hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. we begin in eastern ukraine. russian forces claim they're on the verge of capturing the key city of bakhmut. fighters with the wagner gro private military company have been spearheading the assault. cnn and reuters news agency, they were able to confirm a video released by wagnerppears to show its mercenaries just 2 kilometersrom the city center. ukrainian field hospitals nearby

have been inundated with soldiers wounded in the fight to hold bakhmut. u.s. institute for the study of war say troops appear to be focusing the offensive in one part of the city to force the ukrainians to retreat. earlier this week, ukraine official told cnn a strategic withdraw is on the table. many civilians living in the area are fleeing for safety as fighting heats up. >> translator: i had a home in bakhmut, but it's gone now. i worked all my life to pay for it. >> translator: we stayed as long as we could, but we have no choice. our neighbor's apartment was destroyed. it's time to go. >> meanwhile, the u.s.-based center for strategic and international studies has reported a grim milestone. it estimates between 60,000 to 70,000 russians died or went missing over the last year. that's more than the combined number of all russians killed i

any conflict since the end of world war ii. moscow's official number of combat deaths stands at just under 6,000, which it hasn't updated since last september. foreign ministers from the quad nations of japan, the united states, australia and india agreed on the need for comprehensive and lasting peace in ukraine, in line with international law. they said use or threat of using nuclear weapons were inadmissible. the top diplomats met on friday in india. their one-hour meeting followed the group of 24 ministerial talks which ended on the previous day. their joint statement reaffirmed their stance against any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force. they also confirmed they'll actively engage in international governmental negotiations on reforming the united nations security council. the ministers stressed the importance of compliance with

international law regarding china's increasing maritime activity in the east and south china sea s. they condemned north kea for its repeated launches of ballistic missiles and agreed to work together to realize a nuclear-free korean peninsula. >> the proposition that virtually none of the challenges our people are facing and people around the world are facing can be effectively dealt with by any one country acting alone. >> they also pledged to provide support for anti-terror and disaster response measures to island nations in the region, toward the goal of realizing a free and open indo-pacific. meanwhile, russia's defense ministry says one of its submarines has successfully test fired a cruise missile from the sea of japan. the ministry announced on friday that the diesel-powered sub launched a missile during an exercise. a video released by the ministry

shows the submarine leaving t far east and firing the missile from the sea. the ministry say the missile hit the designated targ eet in training field more than 1,000 kilometers away. the russian military has used missiles to attack infrastructure in ukraine. the latest drill is believed to have been intended as a warning to the united states and japan which are opposed to russia's invasion of ukraine. the u.s. and south korean militaries say they'll conduct regular joint exercises this month. the drills come amid mounting concern over north korea's provocations, including recent missile launches. officials from the two militaries said on friday that the freedom shield exercises will run for 11 days starting on march 13th. they said the drills will be based on a scenario that reflects north korea's

accelerated nuclear and missile programs and a changing securit environment. large-scale field drills, including amphibious landings, are scheduled. a spokesperson for the south korean military's joint chiefs of staff noted that adapting the drills to local situations will enhance the two sides' ability to conduct combined operations. officials disclosed on thursday that south korea's top military officer had observed a joint drill. it involved commandos conducting an operation in assumed enemy territory. the two militaries stressed that they are prepared to answer any threat from north korea. pyongyang has criticized the planned exercises, saying that carrying them out could be regarded as a declaration of war.

china's communist party members are set to meet in beijing starting sunday for the national peoples congress. major policies and key posts will be announced, offering a sense of direction for the next 12 months. for more on what to expect, kanako sako spoke with our beijing correspondent, nakamura genta. >> members of the party's top leadership wereargely replaced at last year's party congress. what are you forecasting this time? >> reporter: well, kanako, i'm expecting the biggest government reshuffle in a decade. it'll be more as president xi jinping tries to further tighten his grip on power. the spotlight is on li qiang, the party's second highest official and a close ally to xi. he is widely expected to become china's premier.

li keqiang held the position for ten years and has been at odds with xi. xi secured another term as communist party leader last year. this weekend, it is all but confirmed he wl also get a third term as the country's presiden >> china's economic growth has been slowing. do you think it'll be a big topic during the gathering? >> reporter: yes. xi is especially focused on turning the tide on that. part of the slowdown over the years, what's due to china's strict zero covid policy. experts say it is because xi prioritized politics over economi economists. that includes stopping investment by chinese companies and putting severe restrictions on the education industry. the slower the economy, the greater the public dissatisfaction. so the new leadership is going that want to assure chinese that

things will get better. >> there are allegations in europe and the united states about china's intentions to provide weapons to russia. what kind of policies will china come up with in regard to relations with russia and the u.s.? >> c >> reporter: china claims it's not sold any weapons and maintains its stance of what it calls peace negotiations. but it would not change its policies to politically support russia because china thinks it is in a severe and long-term confrontation with the u.s. i think the tension between the two countries will continue partly because xi's administration wants to show chinese that xi is strong enough to confront the u.s., which his administration thinks is trying to stifle china's development. so we should pay attention to what narrative beijing will

