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hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. we start this hour in new york where the united nations is canceling all in-person general assembly committee meetings scheduled for tuesday. it comes after five people of a mission of a member state tested positive for the coronavirus. it's not immediately clear which member state is involved but the u.n. said it is conducting contact tracing. the cancelations likely mean the committee vote on a japan-sponsored resolution to abolish nuclear weapons will be postponed. most u.n. staff that operate out of the new york headquarters have been working remotely since march. but more people have been returning to the office since july. meanwhile, a top official at the world health organization is expressing concern about the latest surge of infections

sweeping across europe. >> we are seeing very, very high positivity rates and an increasing lack of capacity to do any effective form of contact tracing. >> the two countries with the highest number of infections are france and spain. both have recorded more than 1 million cases as of earlier this month. in response spain recently declared another state of emergency and several major cities across france have issued nighttime curfews. another top w.h.o. official is hopeful nationwide lock downs will not be necessary so long as everyone plays their part. >> what they will be able to do is kbrus the tools they have in hand with ample testing, with finding suspect cases. individuals who are sick to stake home. >> according to johns hopkins university in the u.s. there have been more than 43.5 million

global cases. over 1.1 million people have died. japan's cabinet has approved a draft bill aimed at providing a coronavirus vaccination free of charge, should one become available. it also covers the cost of any resultant health problems. the revision to the nation's vaccination law says municipalities will offer the injections. they will not be mandatory, but the public are urged to get one. the government has agreed to receive vaccines from two pharmaceutical firms, one in the u.s., the other in britain. both are in clinical trials. the cabinet approved a bill aimed at maintaining quarantine measures beyond next february for people testing positive entering japan. the government aims to pass both bills during the current diet session. japan has more than 98,000 confirmed coronavirus cases.

the death toll exceeds 1,700. a government report shows the number of suicides in japan fell to a record low last year, but it warns that suicides among young people have held steady and remain a serious concern. the white paper on suicide prevention was approved at a cabinet meeting on tuesday. it says 20,169 people took their own lives last year. more than 600 fewer than the previous year. the figure was the lowest since statistics became available. factors including better economic conditions contributed to the decrease. the report said the number of suicides among people under 20 has remained unchanged. suicide was the leading cause of death in each five-year age bracket from 15 through 39. police officials say the number of suicides has increased in each of the last three months of

this year compared to the same period in 2019. the increase was especially sharp among women, particularly those in their 30s or younger. the white paper warns that fallout from the coronavirus could lead to increased economic instability and called for efforts to mitigate the impact. ♪

japanese prime minister suga yoshihide has informed the united nations secretary general that the government pledges to cut carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. they discussed japan's target over the phone. the u.n.'s chief welcomed the prime minister's decision. japan's initial target was to cut emissions by 80% by 2050. suga said japan will lead global efforts to develop technologies in the run-up to the u.n. climate change conference next fall in scotland. the capabilities of japan's self-defense forces and the u.s. military can be used to defend the senkaku islands in the east

china sea. lieutenant general kevin schneider was speaking to reporters on monday aboard a maritime self-defense destroyer. he touched on a large-scale joint exercise that kicked off on the same day. he said the u.s. military and sdf are working to develop new and better ways to operate and further i understand great exercises like this one. he added such an exercise demonstrates the interoperability of the u.s.-japan alliance. >> our arrival today was simply to demonstrate the ability to transport a few people, but this same capability can and could be used to deliver combat troops to defend the senkakus or respond to other crises and contingencies. officials from japan's defense ministry view his remarks as a warning to china which has been stepping up its

activities in waters near the senkaku islands. japan controls the islands. the japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of japan's territory. he said his counted is 100% absolutely steadfast in its commitment to help the japanese government with the situation. now to another sign of rising tensions between washington and beijing. the trump administration has approved the potential sale of defense equipment worth as much as $2.37 billion to taiwan. congress was notified on monday about the proposed sale which includes up to 400 anti-ship harpoon missiles. a state department official told nhk the move is aimed at strengthens taiwan's defense capabilities. the official said the u.s. considers the security of taiwan

