it's the top of the hour in tokyo and this is nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara. people in kumamoto are trying to piece their lives back together but are facing challenging conditions. the ground is still shaking and the weather it making the work even more difficult. prefecturural officials say the quakes damaged more than 25,000

houses. people have been using tarps to cover broken roofs but strong winds are blowing them away. volunteers are working outdoors in some blazing heat. >> translator: it's sweaty work. and i have to be careful about heat stroke. >> kumamoto police say thieves have been taking advantage ever the disaster. they say dozens and houses and offices have been burglarized since the earthquakes began. >> translator: if you see anybody behaving unusually or see anything else suspicious, please let us know. >> around 1200 quakes with an intensity of 1 or higher on the japanese scale of 0 to 7 have been recorded since the first massive jolt on april 14th. 49 people have been killed. one person is still missing. >> local officials say nearly 20,000 people have evacuated and some are living in their cars. kumamoto city plans to open 18 more evacuation shelters with

room for 3,000 people this week. people in the north korean capital are gearing up for a once in a generation event. they are preparing for the ruling party's first congress in 36 years. officials in pyongyang have been overseeing arrangements for the seventh congress. they've decorated the city with flags and billboards. women in traditional cos sumes gathered at a central plaza in what appeared to be a rehearsal for a performance. officials gave a tour of the site where the country's first weapons factory once stood. kim jong earlier visited and declared the north with hydrogen bomb capabilities. they say party executives are using the congress to show off kim's accomplishments in nuclear and missile development. north korea's recent nuclear and missile activity has some in south korea worried, though not for the usual reasons.

north korean defectors living there already deal with discrimination and are concerned the regime's actions could make things worse for them. there is one program that's trying to help people succeed in the south. and nhk world's kim chan ju has the story of a man doing just that. >> reporter: north korean defectors are learning how to sound like south koreans. they speak the same language, but their accents and dialects differ. their goal is to fit in and to not be recognized as defectors. while they were able to flee north korea, life in the south is not exactly easy. this maname t south kea ten years ag

he works in sales and notices he is at a disadvantage. >> translator: when clients hear me speak, their attitudes change immediately. i cannot succeed. >> reporter: he escaped the country at the age of 12 with his brother. they had no idea where their parents had gone and were totally alone. when he arrived, he could hardly read and write and ended up lagging behind in school. that gave other students an excuse to bully him. >> translator: other students mocked me for studying with younger classmates. it hurt me and made me very angry. >> reporter: several years after graduating park has found a way to try to overcome his changes.

every weekend this park is bustling with customers. the vendors are selling street food. it's a start-up business by north korean defectors. the new program began last january, the unification ministry gives tips to truck operators in starting a business. and the korea race authority as well as the major auto manufacturer lent them the trucks and offered the venue. park came up with the menu on his own and specializes in toasted sandwiches. his truck isn't the only food spot in the area. he sells almost $10,000 worth of food a month. on weekdays park studies business at college. he juggles that with his business.

despite his past, friends feel he is no different from other south korean students. >> translator: he studies so hard, and he has found what he wants to do. i really admire his efforts. >> reporter: and it is an effort. park works on his food truck operation by himself. he buys a load of groceries once a week and prepares in his apartment the night before. but he says he feels happy to be achieving his dream of running his own business. >> translator: i am feeling tense. i am the first in this program to go into the food truck business. i operate only one food truck right now, but in the future i'll have 50 for 100. i will succeed in this business. >> reporter: north koreans with professional backgrounds in medicine, military or technology also face difficulties in the

south. while park started with nothing, he is now finding his own way forward. finance ministers and central bank governors from japan, china, south korea and the association of southeast asian nations agreed on the need to address the downside risks to global economic development. the group issued a joint statement at a meeting in germany on tuesday. japan's finance minister taro aso and bank of japan governor haruhiko kuroda took part. the statement says the countries are expected to maintain their relatively high level of economic growth and be a driving force in the global economy. but it says they must use tools, including flexible fiscal policies, to deal with the risks that remain. worldwide attention is being focused on the timing of the u.s. federal reserve's recent rate hike which may trigger abrupt outflows of funds from

emerging economies. the statement says the officials have agreed to strengthen a program to help asian countries whose currencies are suddenly weakened due to capit al outflows. japan's prime minister and european union leaders agreed to speed up negotiations on bilateral partnership. abe is visiting europe to lay the ground work for the group of 7 summit he'll host later this month. a abe met with the european council and european commission president in brussels on tuesday. >> translator: flexible budget spending in conjunction with accelerated structural reform is needed to avoid the risk of an economic crisis and revitalize the global economy. i would like to see an agreement on these points. >> abe called for swifter talks so the two sides can reach a

consensus at an early date this year and conclude a strategic partnership accord. >> i hope we can conclude the negotiations for both agreements in the near future. let me, however, recall to the u.s. is interested in a strategic partnership with japan that will be underpinned by an ambitious trade deal. for this to happen, both sides need to demonstrate political will. >> he said the two sides need to combine forces to promote growth and investment. he is confident they can seal the deal by the end of this year. japanese foreign minister fumio kishida met with the commander in chief of myanmar's military on tuesday. the top military officer indicated that he'll help promote democracy under the new civilian government. senior geral min ag hlaing argued that the military wants to strengthen and aance the process of dem ok ri taization.

