. hello and welcome to nhk newsline. we begin here in tokyo with the fights to contain coronavirus. local officials reported 112 new infections on t tuesday after t daily total fell below 100 for two consecutiveve days. over 4,000 people tested positive for the virus in the city of 14 million. the central government declared

a state of emergency to contain the spread. residents have been asked to stay home as much as possible. officials are closely monitoring the situation to decide whethth to extend the state of emergency beyond may 6th. the drug was originallyy developed the t treat ebola but clinical tests were underway in japan and several other countries to see whether it's effective against the coronav coronavirus. >> we w will proceed with a special approval to expedite the screening. >> health ministry officials say germany and the u.s. are already considering whether to approve it. gentleman pap plans to provide another possible medication to the neththerlands, the philippis

and 36 other countries. it's a flu drug developed by a japanese company. the foreign minister said more than 70 countries asked japan to supply them w with the medicine. the health ministry also decided to allow dentists to carry out coronavirus tests if local facilities are overwhelmed. as many as 8,800 were being carried out per day as of mid april. that's four times as many as mid march as the government moves to boost capacity. but there's a concern about a shortage of doctors at local test centers. more than 14,080 people have been infected in japan. about 400 people have died. the country's labor market is also showing signs of worsening. the unemployment rate for march ticked up to 2.5%.

japanese government officials said on tuesday that the seasonally adjusted jobless rate increased .10% from yesterday. the number of unemployed stood at 1.76 million, an increase of 20,000 from a year earlier. officials say the situation is expected to get tougher in april. the ratio from job offers to applicants also worsened to 1.39 there were 139 job openings for every 100 people looking for work. currently the number of job offers exceeds that of job seekers but it is declining. we'll keep a close eye on how the pandemic will effect the labor market. >> the u.s. trump administration

released guidelines to boost coronavirus testing as it seeks to encourage the resumption of economic activity across the country. >> we're doing everything in our power to heal the sick and gradually reopen our n nation a safely get our people back to work. they wanant to get back t to wo >> the guidelines released monday say the fedederal government willl fast track the approval of t tt equipment. it will also promote t t developmenent of testingng meth toto help s states e expand the testing pacity. severaltates staed resuming some economic activity but experts have been warning against removing restrictions too quickly. they say the priority should be on boosting the number of tests to grasp the full extent of the pandemic. the release of new guidelines by the white house is seen as a response to these views. meanwhile, health care professionals have called for a

close inspection of test kits saying some are of poor quality. the impact of the coronavirus has been felt across the world of culture. and other events are cancelled and venues have been closed. faced with a fight for survival japan's movie industry is coming up with new ideas. >> this small movie theater in tokyo is popopular foror screen arart filmsms a and human inter documentararys but s since apri 8th, it has beeeen closeded. >> if movie theaters start shutting dodown, that wilill leo a narrowing in diversity. both our movies and our overall culture. >> so the theater has turned to the internet. it's putting up movies it previously screened so that people can watch them online.

a total of 60 films are now available to be streamed for a one time fee of about 28 u.s. dodolls for t three months. >> to h help our reall world mo theaters survive. we have to find a way to connect with our customers online. >> with people requested to stay at home, this spells trouble for new movies that are due for release right now. this documentary follows the lines of a clinical psychiatrist and they're planning to close and insteadad to film will be available online from the same day it was scheduled for release in may. if this continues our theaters will disappear and there will be nowhere for film makers to show our work.

>> they have created an online network of theaters behind japan where it was due to be screened. it's called temporary cinema chain. viewers decide which theater they want to visit online and pay an admission fee valid for 24 hours. the revenue was divided between the individual theaters and the distributor and the film maker. this is different from most online movie strtreaming servic becaususe it giveses a share of revenue to thee theaterers t th so-called temporary cinema chain gives movie goers a chance to see a film they wanted to see in the comfort of their own homes while also supporting the movie industry. in the face of the on going

public health challenge it's a way for movie theaters and film makers to survive and support each other and still reach as many people as possible.

