india has not taken part in negotiations since november of last year. officials suggested the country may not want to be part of a free trade pact seen as hurting its domestic industries. the u.s. house leader and other top democrats are calling

on president donald trump to accept joe biden's win and move on. republicans continue to throw up roadblocks in the transition to power. >> stop the circus and get to work on what really matters to the american people, their health and their economic security. >> president trump has made few public comments since the election, but repeatedly publishes claims of election fraud on twitter. his camp has also filed a number of legal challenges, but no states have overturned results. even some republicans are now calling on president trump to break the impasse. they want his administration to grant biden access to the daily intelligence briefings normally given to a president-elect. while biden has received no help from the state department, he continues to arrange calls with world leaders, most recently connecting with the pope. now let's go over to nhk

world's catherine kobayashi in new york. so the drama continues, catherine. but a lot of people do want to move on, right? >> that's right. like all of us, foreign leaders watched all the twists of the election to see which way this country might turn. under president trump, allies and rivals alike, often wondered what's next? now they're looking toward the biden administration and asking what now? for more on this, we're joined by daniel russell, he helped formulate president obama's strategic rebalance to the asia-pacific region and now with the asian society policy institute. mr. russell, thank you very much for joining us. now, the u.s. and china have had a fractious relationship of late. how do you see that changing? >> well, catherine, first bear in mind that the underlying problems in the relationship aren't going to disappr. the u.s. president will change, his approach will change. but that doesn't mean that xi jinping is going to change or

china's behavior is going to change. i think there are three things that we should expect in the u.s. approach. the biggest difference, frankly, is going to be simply having a coherent and consistent u.s. government strategy, you know, we're not going to have tweets by the president that suddenly contradict what his cabinet secretaries are saying and doing. the second i think is going to be a focus on getting real results. you know,iden is not going to be bought off by chinese promises and flattery. the trump administration did a lot of yelling about china, but they didn't really fix the problems. and they didn't do much to prevent the problems from getting worse in hong kong or the senkakus. so i've seen joe biden as vice president in meetings with chinese leaders. and he's tough. so they're going to know where he stands. they're going to know that he really means what he says.

i think the third change frankly is biden is going to focus on strengthening america's partnerships with close allies and democracies like japan. he's not going to follow an america alone, america first policy. >> i see. well, relations with north korea ran the gamete under president trump from the threat of war to sitting down with kim jong-un. what now for the korean peninsula? >> well, look, this is a very, very difficult problem, and it's a serious threat that has been faced by a succession of administrations. but i can tell you what biden presidency won't do. he's not going to be sending love notes to kim jong-. he's certainly not going to turn a blind eye when north korea

fires ballistic missiles into the sea of japan. he's not going to talk about withdrawing u.s. troops from korea or japan the way that president trump wanted to. but neither is he going to make reckless threats of nuclear fire and fury either. my guess is that there will be three elements to a biden approach, basically. defense, deterrence, but also diplomacy. and by diplomacy i mean first, close diplomatic coordination th tokyo, with seoul. he made tt very clear in his telephone conversation yesterday with prime minister suga. i think he'll make an effort with beijing, as well. although that's not going to be easy. whether there can be diplomacy with north korea, you know, that really depends on kim jong-un. biden indicated he's willing to

negotiate, but he's a very experienced leader. biden has been around, and he's not going to get manipulated or fooled the way that his predecessor was in singapore. >> lots to consider here, mr. russell. thank you for being with us. >> my pleasure. >> we'll be keeping an eye on these developments and others in the transition over the coming days and weeks. the united nations says more than 7,000 ethiopians fled the fighting in the northern region to neighboring sudan. the ethiopian prime minister ordered a military offensive against the ethnic forces after they allegedly attacked a government base on november 4th.

at least 500 are believed to have died. the international community has been urging abi, a nobel peace prize laureate, to settle the conflict through dialogue but the fighting has been escalating amid reports more air strikes. on wednesday, the office of the u.n. high commissioner for refugees expressed concern over the worsening humanitarian situation. it noted that the number of ethiopian refugees is likely to rise sharply. the african-american chair person issued a statement calling for an immediate cease-fire and the proteion of civilian he also suggested that the au is willin to mediate talks between the two sides. the coronavirus pandemic has prompted millions of people to work from home. here in japan, this new way of working is attracting a growing number of cyberattacks. in april, teachers at this high

school received a blackmail message written in english. it says all your files were encrypted. the teachers later found they could not open any personal data on students on the school server. the incident appears to have been typical ransomware attack. the school did not contact the attackers. >> we took that approach because we were concerned that we would be exploited further if they knew they had caused us trouble. >> the data has yet to be restored. experts say the cyber attacks were carried out on a remote desk top. a cybersecurity firm carried out an experiment using a remote desk top with empty data. 80 seconds later, the first access was observed.