he added that reforms are progressing peacefully but haven't been completed. he expressed the commander help with the smooth transition of power. although myanmar has moved to civilian rule the military still holds strong political power. a quarter of the seats in parliament are reserved for its personnel. u.s. senator trues has announced he -- ted cruz is dropping out. he can no longer see a viable path to victory after losing the indiana primary to republican rival donald trump. >> we gave it everything we've got. but the voters chose another path. and so, with a heavy heart, but with boundless optimism for the long-term future of our nation,

we are suspending our campaign. >> with nearly 100% of the votes counted in indiana trump was at 53%, cruz 37%. and ohio governor john kasich had 8%. cruz had vowed to stay in the race right to the end, but the result in indiana made it all but impossible for him to stop trump. >> indiana was going to be the deciding factor, so i think, for the sake of the nation, i think what ted cruz did tonight was exactly the right thing to do. >> the victory brings trump a step closer to securing the 1,237 delegates he needs for the nomination. >> we've been losing all the time. we lose with our military. we can't beat isis. we lose with trade. we lose with borders. we lose with everything. we're not going to lose. we're going to start winning again and we're going to win bigly.

>> republican national committee chairman reince priebus called the real estate mogul the presumptive nominee and asked the party to unite behind him. >> hillary clinton called for supporters to chip in if they don't want to let him become president. a 5-year-old plan of lionel messi has fled with his family to pakistan after receiving threats from the taliban. he became an internet sensation earlier this year after he was photographed wearing a messi jersey. he became known as "little messi." but his father says the boy's fame has caused problems. >> translator: we received a lot of telephone threats and also written threats.

that's why we left afghanistan. >> muhis relatives said they accused him of playing soccer instead of studying islam. the family became concerned about his safety. sports were band in afghanistan during the taliban's rule. many creative people dream of selling their works only, but turning a hobby into a business is not easy, despite all the shopping platforms available. help is at hand, though, due to some web companies crafting a personal touch. nhk world's keiko aso has more. >> reporter: this shopping site carries a huge range of products, around 2 million items. a closer inspection reveals

unusual motives. fun shapes and odd items. most things here are made by ordinary people pursuing a hobby. these websites have exploded in recent years. to get a leg up on competition the company is trying a more personal approach. they set up a space for only sellers to use. here they can develop the ideas along with others with more experience, and the company will even get them tips to get started. a group of women has come looking for help. they all enjoy handicrafts but most have never sold only before. they've been advised on the photography. the color is key and it helps to

shoot in natural light using a reflector. >> translator: the gray background makes it look classy, doesn't it? it's a small thing that makes such a difference. >> reporter: the experts also warn against selling products too cheaply. material costs are just one exnse. eakers alsave toonsider shing did packing. >> tralator: the information only is limited. it's great that i can listen to the explanations and have my questions answered. >> translator: the growing number of people want to start creating things. last year's transactions on our site totaled about $38 million, and this year i would like to double that. >> reporter: creativity comes in many forms. and it doesn't always mean hand-made products. eli is a part-time fashion designer. it all started because she had

to travel finding clothes to fit her petite size. now she sells items only for women in the same situation. >> translator: my dress patterns make clothes that make you look stylish by just wearing them. >> reporter: she is an office worker. she had no training in fashion design. but that's not a problem. the only shop has it covered. all she has to do is upload sample drawings of her design and the site operator does the rest. first, it creates a paper partner based on her drawings. then it places an order to its neork of 2 factories where the outfit is tailored by professionals. the service fee starts at around $900. her listing features two

designs. >> translator: i always had a dream to do this but it looked like a difcult press. w, after using thesyst, i learned that everything was surprisingly easy. >> reporter: the system inspires people to experiment. the site offers a variety of clothing from casual wear to anime costumes. >> translator: our system enables you to start your own brand without the knowledge, business connections or money. we offer professional skills and technology usually used for mass manufacturing. >> reporter: it's worked fine so far. that's perhaps the key to future success in the industry. fashion with a personal touch. keiko aso. nhk world. brazil kicked off its official olympic torch relay in preparation for the rio de

janeiro games but the political turmoil surrounding dilma rousseff may make the road to the olympics more difficult. officials carried the olympic flame from greece to rio. they ignited a torch decorated with five waves that symbolized brazil's natural environment. the first torch bearer was volleyball player fabiana claudino. she is seeking her third consecutive gold medal. the torch travels through each of brazil's 26 states. but the relay was halted when a torch bearer was surrounded by protesters who held up placards expressing opposition to proceedings that could lead to rousseff's impeachment. brazil's upper houses is due to decide next week at the earliest whether to set up an itmpeachmet

tribunal. rousseff says she will host the most successful olympics in history. >> translator: brazil will show the world what we can do even as we go through this difficult and truly critical period in our country's history. >> experts say rousseff needs to overcome mounting concerns that political uncertainty may affect the games. coffee might come to mind when you think about brazil but the country used to be one of the largest producers of black tea. now a japanese brazilian woman has been working to revive that industry. nhk world's maasia few moto reports. >> reporter: it's this woman's 89th birthday.