central to stability in the broader indo-pacific region. the announcement comes days after the administration authorized another proposed sale of weapons systems to taiwan orth about $1.8 billion. in resporcnse to that earlier announcement china said monday it would impose sanctions on u.s. firms and individuals involved in arms sales to taiwan. a state department spokesperson said in a statement that bay ying's reaction is entirely unacceptable. foreign ministry officials in taipei says washington has now approved four separate arms sales to taiwan this year. they say such deals are becoming the norm, helping their government to acquire needed defense equipment. in the united states the senate has approved amy coney barrett's appointment to the country's top court. lawmakers voted 52-48 in favor,

almost exclusively along party lines. barrett was sworn in at a large white house ceremony a short time later. >> the oath that i have solemnly taken tonight means at its core that i will do my job without any fear or favor, and that i will do so i understand dentedly of both the political branches and of my own preferences. >> the 48-year-old is the third supreme court justice chosen by president donald trump. she succeeds liberal justice ruth bader ginsburg who passed away last month. barrett's lifetime appointment cemets a 6-3 conservative majority on the bench. that can shift the court to the right on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and health care for years to come.

trump, who is trailing in the polls has made barrett's nomination part of his pitch to voters as he campaigns for a second term. democratic lawmakers were firmly opposed to holding the confirmation before election day. they argued the winner of the november 3rd vote should have picked the next supreme court justice. fighting between azerbaijan and armenia has continued despite three humanitarian cease-fire agreements in the past month. the death tolls released by the two former soviet republics total 1,076 including 102 civilians. the latest flare-up over the disputed nagorno-karabakh region began on september 27th. the enclave in azerbaijan is mainly populated by ethnic armenias. russia has negotiated a cease-fire to reieve bodies but the agreementquickly fell

apart. the united states brokered the latest one that took effect on monday. azerbaijan's second largest city 100 kilometers north has been hit by frequent shelling. >> translator: it was barbaric to attack sleeping children. the armenian forces should target their military counterparts, not civilians. >> russian president vladimir putin said last thursday that the actual number of fatalities is probably close to 5,000. russia has signaled that it will continue efforts to broker a truce. ♪

people in many places around japan that were hit by typhoons and storms are still struggling to rebuild their lives. last september, a typhoon ripped through a prefecture that neighbors tokyo. the typhoon left thousands of homes in chiba prefecture damaged. in our next story, we introduce a man who is repairing those houses. he's also trying to revitalize the area by creating handy products out of materials that were used to protect the wrecked structures. >> reporter: this constructer has been busy since last september when the typhoon hit chiba prefecture. his company is repairing more than 300 of the houses that were damaged. he and his workers fixed 80% of the roofs. they also removed the blue tarp that protected them. >> translator: you see the color has faded. >> reporter: the tarps are usually discarded after they are

used, but to fukuhara, they are trez yursz, not garbage, that's because they're tokens of the support that he received from people all over japan. he used social media to issue calls for help a year ago after the typhoon brought unprecedented destruction. the post was shared more than 3,000 times, and over 1,000 blue tarps were donated by individuals around japan. >> translator: we were so grateful for the warm support we received. we wanted to find a way to reuse the tarps instead of just disposing of them. >> reporter: fukuhara came up with an idea to create something from the tarps. his idea was to up-cycle them into tote bags. a map of the disaster hit area and products the region is famous for are displayed on the outer pockets. there's also evidence that the material was used to protect a roof.

local residents who lived through the disaster gathered this month and started making the bags. some of their homes have not yet been repaired. others have been forced to shut down their stores after the disaster. fukuhara hopes coming together in this space and working on the project will encourage the participants to persevere. >> translator: the volunteers helped us a lot, so i wanted to return the favor and express my gratitude, even if it's just in a small way. >> reporter: fukuhara and his team have been sending the bags to people who helped them. tanaka provided support by bringing blue tarps to people whose homes were damaged. >> translator: i'm so glad that the tarp i donated is being returned to me in this way. >> reporter: fukuhara has another reason for making these bags. he wants people to remember what

happened in the disaster-hit areas. repairs inside the homes continue even after the roofs have been fixed. he wants to repair as many houses as possible before winter comes. >> translator: i want to give the residents an opportunity to connect with one another by giving them a chance to make bags out of the tarps. i also want to revitalize our community. >> reporter: the bags will be sold to the public after fukuhara and his team send them to those who responded to his pleas for help. he also hopes the bags will increase awareness about natural disasters. in a change from the last several weeks, people in tokyo have been experiencing a spell of sunny weather this week. let's turn to our meteorologist sayaka mori for the details. >> weather was gloomy during the first half of autumn, but it's been a nice start to the second half. it's been sunny since saturday,