>> and in two days, it was accessed nearly 14,000 times from around 30 countries, including india, vietnam and the united states. >> translator: that was far more than i had expected. the perpetrators will attack if they see any chance. >> a survey shows the number of servers receiving unauthorized access last month was 60% higher than it was before the pandemic. experts are urging users to strengthen their cybersecurity, especially by setting stronger passwords for logins. let's check out the world weather with our meteorologist yoko. we're seeing the busiest typhoon season in southeast asia this year, and again, the philippines has been battered by another typhoon. >> yes. heavy rain persists across luzon as the storm system moves away

from the area. however, more heavy rainfall is expected across the area over the weekend. this is the fifth storm to impact the country in just over three weeks. flood watches are issued for the eastern side of luzon, including metro manila. these areas had over 250 millimeters of rainfall or more from the storm. gusts reached 150 kilometers per hour, including some devastating conditions. let's look at a video of what happened over there. people in the northeast philippines fled their homes as the rivers flooded on thursday. rescuers were seen people evacuating from hard-hit areas. the typhoon caused widespread power cuts, leaving many without internet connection and lights. mudslides were reported in over 30 villages since wednesday. conditions will improve in luzon as the storm system moves away

from the area. however, people in central and in northern vietnam may be facing potentially dangerous weather over the weekend. as you may remember, a series of devastating storms hit the same locations since october. the central portions of vietnam have had more than three meters of rainfall. unfortunately, this storm will likely take a similar path and bring more heavy rainfall. showers in manila going into friday and heavy rain is expected in da nang once again as we go into the weekend. in the u.s., tropical storm eta is skirting the mid-atlantic coast, bringing downpours. parts of north carolina saw 150 millimeters of rainfall on thursday, causing some floods. winds are still producing dangerous high waves. at the same time, a cold front will push into the area with the possibility of severe thunderstorms. that will produce more heavy

rainfall and strong gusts on friday. further flooding is the main threat. wet weather is expected on the u.s. seaboard as we go into friday. that's all for now. stay safe.

that's nhk "newsline" for this hour. i'm yamamoto miki in tokyo. thanks for staying with us. ♪ welcome to "newsline in depth." i'm yanaka marie. people around the world are struggling due to covid-19. in today's program, we look at some of the less visible impacts of the pandemic and how restrictions on ordinary social activities are harming those two are already vulnerable. we start in japan. one of the world's most rapidly aging societies.

more than 3.5 million elderly people receive nursing care in their homes. when the coronavirus strikes, it can leave those who need care without help. sometimes even without family. >> translator: this 90-year-old woman suffers from demin cha and needs regular care. the pandemic changed her life drastically. until april, he was living at home in tokyo with her two elderly sisters who took care of her. when both sisters contracted the virus and were hospitalized, she found herself alone for a short time. her brother, who lives separately, became understandably worried. >> translator: she could have died alone, without anyone noticing what was going on. it's absolutely terrifying.

>> this woman has been friends with the three sisters for six decades. she visited the home after the younger siblings were hospitalized. >> translator: there were dirty dishes in the sink. it seemed like they were expecting to come back soon. there was even a thermometer left out, still showing a high temperature someone had measured. >> when the care manager learned of the situation, she immediately began searching for a nursing home. every facility she contacted rejected the woman because she had been in close contact with infected people. even the local government said there was nothing that could be done. the woman can't eat or take her

medication on her own. she was temporarily admitted to hospital as no nursing home would accept her. that's when the situation took a turn for the worse. the condition of her two sisters changed and they both died suddenly. to make matters worse, the woman had contracted the virus as well and had to spend two months recovering. losing her sisters meant she could no longer go back to her previous life. her brother searched for a nursing home where she could stay after leaving hospital. but not one would accept her. >> translator: it's absotely hopeless. no one will accept her because the staff are worried about looking after people who have recovered from the virus. >> finally, she was admitted to another hospital. but it was more than 150

