♪ glad to have you with us on this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan with the news from tokyo. we start here in japan with the country's pacific coast could be in store for tropical storm dolphin. the meteorological agency says the storm was over waters south of japan at 3:00 p.m. on tuesday. it was moving north at about 15 kilometers per hour, packing

maximum winds of 108 kilometers per hour. the stotorm will clclose in on eastern and northern japapan an could make rand fall in the kanto and tokoke high regions fm thursday to friday. strong wininds are expected fro tokai to tohoku region. there could be heavy rain across the pacific coaoast of bothh th eastern and western parts of the nation a as earlyy as tuesday evenening and lasasting through friday. officials urge people to follow the latest information to stay ton alert for strong winds and rain. now to the united states where president trump is ramping up pressure on iran. he slapped fresh sanctions on tehran over its disputed nuclear prram. secretary of state mike pompeo announced the move on monday. >> as we are demonstrating today, we'll keep it up until they accept a real deall foror

change i in its behavior. >> the sanctions will hit more than two dozen entities and individuals both inside and outside iran. that include the country's defen defense ministry. iranian foreign m minister zari dismissed the latesttanctions as new. >> i donon't think that's anythg new and i don't think it will have any more significant impact on iran. >> on saturday the trump administration june lat laterally declaird the sanctions are bakt in place. more supreme court council members disagree. they say that step has no legal basis as washington has already withdrawn from a 12015 iran nuclear deal. the dispute was on full display at the international atomic

energy agency on monday in vienna. in the head of the address, they said the u.s. attempts to impose sanctions has no validity. he sayays t the united states l its authority after pulling out of the 2015 deal. u.s. energy secretary called iran the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism. he said tehran has a history of not providing full cooperation with the iaea. malta has ratified a u.n. treaty banning nuclear weapons meaning the pact needs just five more ratifications to take effect. the announcement marked the 75th anniversary of the united nations. >> today is a special day for malta as we celebrate the 56th anniversary of our independence and the 75th anniversary of the united nations, malta has also became the 45th state to ratify the treaty on the prohibition of

nuclear weapons. >> the u.s. treaty will kick in 90 days after it gets 50 ratifications. the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons expressed hope on its website for an early implementation of the treaties. nuclear powers including japan, south korea and other countries protected by have not signed the pact. the united nations promised to boost globe cooperation on issues including the coronavirus. the u.n. general assembly adopted the move on monday. at the same meeting a u.s. official praised the organization but also offered cite sichl. >> the united nations has for too long been resistant to meaningful reform, too often lacking in transparency and too all neshl to the agenda of autocratic regimes and

dictatorships. >> chinese president xi jinping took a shot at america's america first policies. >> translator: china will continue to follow multilateralism and uphold a system centered on the u.n. >> amid mounting tensions between major powers, the u.n.'s vow to boost international cooperation could be tough to carry out. europe is grappling with a resurgence of coronavirus cases. the uk is raising the alert level to its second highest. it comes after government officials warned cases could explode without further action. >> at the moment we think the epidemic dououbling roughly eve seven days.

by mid october, if that continued, you would end up with somemething like 50,000 cases i the middle of october per day. >> the officials added this could result in about 200-plus deaths per day by mid november. britain has the highest number of coronavirus are related deaths overall in europe. the country is studying the introduction of new measures to combat the virus, but it wants the avoid a nationwide lockdown that could inflict severe damage to theeconomy. in spain the daily count of new cases has risen to more than 4,000. authorities on monday introduced a partial lockdown of areas in and around the capital madrid. police set up about 60 checkpoints on roads into the areas requiring people to show a permit before entering or leaving. japan's main ruling liberal democratic party is split over when to hold a jn election with

prime minister suga yoshihide deciding when -- t the terms of current memembers expire in abo a year. one other issue high on his agenda is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. some ldp lawmakers say he isn't likely to dissolve parliament early. that's because he's already picked his cab met to deal with the country's challenges. they say he should focus on the pandemic as he's promised not to create a political vacuum. others say time is tight to dissolve parliament as the nation is committed to hosting the olympics and paralympics next summerment finance min ter taro says he should consider dissololving the house early. others want to see it happen by the end of the year. that would capititalize on high approval ratings for suga's cabinet seen in polls. he's e expected to decide what

happens with the coronavirus and public support for his cabinet. a widely watched business survey here in japan is expected to shed some light on the pace of recovery amid the pandemic. the bank of japan is releasing its latest tankan survey on october 1st. analalysts say it shohould s sh sentiment i is improving even a it remains deep in negative territory. they expect an index for large manufacturerss to improveve as economic activity gradually returns. they say the increasase will b limited to 14 poioints witith forecasts ranging between minus 20 and minus 30. analysts predict the ananalyst r large non-manufacturers will continue to be negative after falling to minus 17 in the last tankan report in june. some of the results from the last survey were the weakest since 2009 and the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

