hello, and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara. ukrainians are struggling through one of the worst power outages in the nine months since russians began their invasion. much of the capital is without running water, light or heat. and the military is rushing to recapture territory before the winter cold sets in. energy officials are working to get nuclear power stations back online. they shut them down amidst a russian barrage that killed ten

people and injured 36 others. missile strikes have plunged this hospital into darkness. power to the elevators was knocked out, so workers had to carry this 13-year-old boy up six flights of stairs to the operating room. surgeons worked under dim emergency lighting to save him by amputating his injured hand. >> translator: russians are not humans. you can't even call them animals because animals take care of their own. they shoot at civilians, at children. >> in the southernegion of zaporizhzhia, an attack reduced a maternity hospital to little more than rubble. the youngest victim was just two days old. >> translator: my daughter was pulled out from under the rubble, but her baby was dead. >> the attacks on civilian

infrastructure have sparked widespread condemnation. members of the european parliament adopted a resolution designating russia as a state sponsor of terrorism saying moscow violated international law. the powerful sister of north korean leader kim jong un is lashing out against the south. she's reacting to threat of more sanctions and says they would add fuel to her country's anger. the statement from kim is in response to comments from the south crkorean foreign ministry. seoul is considering sanctions if the north conducts a major provocation like a nuclear test. kim called the south a faithful dog of the united states, and warned against the measures. she also hurled insults at south korean president yoon suk-yeol who's been boosting the alliance

with the u.s. she called yoon and his aides idiots. she said the south had not been a target under moon jane. he was un's liberal predecessor and sought reck sreconciliation with north korea. it said pyongyang is trying to blame seoul for the current tensions on the korean peninsula despite the north's repeated missile launches. shanghai disneyland is set to reopen on friday after daily coronavirus infections in china hit a new high this week. shanghai disney resort says it will open the amusement park while strictly following pandemic control measures. it has been closed since late october in order to prevent infections. the operator says some attractions may not be available. it says all guests must show negative results of tests taken

within 48 hours. the announcement comes as china reported about 29,000 new cases on wednesday. the figure tops the daily record marked in april when shanghai was put under lockdown. the chinese government aims to revive economic activity. it eased some of its severe anticoronavirus restrictions earlier this month, but the authorities have made clear they will maintain the zero covid policy. businesses in china face the difficult balancing act of operating amid tough infection prevention measures. employees at the world's largest iphone assembly plant are protesting over their pay and working conditions. the factory in china's hue nan province is owned by taiwanese tech giant foxcon.

videos published by reuters news agency show workers smashing windows and surveillance cameras. they also show a confrontation between protesters and what wearing white protecte suits. the plant h been impacted by china's strict zero covid policies. media reports say foxcon quadrupled daily bonuses to about $55 a day to keep its work force, but the protesters say they doubt they will receive the money. they have also accused the company of failing to protect them from covid-19 infection. the unrest could have a big impact on apple just ahead of the holiday shopping season. earlier this month, the tech giant announced that shipments of its newest iphone model would likely be delayed due to a plunge in production at the plant. emergency crews in indonesia are running out of time in their

search for survivors of an earthquake. still, they've managed to rescue a 6-year-old boy. the magnitude 5.6 quake struck on monday in west java province. the national disaster agency has confirmed 271 deaths. 40 people are reported missing. about 2,000 people were injured. the agency says the boy was rescued on wednesday. his cousin says he thinks the boy was watching tv when the quake hit. he said there were five people in the house including the boy but only three survived. at the largest hospital, medical staff treated patients outdoors due to cracks in the walls and other structural damage. >> translator: we are transferring people who are seriously injured to other medical facilities because we

can't risk carrying out operations given the continuous tremors. >> authorities believe many people were caught in landslides triggered by the quake. rescue efforts have been hampered. officials can't send heavy machinery due to after shocks and rain. about 170 quakes have occurred following the initial one. more than 200 lawyers across japan have teamed up to help victims of the religious group that used to be called the unification church. the church stands accused of pressing followers to make huge donations. it's also accused of pushing them to buy religious items for vastly inflated prices. legal support centers across japan have received a slew of reports from victims. the lawyers who have teamed up to help say at least 300 cases

are waiting for a legal response. >> translator: we'll make our utmost effort to undo the harm to victims as a nationwide unified and collective defense team. >> the group of lawyers plan to assign members to each prefectural bar association. when they're sure the former unification church has harmed someone, they will negotiate with it as a group. they say they may consider lawsuits if negotiations do not lead to a resolution. japan's prime minister has responded to a magazine article that uncovered a potential election law violation. kishida fumio admitted what he call inadequacies. looking into submitted expenditures for kishida's campaign to retain his seat in last year's lower house