kilometers from home. >> at last, a nursing home was found for the woman. the search took two months. >> translator: if it wasn't for the pandemic, my three sisters would have still been living together. and she wouldn't have to be alone. it's very frustrating. no one should have to go through this. >> some local governments are taking steps to tackle this kind of issue. in osaka prefecture, the government has been renting hotel rooms for elderly people in need of care. that's not all. >> translator: this is a room for the staff who look after the

patients. >> as well as providing rooms for the elderly, the government rents rooms for caregivers and a room for helpers and nurses to put on and take off their protective clothing. the city hired a taxi company to provide vehicles for staff members who have been in close contact with patients. now they can get to and from work without worry. >> translator: we are doing our best to provide long-term support for elderly people who have been left alone. we have been renting hotel rooms so we can provide care 24 hours a day. our next report takes us to a foster home in malaysia. before the pandemic, it depended on donations from overseas. but after travel restrictions

cut off those funds, it is finding new solutions. >> economic development is lagging behind in this city, on this malaysian island. there are countless children living on the streets. a facility founded by malaysian and japanese people in 2008 is saving children from becoming homeless or abandoned. ten children between the ages of 8 and 17 are living there now. the home is run by abe. he first came to borneo in 2004 with the japan overseas cooperation volunteers. >> translator: i thought it would be wonderful if i could save the life of one child during my lifetime. that was the start of everything. >> reporter: but the day-to-day running of the home has been

seriously hampered by the coronavirus pandemic. it costs $94,000 a year to run the home. 60% of that is usually covered by japanese university students who pay fees to join programs on the island. they have not been able to come this year due to travel restrictions on foreign nationals. the home could not afford to replace the staff who left this year. it could not accept children it planned to take in. >> translator: there will be nothing we can do if this situation continues through next year. >> the home is working to survive the crisis together with its children and locals. this is a resident who aims to become a cook. he and the other children decided to take over duties of

preparing their meals. >> translator: it's sometimes hard. but i'm glad i can do something. >> they are growing food on the grounds. some of it is sold at a local shop with the proceeds going to school fees. more people in the area are lending a helping hand at the facility, doing things like donating food. >> translator: i have heard about the hard times the home is going through. i'm bringing them as much fish as i can get. >> people are taking care of the home because they are concerned about the future of the kids. we have to carry on here no matter what happens with the pandemic. >> there's growing momentum to

have the home and donations from malaysia and japan. >> we hear they are just enough. although money is tight, the camaraderie has improved and has relationship with the children has deepened because he's spending more time with them. the spread of covid-19 has been tough on women. indonesia, with the world's fourth largest population, is struggling with unwanted pregnancies, which already number in the hundreds of thousands each year. >> obstetricians in the hospital in jakarta say that since the outbreak started, they have seen a surge in pregnant women coming in for exams.

>> translator: the number of expectant mothers has increased by 30% to 40% since march. >> the government says one reason for the jump is a failure to deliver free contraceptives to low-income families. as part of the country's family planning effort, local clinics provide free contraceptive to residents. since the onset of the pandemic, people have been avoiding coming to hospital to receive them out of fear being infected. another factor behind the increased pregnancies is the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. more than 3 million indonesians have been thrown out of work. the experts say if the

unemployed spend more time at home, pregnancies will increase. >> translator: unintended pregnancies occur too close to the previous delivery. the risk of consequences increases such as a delay in the growth of newborns. >> to address the issue, the government has begun to help 75,000 households. mid wives and health workers are visited the families to distribute the free birth control device and provide health care advice. >> officials say the number of unintended pregnancies could

reach 400,000. indonesian women are facing a new challenge to their health while dealing with the hardship of the pandemic. although midwives continue their visits, it seems some local governments are less than cooperative in promoting birth control. the national government is struggling with its efforts. family planning during pandemic has been getting attention in the african country of uganda. the government and the u.n. population fund are working with a motorcycle ride hailing app together with financial backing from sweden. the project delivers reconstructive and other health supplies, including contraceptives and pregnancy tests. in the air oi of covid-19, our connection with each other is one of the best tools we have

to limit the potential damage. by keeping an eye out for those struggling and speaking up, we can achieve positive results in an ever changing world. that's all for today's "newsline in depth." thanks for watching the program.

>> protest any of the caribbean capital against the former president over corruption allegations. ♪ you are watching al jazeera live from our headquarters. coming up, ethiopia's prime minister declares victory in a security operation in the north which has left hundreds of people dead and thousands displaced. >> the republicans should stop their shenanigans about an election president trump has already lost. >> democratic party leaders asked republicans to help with the transition of power amid