flying to israel for the next 24 hours or longer. they're being extra cautious following the downing of malaysia airlines flight in eastern ukraine. israeli leaders criticized the decision, they say it's like handing terror a prize. along with trying to stop the rocket attacks, israeli soldiers are going after tunnels hamas built to launch raids on israel. more than 100,000 gaza residents have fled their homes.

>> translator: the destruction was like an effort quake. artillery shells were flying over my head. i can't remember how i picked up my child and fled. we ran for our lives. >> translator: the tension in gaza is extreme. there is no safe place. there is no specific target. they are firing indiscriminately. >> reporter: many of the evacuees are taking shelter in u.n.-run schools where they face poor sanitation and limited clean drinking water. the u.s. is offering $47 million in humanitarian assistance. but life likely won't get better for palestinians in gaza any time soon. both sides are committed to their object i have beens here. hamas is fundamentally opposed to israel's existence and one senior israeli official said a cease-fire is not near. >> nhk world's craig dale there. dutch authorities are preparing to take the lead in the investigation into the downing of malaysia airlines flight 17.

the plane was shot down last week over eastern ukraine. 298 people were killed. a majority 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 activists. investigators have moved the bodies in a refrigerated train to the city of kharkiv and ukraine's vice prime minister says about 50 bodies are being flown out of the country on wednesday. >> translator: we recommended that the netherlands lead the international investigation into the cause of the crash. >> ukrainian authorities have wrapped up their search at the site. they confirmed the deaths of everyone on board. they will continue to work with forensic experts from other countries until friday, to check the rest of the remains. then the officials plan to send the bodies to the netherlands for autopsy and identification. british prime minister david

cameron said investigators from his country have agreed to a dutch request to retrieve the flight recorders, british media reporting that britain and france are the only countries in europe that have facilities that can replay cockpit voice recorders. and senior u.s. intelligence commissioners believe a surface-to-air missile fired from the pro russia region was used to shoot down the aircraft. the officials say the most likely explanation say the plane was shot down by mistake but they did not present clear evidence of russia's direct involvement. authorities in china are dealing with a new food scandal. they suspect workers at a meat processing company committed a series of health violations. the news is sending shock waves not only through china, but here in japan as well. nhk world's jackie ishikawa has the story. >> reporter: executives at don

muang's holdings in japan monday told some of their restaurants to temporarily take chicken mcnuggets off the menu. and officials at major convenience store chain family mart halted sales of two of their products. the moves came after an explosive media report out of china. a tv reporter visited a food processing company called shanghai husi food and found workers using chicken meat that was past its expiration date. husi is a unit of a u.s.-based food processor. last year, husi supplied don muang's japan with 20% of the meat used in chicken nuggets, that's about 4,300 tons. executives at the fast food giant say they've managed to secure a supply of chicken from other companies. they say nuggets should be back on the menu at all their

restaurants this week. >> translator: i'm worried about this. my boy eats them a lot. >> translator: i just want them to make sure the food is safe. >> reporter: the chinese tv report uncovered other alleged health violations. workers dropped food on the floor and instead of cleaning it off or discarding it, just toss it back on the production line. >> workers used meat that was more than seven months past its expiration date. authorities at the shanghai food and drug administration have launched an investigation. they say husi supplied products to nine local companies

including mcdonald's kfc and 7-eleven. those companies have suspended sales of some of husi's products. chinese consumers have been hit by a series of scandals involving tainted food in recent years, in 2008, baby formula contaminated with a toxic chemical killed six infantses and sickened about 300,000 others. that same year, 14 people fell ill after eating frozen dumplings made by a chinese food processor. a former employee admitted he had laced the dumplings with insecticide. these scandals prompted officials to enact china's first food safety law. but authorities still face a difficult task. earlier this year, they found vegetables contaminated with harmful chemicals. the latest news has left managers of japanese restaurants and food companies reeling.

they are trying to confirm whether they procured meat from shanghai husi food and whether they've been touched by the scandal as well. chiaki ishikawa, nhk world. engineers at fukushima daiichi are trying to stop the flow of radioactive water at the plant. but the work is not going as planned. they say they'll take additional measures to freeze the water. water used to cool melted fuels inside the damaged reactors has been leaking. the runoff has been reaching the soil and mixing with groundwater and seeping into the sea. workers want to freeze the water inside the tunnels before it can leak into the ground. but they haven't managed to complete the work. nearly three months after the project began. officials with the plant's operator tokyo electric power company briefed members of the nuclear regulation authority about the additional measures,

including instulg more pipes to carry refrigerants in and out of the tunnels. regulators have been skeptical about the feasibility of tepco's original plan. they've suggested other options such as filling the tunnels with concrete. workers are carrying out a separate project to freeze soil and create an ice wall around the four-reactor building. to prevent groundwater from entering the buildings. but a delay in efforts to freeze water in the tunnels could hold up that project as well. that's because the icewall in the tunnels will intersect at some points. japanese government officials are looking into easing the country's strict anti-gambling laws. prime minister shinzo abe says he wants to allow casino-based entertainment complexes. now a panel of experts is studying how that might affect the country. officials from the economy and tourism industries and the national police agency will study casinos around the world. they'll examine the impact they have on public security.