and it remained that way into thursday. the highs will be in the lower 20s. the gorgeous weather will continue at least for the next couple of days. it could be cloudy on friday. we might see light showers but it will be generally dry. on sunday the morning low will be in the single digits so bundle up. by the way, saturday is halloween and there will be a full moon on halloween for the first time in 46 years. it will be the second full month of the month. so let's enjoy watching the moon, too. meanwhile, we have been watching a new storm which made landfall in the philippines. the system is targeting vietnam. vietnam has experienced over 2,400 millimeters of rainfall. that's 85% of its annual rainfall and more rain is expected because the storm is expected to pound the country by late wednesday. meanwhile, the system is expected to dump copious amounts of heavy rain and will likely

head towards cam bode i don't and laos. meanwhile vietnam has been experiencing three storms approaching the country or making landfall in the country. molave could be the fourth. any rain is not welcomed. unfortunately more rain is expected. meanwhile it's been dry across southern california. a new blaze ignited in the south. take a look at this video. high winds have continued to cause problems for firefighters in southern california on monday. in orange county there was an evacuation order for tens of thousands of people because of fast-moving wildfire. two frefighters have been seriously injured. some of the power companies cut electricity as a preventive measures. more than 5,000 firefighters are on the ground dealing with 20 separate blazes. there's a critical risk of wildfires across the south and

north of california on tuesday. conditions will likely ease as we go into wednesday because winds are likely easing on the day, but we remain dry in the next fou days and temperatures in the mid 20s every day for the next several days. meanwhile, colorado springs will see temperatures climbing to the double digits into the latter half of this week. that's it for me. have a nice day. ♪

that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. thanks for watching, and do stay with us for more. ♪

the coronavirus pandemic has brought record losses to one of japan's major airline operators. ana holdings has announced it expects a group net loss of $4.8 billion for the year ending next march. the company says net loss for the half year through september amounted to a record $1.8 billion i. says the number of passengers on international routes dropped 96% and on domestic flights by 79%. the head of the holding company says the forecast is serious. >> translator: we're facing a very difficult fiscal year. we'll pursue efforts to make more profits and revenue in domestic, cargo and chartered flights which continue to do well. >> ana holdings will seek voluntary retirement, iplemen

an annual pay cut of 30% on average and get rid of more than 30 planes as part of restructuring plans. it plans to launch a new international low-cost carrier and promote tourism and product sales by tapping into customer data from its frequent flier program in order to boost revenues. this is "newsline biz." i'm gene otani. it expects to raise more than $34 billion. the company is an affiliate of e-commerce giant alibaba group i. announced initial public offering prices on monday. a listing is planned for both the shanghai and hong kong exchanges as soon as next week. the record for the largest ipo is currently held by oil giant saudi aramco which went public last year. its listing was worth over $29 billion.

the number of people using ant group's plan in china is believed to be around $900 million. they also offer online investing. the hong kong listing is scheduled for november 5th. it plans to list in shanghai the same day. japan's communications minister unveiled a plan that aims to super competition among mobile phone carriers, and it includes measures to make it easier for customers to switch to lower-priced companies. >> translator: by structuring a healthy market, i expect the domestic pricing level would get close to international standards. >> the ministry intends to launch a website by year end that will explain the procedures

for changing fee plans or service providers. it plans to draw up guidelines to promote technology in place of sim cards, and it calls for customers to be able to continue using their same e-mail carriers after changing companies. introducing drastic cuts in mobile phone charges was one of the signature policies of prime minister prime minister suga yoshihide when he took office. the results of next tuesday's u.s. presidential election will impact the current trade dispute with china. washington continues to tighten controls on high-tech industries from asia's biggest economy including huawei and tiktok. in the first on the three-part series on the lead up to the

world, nhk got some insight from the general manager of manabini research institute. he explains the relationship between the two countries will have to continue. >> the problem is that technology could used . >> the matter has led to intense competition. imamura says the world has to be prepared for the arrival of two separate economic systems. he says even if joe biden wins the presidential election, america's attitude toward china will not change.

>> reporter: at the same time he thinks a possible decoupling will be limited because the two companies still have a strong economic relationship which both consider very important. >> reporter: imamura warns that damage to the global value chain will hurt the international

economy. he warns it could push down to one percentage point. >> let's have a look at the markets.

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