a a chinese rigights lawyer been reunited with his family after years behind bars. he returned on mondaday withh a emotional reunion with his wife and 7-year-old son. he was among more than 300 lawyers and activists swept up in a crack down that began in 2015. his fate was unknown until his trial last year. they called on china to allow him freedom of movement.

last july a deadly arson attack on an animation studio stunned not only people in japan but also fans of the company from all over the world. on tuesday demolition work was completed at the site w where 3 employees perished a a 33 others were wounded. workers began dismantling the number one studio in november some of the families want a memorial set up at the site but residents asked them not to withdrawal crowds. any decision will be based on a range of factors. the pentagon weighed in on a

mystery and showed three unclassified videos showing unidentified flying objects or ufos. >> the first in 2004 and the other two in 2015. one chose an oblong object racing through the sky befefore rotating in midair. that's something that the pilot wasn't expecting to see. the new york times published two of the videos in 2017 after thee were leakeded. the pentatagon said itt release ththem to end speculation about whether r or not they were real and it says the objects in the videos remain unidentified. last year, the u.s. navy issued it's first guidelines on how to keep track of so-called unexplained aerial phenomenon. the move came after a number of experienced pilots reported ufo sitings.

japan's defense minister weighed in on the issue. he says while he doesn't believe in ufos he instructed his staff in case they can't explain. >> the united states has been dealing with an unusually busy tornado season and it looks like more dangerous weather is on the way for tuesday. our meteorologist joins us now with the details. >> yes. usually about 1,000 tornadoes occur a year in the united states and this year we got very, very active tornado season and april is typically the busiest tornado season of the year. usually we havee 253 tornadoes n april but this year since the beginning of this month, we have 341. that's a lot and we'll likely see more tornadoes for the next couple of days. we have a cold front swinging through the southern united states. this system will likely cost very severe conditions from

texas to the great lakes region and there's a higher risk for severe thunderstorms including isolated tornadoes in texas, oklahoma, as well as arkansas near tuesday. damaging winds and large hail are possible as well. dangerous conditions are expected to spread to the southeast as we go in through wednesday. we are looking at very high temperatures and very calm conditions across the southwest and temperatures will be nearly 10 degrees higher than normal for this time of year in many places. and 39 on wednesday and 41 in phoenix on wednesday. it could be the warmest temperature ever recorded for the month of april and death valley could see 46 on your wednesday. and on the way to work i heard a big rumble of thunder. we will continue to see unstable weather conditions as we go into wednesday but other areas

including tokyo will see very nice calm conditions on wednesday and temperatures are going to be unusually warm. 22 on wednesday. even warming up to 26 degrees on your friday as well as saturday. for the past several days but finally going back to normal starting on your thursday. unusually high temperatures can be found in northern china as well as mongolia. 33 on thursday. that's 20 degrees higher than normal. stay safe.

that's all for this edition. thanks for watching and we'll have more for you soon. welcome to newsline. today we have reports on young entrepreneurs in three countries taking initiative in their respective countries. each illustrates the truth that even small interventions can help to bring about change on a much larger scale. first schoolgirls face a problem

that's widespread in developing countries. many feel compelled to skip classes or drop out of school all together. it's an issue that can have a major social impact. and a local solution. >> as a student, she and her friends started to develop it. >> we're seeing how can we produce something that's affordable. >> more than 45% of people in uganda all listen to it. they tend to be imported and

expensive. it's a reality. she is 18. used it as a makeshift pad and it was a poor absorbant. >> my classmamates laughed at m dirty clothes. i couldn't stand the embarrassment so i dropped out of school. >> her decision created friction with her family. she left home and took up prostitution to survive. it's stories like this one that motivate her. she believes the answer to the

so-called program that afflicts so many women lies in the cloth. after being brushed for sugar they can be boiled down and cut up to produce a cotton-like material. the leftover properties leaves a fitting. that's where they stepped in. the company invited her to its factories in japan and gave her advice about how to improve the sensation against the skin. >> this is a very fine one.