election. it said more than 90 attached receipts had no detail about who paid and what for. >> translator: the purpose of these expenditures was outlined within the report but the details were not brwritten on se of the attached receipts. >> kishida says he will consult with election authorities and consider revising the submission. a top health expert in japan says he's concerned about the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country. the covid-19 vaccine booster uptake is low, immunity is waning and there are new variants to deal with. as we hear in this next report, a potential twindemic could make things even worse. >> reporter: medical masks were still the most popular face covering, but for many halloween in japan this year felt like a

return to normal. lots of frights. it was roughly the start of the 8th wave of covid-19. >> the autumn season, the peop's aivity has retalized. they might have their friends and colleagues trave a lot, and that might have increased, you know, high risk exposure. >> reporter: japan went through the pandemic with relatively few cases until this year. the massive wave in the summer dwindled, the cases and deaths are on the rise again. dr. omagari norio says that's in part because of new variants and waning immunity. new boosters were introduced in september to address that, but only about 13% of the population has received it so far. omagari says some people are less fearful of getting covid-19 now, and they also worry about th potential fever and other

short-term side effects that come fm the shot. japan plans to introduce a new treatment option next month to help those infected. it approved its first domestic oral covid-19 drug. the only one that people with mild cases and who are at a low risk of developing severe symptoms are allowed to receive. omagari says it will fill a gap among those needing help. >> many young people suffered from the covid-19 and it's prevented even drinking water. >> another concern lies with another virus that's spreading, the flu. it has the potential of causing a so-called twindemic. japan has not had many flu cases over the past couple of years, meaning there is less immunity in the population. while cases are not significantly increasing yet, ohmagari expects a rise in the coming weeks. >> when we experience a surge of

the cases of covid-19, it's put a very b burden on the health care system and society in general. but if we have, you know, the surge of the cases oinfluenza on top of that, that means that we have another, you know, additional burden. >> reporter: ohmagari says with the border being open again, there is an increased risk of coronavirus variants to appear. he recommends people get their booster shot as soon as they can. in the world cup, japan pulled off its biggest upset since first appearing until the tournament back in 1998. the samurai blue came from behind in wednesday's group e clash to defeat four-time champion germany 2-1. germany seemed to be paving a path to victory.

putting their team ahead in the 33rd minute after japan goal keeper conceded a penalty. in japan, many fans stayed up late to watch the match. japan coach moriyasu hajime determined a more aggressive attack was needed. he put on five substitutes and two found the back of the net. doan ritsu rebound in the 75th minute, four minutes after coming off the bench.

smashing home the winner agent minutes later. doan and asano play in the

bundesliga. >> before the match, the german players posed for a team photo with their hands over their mouths. the gesture followed over fifa's threat to players wearing the one love arm band representing inclusion and diversity. for the first time ever, female referees are making calls on the sidelines of men's world cup soccer. the three come from france, ri wanda, and japan. hitting the pitch in qatar on wednesday for a match between belgium and canada. she was also the first woman to referee for japan's j league and the asian champion's league. officials with soccer governing body fifa say the female referees will face no cultural or religious restrictions. the remarks come amid growing criticism of the host nation's

position on human rights. officials scoffed at the suggestions the women are there as a publicity stunt, saying all three deserve their place. and now here's your three-day world weather forecast. ♪ ♪ salesmen

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

♪ ♪ this is "newsline biz," i'm gene otani. mitsubishi ufj financial group is planning to buy two subsidiaries of a consumer finance group. one unit is based in the philippines, the other in indonesia. both provide at-based consumer loans. the subsidiaries are part of home credit group based in the netherlands. the acquisition is worth about 600 million euro or roughly $620 million. the japanese mega bank hopes to

complete the buyout by june next year. customers of the home credit companies use their ceremonies -- smartphones to take out loans. the app handles applications to final payments. hoping the acquisition will help growing demand from middle crlas consumers. japanese financial firms are increasingly looking to southeast asia ultra low interest rates at home have led to lower profits at their domestic operations. mazda motor has unveiled ambitious plans to accelerate its shift to electric vehicles. the japanese auto maker says they will invest about 1 1/2 trillion yen or about $11 billion by 2030 to develop and produce evs. they estimate electric vehicles will account for up to 40% of new cars sold worldwide at the end of a decade.