prime minister abe visited a casino in singapore in may. he says he wants to double the number of tourists coming to japan and he said casinos would help. well it seems japan is on the right track when it comes to attracting foreign visitors, ron madison has more from the business desk. >> yeah, that's right, shery. a record number of foreign visitors came to japan in the first six months of this year. a weaker yen and an easing of visa requirements for travelers from some southeast asian nations helped to boost the figure. officials at the japan national tourism organization estimate more than 6.2 million people visited the country from japan through june. and that is a record for the first half of the year. the figure is up more than 26% from the previous year. visitors from mainland china rose more than 88%. those interest thailand were up nearly 64%. more international flights on budget airlines was another factor that encouraged more people to come to japan. the tourism officials say they will continue their campaign to

reach the japanese government's new annual target of drawing 20 million visitors. all right on to the markets now, many investors in asia are taking heart from a strong performance on wall street. here's how major benchmarks finished the day. sydney's main index recorded a six-year closing high. and tokyo's nikkei average did end the day lower, down .1%. finishing at 15,328. many market players stayed on the sidelines a as they focus on upcoming earnings results. in australia the main index saw a gain of .6%. finished at 5,576. that's a level that we haven't seen since june 2008. mining shares like bhp billiton rose, the company said it mined a record amount of iron ore. and in hong kong, the hang seng index saw gains as well of .8%. 23, 971.

shares of property developers continue to gain ground. investors are speculating that local governments in china may ease their restrictions on home purchases. well tv shipments across japan rose in june for the first time in four months. the world cup soccer tournament in brazil spurred demand for large-screen units. industry association officials say tv makers shipped 456,000 units in the domestic market last month. that's up 6.6% from a year earlier. the tv firms reduced production as they had expected sales to fall after the consumption tax hike in april. the association officials say the impact from the higher tax is easing. they say they will keep watching market trends to see whether sales have bottomed out. well it seems consumers around the world want gadgets made by apple and most of them are looking for the iphone, sales in emerging markets helped executives post the biggest gain in two years. apple earned $7.7 billion during

the last quarter a 12% increase over last year. sales rose 6% to more than $37 billion. consumers in china, india and other emerging economies scrambled to pick up iphones and sales jumped 13%. the ipad, though, does seem to be losing some of its appeal. sales were down 9%. as consumers turned to tablets from samsung electronics and other companies. engineers at apple are already at work on their next gadgets. they are thinking beyond the smartwatch and designing a wearable computer and they could launch the iphone 6 within the next few months. a u.s. judge has ordered argentina officials and their creditors to meet around the clock. they have to reach a deal by july 30th or argentina could default again. a federal judge in new york told negotiators to meet continuously until they agree to a settlement. argentina defaulted in 2001. argentine leaders have been locked in a dispute with investors ever since they argued that they can't repay debts to

american investment funds, despite a court order. judge thomas said a default would hurt not only the investment funds, but also as he put it, real people. negotiators for both sides are expected to meet in new york starting later on wednesday. well south koreans are seeing more and more tourists in their hotels, restaurants and shops. and many come from china. but an increasing number of russians are visiting. and they're not just coming to see the sights. nhk world's ana jung explains. >> reporter: it is a beauty salon in seoul. this woman is visiting from russia. this is her first time in south korea. she's planning to stay for a full month. so she's having her hair cut short. after getting a new look, she goes on a shopping spree. south korean cosmetics are the first thing she wants to buy.

then she goes to another store to try on some clothes. her shopping budget for her one-month stay is $3,000. >> translator: i got a stylish jacket that just my size. i'm really happy with it. >> reporter: the number of russian visitors between january and may this year surpassed 87,000. that's almost 20% more than the same period last year. and since each visitor spends an average of $2,000. tourism and travel-related industries are eyeing a big boost in sales. south korea and russia signed an agreement lifting visa requirements for russian visitors beginning this january.

it led to a sharp increase in holiday travelers. seoul is also working to promote medical tourism. this university hospital in seoul is a major destination for foreigners traveling for treatment. 15,000 foreign patients come a year. russians account for over 90%. the hospital staff promotes medical tourism in russia's far eastern region. they emphasize the high standards of medical care and a quick process for making reservations through checking out. this woman came from russia to get treatment for her joints. the hospital's medical interpreter helps her communicate with her doctor.