choose to explain its foreign policy during the congress. gunmen have attacked a supermarket in argentina owned by soccer superstar lionel messi's in-laws. a threatening message for the 35-year-old was left on the shop door. media reports say two men on motorcycles fired more than ten shots at the supermarket in rosario on thursday morning. nobody was injured in the attack. they left a handwritten note there saying, "messi, we're waiting for you." the gunmen is said to have links to drug traffickers. argentina's president has urged the city's mayor to tackle the increasing crime there. messi led the country's national

team to the first world cup title in 36 years in qatar last year, and the incident targeting the superstar has shocked the nation. the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention is easing concerns over two recent bird flu cases in cambodia. it says there are no signs the virus was transmitted from person to person. an 11-year-old girl and her father tested positive for the h5n1 virus last month. the child died in hospital while her father recovered. the infections were reported amid a global surge of deadly bird flu cases in animals. it's raised fears of potential risks if it spreads among humans. the cdc says data from cambodian medical workers suggests the girl and her father were infected by the family's domesticated poultry. there's no signs of a

drug-resistant variant of the flu. the cdc and the world health organization say they're closely monitoring the spread of bird flu worldwide. when a person is diagnosed with dementia, the symptoms don't just impact the sufferer, they have a profound impact on their loved ones who watch as shared moments fade from memory. but in this next report, we can see how music can have the power to bring them back. ♪ >> reporter: a traditional chinese stringed instrument can produce a range of tones with two strings. zhao plays this instrument. he lives in kochi city, southwest japan, with his wife, takechi akiko, who suffers from dement dementia. the two first met when they performed in a chinese theater

company. zhao played music and akiko was the lead actor. >> translator: i come to her and we rehearse together. we had a lot of fun. >> reporter: akiko was a japanese orphan left behind in china in world war ii. in 1989, the couple moved to japan to search for her biological parents. however, over the past five years, her dementia has worsened. now, she doesn't laugh or talk as much as she used to. these days, they rarely share their love of performing together, but zhao is unable to left go of memories of happier times. ♪ this music has always been woven through their lives. zhao has decided to play her a special song to boost her spirits on an important

anniversary. >> translator: i'll be content if akiko is simply happy every day. this is my hope. >> reporter: today is their 60th wedding anniversary. zhao performs the piece he wrote for his wife. he composed the piece as he r reminisced about the times they performed together on stage. ♪ as she listens, akiko looks at photos of zhao performing.

>> reporter: it was akiko's first smile in a long time. it brought zhao a sense of joy. and he dreams of a day when, once again, akiko will be able to sing and dance as he plays his music. it's time for a look at world weather with our meteorologist sayaka mori. a couple of days after a powerful cyclone hit vanuatu, another storm is on its way there. sayaka has the latest. >> hello there. vanuatu has been dealing with back-to-back cyclones. earlier this week, cyclone named judy hit almost all of the

country. then, right now seeing kevin starting to hit the country. take a look at this video. this is the damage caused by the first cyclone. judy hit vanuatu on wednesday as a category 4 cyclone. video uploaded on social media captured scenes of heavy rains and gusty winds in the capital city. the storm uprooted trees and forced people to evacuate. now, we have kevin which is now following judy. it's now a category 3. it could intensify to a category 4, so is additional rain and destructive winds will batter vanuatu. in fact, on friday morning, an earthquake hit the northern areas of the country. now, in north america, there is a long line of severe thunderstorms. on thursday, there were a total of six reports of tornadoes in the southern plains, and then large hail was also reported. on friday, the risk for severe weather will be shifting toward the east. there will be a risk for severe

thunderstorms for much of the eastern united states, with kentucky and tennessee having the higher threat. let's go to the south. heat has been gripping many places of argentina. in fact, parts of the country have 40 degrees. buenos aires, 39.1 degrees, making it the hottest march day on record. warm conditions will likely ease as we go into the weekend. tokyo had a cooldown on friday, and on sunday, the tokyo marathon will be taking place. 14 degrees for the high. that could be a little warmer compared to ideal conditions for runners, but it is going to be sunny with some cloudy conditions. that's it for me. stay safe. ♪