that's up from their previous projection of 25%. the investment will include partnerships with suppliers. the officials at mazda has reached an agreement with chinese battery maker envision aesc to purchase its products, and unveiled a plan to work to develop advanced technologies. drone developers in japan are coming up with ways to fly their craft into places that used to be extremely hard to reach. the new inventions can provide maintenance for infrastructure in difficult locations without the need for human labor. start up blue innovations is working with tokyo electric power company to develop ways to inspect power lines. the drones previously had difficulty operating near such lines because of the high electro magnetic waves. blue innovation has developed a technology to identify the locations of the lines, then

have their drones automatically fly in without the need for a manual controller. the company's president says a shortage of workers has made it difficult to maintain ageing infrastructure. he says drones can play a key role to address that issue. >> translator: demand for labor to inspect infrastructure is rising like never before. robotics is the way to meet that demand. we seem to be in the right business. >> drones are not only at work in the skies. they have taken on some difficult tasks underground as well. drone maker acsl offers a service to inspect the insides of sewage pipes after stabilizing radio communications in closed spaces. japanese oil companies are stepping up efforts to produce sustainable aviation fuel or saf. the goal is to help airlines cut

greenhouse gas emissions in the years ahead. saf is made from used cooking oil or plant based materials. it emits 80% less carbon dioxide than conventional fuel. the major refiner kosomo oil set up a company to produce saf with jgc holders and others. the production facility will be built in osaka, western japan. operations are planned to begin in around two years. jgc holdings is collaborating with the real estate developer, mi estate. they plan to collect used cooking oil from tenants in central tokyo. eneos has teamed up with total energy of france. they aim to start making saf from around 2025 and idemitsu plans to make jet fuel the following year. the government has set a target of having airlines replace 10% of their aviation fuel with saf

by the end of the decade. but saf can cost anywhere from two to ten times more than conventional fuel so there is a long way to go to find efficient ways to get raw materials and cut costs. a natural fiber is getting a lot of attention as using sustainable resources becomes increasingly important in the fashion industry. the material is called kapok, and it's an alternative to down or cotton for jackets. >>. >> shoppers are selecting outer wear in preparation for winter. most cost upwards of $300, but some customers buy several pieces at once. >> it's light, so light, i wonder whether it will be warm enough in winter. >> i love that it's warm and

stylish. >> the reason for its popularity can be found inside the jacket. it i atton-lik natural kak tree, wch is indigous tropica are ofsia and africa. the fibers are hollow, which makes them about eight times lighter than cotton. despite the lighter weight, there is excellent heat retention. it is said to be able to maintain the same temperature as a down coat. there are big draws for companies. kapok production uses much less water than cotton production, and doesn't involve animals. >> it's not necessary to cut down the trees by using the seed pods that are harvested each year, we can manufacture light weight, warm coats and build a scenab sustainable brand. >> indonesia has more kapok

trees than any other country. there are high hopes that renewed use of the material will create jobs and economic growth. a lot of high quality indonesian ka p, kapok is brought up by the netherlands based company. it creates yarn and fabric and sells to companies and textile trading houses around the globe. >> we always blend kapok with other fibers and kapok with cotton, people use a lot of polyester that can be easily changed to a kapok fiber. >> with demand for the fiber expected to grow, there is a drive to plant more kapok trees with farmers. working with various clients to fund the project. the first stage is planting

100,000 sap lings in indonesia. each will produce 300 seed pods a year. there are efforts to reduce the production framework. farmers in one village didn't see the value and allowed the seed pods to fall to the ground, damaging their quality, but now the farmers have motivation not to let kapok go to waste, as flocus pays twice the going rate. >> i used to think that the seed pods were worthless and would throw them away. now i am hoping my harvest will increase. >> the new factory to process kapok is scheduled to open by the end of the year, and that will raise demand even more. >> we think the textile market is so big that we have to plant in more countries. we have to build an infrastructure in more countries. >> with natural sustainability backed by passionate innovators,

kapok has a growing presence in the fashion industry. all right. let's have a look at the markets.

and for the "newsline biz" team in tokyo, i'm gene otani. thanks for being with us.

>> here are our top stories. rescuers in indonesia are continuing a search for survivors after a powerful earthquake struck west java on monday. 268 people died many of them were children. >> on behalf of myself and the government of indonesia, i would like to ask her my deepest console and is -- condolences of the earthquake that hit strabo -- west java province.