and she is celebrating with her family. >> translator: thank you and thanks to tea which brings me wonderful things. >> reporter: she was born and raised in registro. the earliest settlers were japanese. they began focusing on tea growing in the 1930s and it became known as brazil's tea capital. fertile soil and a misty climate contribute to the fine conditions for tea. by theolden yea o the 198 the reon produd 1200ons ofea p year mostf i was shipped abroad. but then the brazilian currency left in value and brazil's exports lost their edge. almost all the region's tea industry shut down. she was born to a tea-farming family. she says she cried as she ran

her hands over her dying tea bushes. >> translator: i wondered what would happen to registro without any more tea. i wanted to save the plant. >> reporter: two years ago she began the plantation. she worked day in and day out for six months. she inspired other locals who hoped for a tea revival. they restored the leaf rolling machine. family members helped too. her daughter goes with her mother to the fields every day. >> translator: we're doing our best to keep it going. i feel i have the responsibility to do that. >> reporter: in 2014 shimada launched her own brand of organic, hand-picked tea. it has a rich aroma and flavor.

tea lovers have noticed it in brazil and abroad. in japan last year organizers of a black tea festivainvited shimada a guest tea producer soto is a big fan of her tea. he visited her last december and taught her techniques such as how to pick the finest leaf tips. >> translator: at her age i think it's amazing. she is still so enthusiastic to learn and improve. >> reporter: now shimada is aiming to produce the highest quality black tea, twisted and rolled by hand. >> translator: everyone who tries this tea says it's delicious, so i believe it holds some promise. but in the end all you can do is try your hardest. that's all i am doing. >> reporter: shimada's enthusiasm for growing tea gets stronger by the day, and she is

ready to pioneer the industry again. masaya fuge moto. time for the world weather with psycha mori. wednesday started off with stormy weather in tokyo. it turned hot and sunny. will the nice weather continue tomorrow? >> yes. it will stay quite warm once again in much of japan, though. stay hydrated and watch for heat stroke. the only cool spot will be hokkaido. a couple of systems will continue to cause rain and windy conditions as we go into saturday. meanwhile across the south of china we're looking at rain to continue because there is warm air coming in from the south, actually on tuesday the sky was lit up by lightning in hong kong. the weather should improve across the south coast, but along the yangtze river basin

we'll see heavy rain. scorching hot weather, 33. cooler in unien bat tar on thursday. 300 people have been killed due to heat wave across india and 33 miion peoe have bee affectedy drough extremelhigh temperares he beenffecting this area. the good ns is that w don't have wnings for heat any mor acss many places of indiut temperatures remain quite high for the next several weeks until the monsoon season starts. typically the rainy season starts in june across the subcontinent. let's go to nada, then. high temperature was seen across the south of alberta on tuesday. record high temperature was set in edmonton. the high rose to 29 degrees. the heat is causing wide fires across the north. take a look at this video coming out of the north of alberta.

a fast-growing wildfire is tearing through ft. mcmurray, a see in t . the entire city was ordered to evacuate on tuesday. nine air tankers, a dozen helicopters and 100 firefighters have been deployed. no injuries have been reported but the air fault will remain quite low. and we will see winds kicking up going into the next 24 hours. there is a low-end front moving into alberta, so winds will be increasing, that means wildfires could grow even further. now, temperatures remain quite high as well into your weesday. ross eure temperatures are going to be quite high across the west, and we are looking at severe weather continuing across the balkan peninsula as well as italy and turkey as well. a new system will be moving into the north of the british isles and scandinavian peninsula.

watch for windy and wet conditions. temperatures quite high across many portions of western and central europe. look at these highs. london high will be 17 on wednesday. into thursday rising to 19 degrees and 20 on friday. it's going to be 23 degrees for the high on saturday. it's more like the mid-summer. zurich 14. berlin 18 on thursday. as we go into saturday very hot. watch out for heat stroke. stay hydrated. all right. that's it for me now. up next is your three-day forecast.

that's all we have this hour on nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. thanks for watching and have a good day.

genie: this is "france 24," live around the world. these are the headlines. turks will soon be traveling through europe visa free with conditions. the european connection has announced its proposal in a change for turkey taking in all illegal migrants who crosthe sea into greece. raceruz pulls out of the for the white house after a crushing defeat in the indiana primary. donald trump now looks