>> she says she likes the hospital because it is easy to reach from her city. specialist treatment in moscow would mean an eight-hour flight. but seoul is only two hours away. the hospital has geared services to russian patients. they can watch russian programs on tv. and they can try a variety of foods suiting russian tastes. >> translator: the better service we provide to foreign patients, the more we can charge for treatment. this really helps to increase revenue. >> reporter: the government estimates the number of foreigners visiting for medical

treatment will approach one million by 2020. that will generate over $3.4 billion. as the number of russian visitors continues to rise, the tourism and medical industries are beginning to see the benefits. anna jung, nhk world, seoul. okay and that's going to do it for biz this hour, let's check in on the markets.

tropical storm matimo is setting its sights on southeastern china, our meteorologist jonathan oh is here with the latest on the storm. jonathan, i heard that the storm already landed in taiwan. so what's the latest? >> shery, it looks like the system is about to make a second landfall in southeastern china, bringing a lot of wet weather, along with the cloud cover and the strong winds. i want to show you the visible satellite imagery of the system. it was a typhoon just 24 hours ago. it has now weakened into a tropical storm. a lot of cloud cover already covering the southeastern portions of china. and i want to show you some video during the overnight period. let's take a look at it this was what the scene was in taipei,

where people struggled with fierce winds and blinding downpours early wednesday. matimo was the first typhoon to hit tie wan this year. over 200 millimeters of rain have fallen in 24 hours in several places. and schools and government offices are closed. in addition to that, many flights to and from the island have also been canceled and it looks like the stormy weather will continue throughout the night. let me sho you the statistics with this particular system. tropical storm matimo is moving to the north and west at 15 kilometers per hour. the landfall happening this evening, it has weakened significantly. the encountering of the large land mass is part of the reason. as it continues to move towards the northwest it will eventually start making more of a northerly movement, then to the north and east. the concern is as it slows down it is likely to dump even more rain because of the time period. the concern is already during a 48-hour period in taiwan, some

areas reported 620 millimeters of rainfall. and it looks like places like fuzhou dealing with up to 350 millimeters of rainfall in the next 24 hours. this is going to cause a lot of problems when it comes to flooding. a very different story when we take a look at the broader perspective in japan. the western portion of japan seeing very hot temperatures, 35 degrees in kyoto, because of high pressure controlling the weather. another frontal system unrelated to any other tropical systems this is just a front extending from south korea into the northern portions of japan, bringing a lot of rain. aomori prefecture saw rainfall totals close to 70 millimeters during a 24-hour period. more rain expected there as we go throughout wednesday night into thursday and we'll continue to keep an eye on matmo as it makes landfall in china. shanghai you'll be dealing with gusty conditions, 33 there, 33 in taipei, 33 in seoul and 33 degrees in tokyo with a mix of

sun and clouds. taking a look at the americas, we have a large dome of high pressure. and drying across the eastern and northeastern portions of the united states and also into canada. also reporting a tornado over into nebraska and softball-sized hail in north dakota. this is something that is something we'll have to watch for because the possibility of seeing some strong storms for the eastern seaboard is something we'll have to look out for. let's wrap things up with a look at europe. low pressure down toward the balkan peninsula causing some severe weather. with waterspouts reported, three of them near greece. and also two to two and a half-centimeter diameter hail reported in poland and greece, very unstable weather conditions, extending from paris to vienna, warsaw and kiev. stockholm, you're seeing temperatures way above average. with sunny skies looking out for that with heat concerns over there.

and also into the iberian peninsula with sunny conditions. hope you have a good day wherever you are, here's your extended outlook.

and before we wrap up, french authorities are one step closer to restoring a world-famous view of the abbey floating on the sea. they've opened up a new bridge

connecting with the mainland. tourists gathered to celebrate the opening. it has piers in intervals of 12 meters allowing water to flow freely below. >> translator: nothing is blocking the view. it's magnificent. >> the bridge is replacing a 135-year-old causeway that has caused silt to build up blocking sea water from flowing into the bay. but officials say sea water can now easily flow into the bay, especially at high tide. >> translator: the view from here is great. i think the beautiful floating abbey can be revived. >> people in the area are waiting to see the graceful view of the world heritage site when the causeway is completely removed in september of next year. and that's all for this hour on "newsline." i'm shery ahn, thank you for

watching. a7guc

>> hello. it is 1:00 p.m. in the french capital. let's take a look at what is making news this hour. beginning their journey back home, the first bodies of those killed in the image 17 disaster are on their way to the netherlands for identification. thatas intelligence says pro russian separatists shot down the plane by mistake. israel is launching another round of airstrikes. the human rights chief has said israel may be committing war crimes in gaza and condemned hamas over its