♪ beijijing and moscow a are

stepping up cooperation on security. china has joined large-scale military exerciseses inn souout russia. the drills launched on monday with about 80,000 people and 250 tanks andnd vehicles.. a t total of 1,0000 military personnel joined from china, belarus, myanmar and other countries. the war games take place every four years. this time soldiers are handling a mock scenario where they face terrorists backed by an enemy krunt. china has previously joined military exercises in siberiaia and the russian far east. this is the first time it's partrticipated i d drills i in south more t than 5,5,000 kiloms from bae jing. away from the exercises russia is helping china develop an anti ballistic missile early warning system. thailand and chinese tech giant huawei launched a facility for mobile services in the

southeast asean nation. the e opening ceronony foror th thailand 5g ecosystem innovation center tookk place in bangkok. thailand's minister of digital and society attended on behalf of the prime minister. the facility has equipment to test products as well as booths where visitors can get a sense of how the 5g works. huawei reportedly committed about $15 million to the project and sending individuals to thailand to help train united states. the united states has been pushing away from using huawei citing security concerns. tran tran thailand is open to cooperating with any country. the government is working for the interests of the country.

>> he stressed the tie government's intention to further cooperate with huawei. moving the south america where ramped wildfires are dedestraying the pantanal. brazil's national institute for space research says there were about 15,000 fires between january and mid september. the figure is unprecededend. 19,000 square kilometers havee been d destroyed inn the countn alonee or moree than 12% off th wetlands. sosome ofhe fires were apparently started by farmers to clear land. what may be the worst drought in half a century has already compounded the damage. the brazilian government has mobilized troops, butut the fi are unlikikely to be brought unr control any time soon. parts of the pantanal are listed

as a juneunescoco world heritag. next is the three-day outlook on the weather for selected cities around the globe.

♪

thahat's all for now on thi edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. much more to come on nhkorld japan. please stay with us. welcome to "newline in depth." i'm yanaka marie. covid-19 has been forcing changes on the world and the industry of agriculture is no exception. farmers are now facing problems ranging from severed supply chains to lack of labor. today we look at how agricultural businesses are responding with innovative ideas. the coronavirus pandemic continues, but hopefully these seeds of inspiration will help

the industry blossom. first we go to south korea where work opportunities have taken a hit from covid-19, especially for young people. a recent monthly survey found unemployment among 15 to 29-year-olds is the worst in over two decades, but a new trend is seeing city dwellers heading out of town for a life on the arm. >> south korea's sweet pepper farmgs are in the midst of the busy season, but this worker is new to the job. she turned down a position as a pastry chef in seoul as she wouldn't have made enough money following the pandemic. she looked to the countryside instead. >> translator: i kneww farming was tough, but when i actually tried it, i realized how hard it really is. it might just be the toughest work in the world.

>> this man's income dried up in february when he put his 30-year-old travel agency on ice due to the coronavirus. >> translator: w when i was hom there were times i felt like i was going crazy. i truly experienced how fulfilling physical labor is. >> translator: the people coming from seoul are dedicated to their task. they are all highly motivated. >> reporter: this man is acting as a bridge between the city and farmers. he sends workers from the city to the countryside for anything from a week to months on end. kim who studied agriculture in britain sees enormous potential in plugging rural labor shortages with people from cities. his firm is called poomashi referencing a korean term to support eacach other through th exchange of labor.

>> translator: the number of people engaged in farming is declining worldwide. but the demand for better and safer foods keeps growing. if we can connect farm cities and major cities, urban residents can be supplied with healthy foods. rural villages can develop with the help of the manpower they need. >> adjusting to life in the country isn't easy. so it's important for kim to make suree the w workers are coping. > translator: so far, so goo. it makes me feel good working here. >> the number of applicants from the city has been growing rapidly. kim holds workshops teaching them not only how to handle agricultural machinery but also

offering insight into daily life on farms. some applicants are keen to follow his example and foster closer links between the city and countryside. >> translator: there are far more retiring farmers than young people moving to farm villages. i think more people would opt to settle there if they realized ththat fararming not only gener income, but helps create new values. i believe they are the future of the agricultural sector. >> reporter: for generations chunks of the countryside emptied as people were drawn to the bright lights of the big city. kim hopes to turn that on its head ushering in an era of poomasy. kim chan-ju, nhk world. >> the poomasy has three farm

villages, their produce makes it back to the city creating a cycle of sorts. traditionally the word applied to farmers helping each other out during busy times. but kim's efforts have been expandining its meaning by incorporating people from different areas and walks of life. next we go to thailand which produces a wide variety of tropical fruit. there's been a boom in recent years due to strong demand from china, but the coronavirus has made overseas distribution difficult. so farmers are turning to new sales and marketing strategies. >> reporter: thailand produces a wide variety of delicious fruits year-round. now is the best time to buy durians. but this year fruit exports are expected to shrink by about $3 billion. the cover the decline in the