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

♪ this is "newsline biz." i'm gene otani. households in tokyo can take some comfort from data showing inflation in japan's capital has eased for the first time in more than a year. the change was largely the result of government stimulus. government officials say consumer prices for everything except fresh foods rose by 3.3% in february year on year. that's a sharp decline from nuary when inflation was one point higher at 4.3%. the drop rlects the impact of

government subsidies for household energy use, which caused electricity bills to fall by 1.7%. that's the first decline since july 2021. gas bills were more than 20% higher, but that was still down from january. the cost of food continues to be a source of concern. prices of non-fresh foods shot up by 7.8%. that's the biggest increase since 1976. japan's jobless rate hit almost a three-year low in january as the economy enjoys a rebound from the effects of the pandemic. the seasonally adjusted rate inched down 0.1 of a point to 2.4%. the internal affairs ministry said friday that nearly 67 million people were employed in january. that's up 433,000 from the same month last year. and it's the sixth month in a row the figure has gone up. 1.6 million were unemployed. that's the lowest figure in 20

months. the number of people temporarily absent from work was still above pre-pandemic levels and nearly 2.2 million. the job market is getting more competitive according to the labor ministry. officials say there were 135 job openings for every 100 applicants. it's the first time in two years and five months that number has gone down. the ministry says the number of job offerssteady, but the market is busier as people are looking for better working conditions. japan's biggest convenient store chain wants to make shopping more seven-eleven japan is looking at a robot to help out in hospitals. it's trialing the system in an office building in tokyo. staff loads goods into the robot and enters the destination. the robot navigates through the building around obstacles and

into even an elevator. people access the products by entering a passcode sent to their smartphones. seven-eleven plans to launch the service by fiscal 2024. it says customers will be able to use their smartphones to make orders and can expect to get their deliveries in 30 minutes at the earliest. rival chain lawson has been rolling out an online delivery system through a partnership with a company that provides food delivery and shopping services. japanese auto maker subaru has leadership change in five years. the firm is reorganizing to strengthen its hand in the shift to electric vehicles. subaru says executive vice president o psaki will be the new president and ceo from june. >> translator: i'm honored. and feel great responsibily to be taking over from president

nakamu nakamura. at a time when the auto industry is in a very unpredictable and chaotic period of great transformation. >> osi is 60 years old. he joine the company as an gineer and worked on engine designs. after an inspection data scandal in 2017, osaki led the internal effort to prevent a recurrence. current president and ceo nakamura will become director and chairman without representation. subaru is planning to construct a new ftory dedicated to ev manufacturing at his plant in guma prefecture, hoping to have it operational as early as 2027. el al israel made it easier to get from narita airport and tel-aviv. the flight touched down with 300 passengers on board.

officials with the airline and airport are expecting high demand because of collaborations between the countries' thriving i.t. industry and japan is popular with israeli tourists. >> we're very excited to be part of the first inaugural el al flight to tokyo. amazing. >> we love the people and love this culture. >> the carrier plans to offer two round-trip flights per week. japan has unveiled a $50 million plan to improve food security for emerging and developing nations where the so-called global south. the initiative comes at a time when russia's invasion of ukraine has driven up food prices worldwide. state minister for foreign affairs announced the package on thursday at a meeting of g20 foreign ministers. the details are likely to include emergency food assistance for countries in asia, the middle east and

africa. the plan is thought to be part of an effort to coordinate opposition to the war in ukraine. a number of glol southations have taken a neutral stance on it so far. let's look at what's happening in the week ahead. on wednesday, japan's finance ministry will release the current account balance for january. japan's surplus shrank by nearly half in 2020 from the previous year. much of the decline was due to the deficit in trading. exports have traditionally been the main driver of japan's surplus, but soaring energy prices and a slumping yen have made p imports more expensive. as a result, the monthly trade balance fell in the deficit last year. the primary income account is

becoming an increasingly important contributor to the economy over trading. it records interest and dividends from investments in overseas securities. also on wednesday, germany will release its industrial figures for january. production fluctuated throughout 2022. energy-intensive sectors recorded a sharp drop in output, which slumped more than 6% in december from the previous month. experts say germany may still be at risk of recession. onthursday, china's statistics bureau will release the producer price and consumer price index s for february. the ppi has dropped for four straight months. authorities in the country say that's because of a decrease in the cost of production. but economists believe china could actually be heading into a period of inflation. the consumer price index was up more than 2% in january. the end of its zero covid policy earlier this year is expected to drive consumption in the months ahead. on friday, the bank of japan

will wrap up its two-day monetary polity meeting. it'll be the final session for haruhiko. she was widening the movement of benchmark ten-year yields. that had people speculating the bank was about to mauveove awaym its ultra easy monetary policy. at the january meeting they kept things as they were. friday, the u.s. department of labor will release its latest job figures. the unemployment rate was 3.4% in january, the lowest level in more than 50 years. the number of non-farm employment positions also increased, exceeding expectations. analysts are keen to see if that's the beginning of a trend or just a blip as they continue to speculate about the federal reserve's monetary policy. all right. let's have a look at the markets. ♪

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from the "newsline biz" team in tokyo, i'm gene otani. thanks for joining us. ñtñf?o■ñ■■ y

ancestors, on al jazeera. >> french president emmanuel macron is visiting four african nations hoping to reset relations. he faces competition for influence from china, russia, and turkiye. what kind of welcome will he get? this is inside story. >> welcome, i am tom mccray. a menu in