your material may become softer like this if you break it down more. >> we actually even went back and give us all of thehe informatation so for me, it's gratitude. so we are looking at retaining it. >> a helping hand could provide the push that she needs to make her idea a reality. and enable many young women to complete their education. nhk world. >> the start up is a social enterprise that she co-founded with three other young women. they were connected with the japanese company by the united nations population fund as part of its efforts to tackle reproductive health issues. the project has now reached the stage where they are conducting product assessment.

they aim to start full scale production later this year. here in japan, an entrepreneur has come up with additional approach to cleaning up his community drawing on the power of social media. his idea of connecting people around the world and encouraging them to pitch in. >> this woman is picking up trash on the streets during her lunch break. she takes photos of the items and posts them on the social network. it's available through an app that links people who want to help clean up the environment. users give kuddos and encouragement and motivated her to keep at it. >> comments from complete strangers who live as far away as vietnam. >> over 800,000 people in dozens

of countries have downloaded the app. they havave collected and repord more than 100 million pieces of trash. the app was created by the 32-year-old, the founder of an environmental start up. he came up with the idea after traveling as a graduate student. he seemed to be everywhere and there had to be a way to motivate people to make a change. >> people don't usually get credit for picking up garbage. the evidence of the good work is in it. this allows them to record their efforts and share it by others. >> he has a start date of a new project to try to shed light on

just where the garbage is coming from. he has been using it to create microplastics in bodies of water and s studyingg t types found a various locations. he and his team conducted research in rivers in new york, tokyo, osaka and other cities. >> it ends up in waters accidentally. >> it is making it. >> we hope to talk with local growers and use materials that

decompose naturally. if we work together we might have a big impact. >> he promises to keep moving forward for his efforts. >> his work shows a power of ideas to make a difference. nhk world. >> the app has already been downloaded and 100 countries around the world. at least 1,400 public and private organizations have also been inspired to join in. to shed more light and is on going in 8 other countries as well as scores of sites around japan. as we saw, plastic pollution is a real and global issue but of course it starts at the local level. over in thailand, a farmer has

come up with an idea that provides part of the solution by making use of a natural resource she has plenty of. banana leaves. >> last november, the ancient city in thailand was a sign of the festival. people thought they would give thanks. it's a custom to use banana leaves to decorate the lanterns. but that's not the only way the leaves made a splash. i hope everyone needs the leaves like this. they're way better than plastic. >> the banana farm which she inherited two years ago.

people in thailand have long used banana leaves to wrap certain food items but the demand for the leaves have declined with the popularity of plastic. they try to turn this around to come up with the idea of using a machine to press several leaves together combined with glue made from tapioca she was able to make sturdy plates. >> they are fragrant and strong and have natural colors. people like them a lot. >> this school banned plastic containers in it's cafeteria and now uses the plates. >> theyy are made with natural

materials. so children can use them without any concern. >> we want to teach children about the benefits of using banana leaves. >> her project has gained the attention of the local government. it gave her a grant of about $17,000 that it used to pay for the machineses. it can produce 500 to 1,000 plates a day. it offers are pouring in and she hopes to help them find even more uses. >> i want to teach people in other villages how to make the plates. we can't reduce plastic waste

alo alone. >> on the day of the festival, they would have played with the hope that she will now be able to return the favor. >> today we saw some innovative approaches in part of the world for challenges that are global issues. eradicating poverty, women's reproductive health, plastic pollution and protecting the environment. these are some of the very issues that are listed in the sustainable development codes that world leaders planned to solve by 2030. the three entrepreneurs we saw may not have had the goals in mind when they set out but the initiatives are already making a contribution to sustainable cities and communities. responsible consumption and reduction and partnership for

goals and they're reminders that even small steps taken locally can go a long way toward solving global issues. that's it for today. thank you for watching and see you again next time.

>> thank you for joining us here on "france 24." we begin in france, where the prime minister will announce details on how the country will exit its lockdown on the 11th of may. adouard philippe -- philippe is expected to mention how to travel within regions. what exactly will life be lockdown reststrictions are eased? want to balance restarting the economy with a minimized