overseas exports, the domestic market needs a boost, so the government teamed up with an e-commerce giant to create a virtrtual marketplace. fruits that sell on street stalls are just a click away. grab thailand is a popular ride hailing and food delivery app. it launched a campaign to help fruit farmers. on the online farmers market people can make direct orders from local food stalls and get home delivery. >> w we have 3 million members l over the placace, all over thailand, so this project we're not only aiming to sell in bangkok, we're expanding nationwide. >> reporter: in thailand's rural provinces, farmers are starting to enjoy the benefits of the digital trials. this woman runs an organic farm growing coconuts and durians. he's experiencing the worst

sales in her career. this year's income for her produce has dropped by a third compared to last year. to try and improve the situation, she has signed up for government-provided lex tours by popular online salespeople. she's learning about e-commerce and techniques to make online sales. >> translator: i'm planning the sell durians on facebook live. try telling your audieience to interact with you in the live comment and offer special prices for those who do. >> reporter: later that day while interacting with her viewers on a live stream, she put them to a test. she asked her customers to type the numbers that appeared on the weighed scale, the one that was quickest got durians at a special price. the 12 durians she had prepared sold out in half an hour.

>> translator: without the training, i didn't know what to do or say during my live streams. the lesson was very practical and the results were satisfying. >> reporter: can thai farmers struggling, the government came up with another idea to allow them to secure sales routes with foreign bubuyers by setting up preferential export channels.. govevernment o officials hosted online business matching events in which overseas buyers could place direct orders with t thai farmers. the officialsls were on hand to providee language assiststance. >> translalator: during the eve i g got to meett new buyers fro manyny countries such as france and india. it was a good opportunity to discover a new market. >> reporter: thai fruit farmers are discovering new business opportunities after taking their first steps into the e-commerce world. perhaps this will serve as a model for other sectors to

thrive in the face of the pandemic and beyond. nhk world, bangkok. online platforms are helping the traditional industry regain its footing. the government-led matching event has seen about 200 companies register including giants a alibaba and amazon. officials are planning to set up a new e-commerce department to further nurture this trend. moving on to australia, a local specialty there has been affected by the coronavirus, but that's not all. a natural disaster has also damaged the industry. it's now trying to recover from disruptions in both production and sales. >> reporter: hunter valley is known for its wine i. has been made here for nearly two centuries. today the valley is home to around 150 wineries. it's also a popular tourist destination.

>> there's a lot of variety of wines. we love it up here. we come up here every year or two. >> weave been samampling s some wines and stuff. it's beeeen lovely, yeah. >> reporter: however, hunter valley is now in an unprecedented crisis. large-scale bush fires broke out in surrounding areas from november last year. the smoke affected the grape's flavor. then came the coronavirus outbreak. restrictions have prevented tourists from visiting the area. around 80% of local businessess have beenn forced to implement full or partial closures. >> we've seen $160 million running loss. we're really conscious that it's going to be a long road to recovery here for the hunter valley. >> reporter: some people are getting creative to help hunter valleyrecoveve this winerery teamed up with a

didistilling company and bought over 50 tons of smoked taintnte grapes. red wine is made by crushing grapes together with their skins beforere being fermented. as the skins were tainted by smoke, the fermented liquid was distilled to get rid of the smell. this is what it turned into, a spirit with an alcohol content of 40%. 1,000 bottles were put on the market. another batch will be left in barrels to mature as brandy. >> it'ss just providing a different angle on what we can do. and it is about supportrting th grower. without grape growers, we don't have a wine industry. >> reporter: other wine producers are taking a different approach to survive the crisis. they have turned to the internet in a bid to connect with wine lovers who cannot visit due to the coronavirus. >> really light, bright, refreshing style of wine. >> reporter: a wine maker and a

guest sample several varieties and d discuss their aroma and flavor. the winery is receiving lots of positive responses and orders are flowing in. >> it's been good for us to be able to give and it's hopefully been good at the other end for our consumers. we're constantly thinking on working together, how can we build connections. >> reporter: the people in australia's oldest wine producing region are not taking the crisis sitting down. they are doing whatever it takes to revitalize their industry. komiya lisa, nhk world. calamities like pandemics and natural disasters are unpredictable. it seems farmers used to working with temperament weather conditions are resilient when it comes to facing these trials. agriculture is at the root of us

all. it feeds and sustains us. as the sector struggles with the coronavirus we as consumers might want to think about how we can return the favor. and that's all for today's "newline in depth." thanks for tuning in. anchor: what is making headlines

this hour. the united nations general assembly like none other. turned the annual gathering into a giant video conference. donald trump, vladimir putin, and xi j jinping all to make speeches in the hours ahead. in a 2015 terrorist attack on a jewish attack or in court today.