hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. we start in southern ukraine where cargo ships remain idle amid fears of possible attacks at sea after russia pulled out of a major grain deal this week. moscow is insuring rough waters. the allowed ukraine to safely

send out shipments. the joint coordination center said that added up to nearly 33 million tons of agricultural product exports since august last year. eight ships departed from ukrainian ports this month, but no vessels left after monday. the organization added that no applications for inspection of vessels bound for ukraine had been approved since late june. concerns of a global food crisis are growing. u.n. chief antonio guterres said on monday moscow's withdrawal from the deal will strike a blow to people in need. russia's defense ministry announced on friday its black sea fleet conducted an exercise involving anti-ship cruise missiles. it says the right fire drill was held in a training range in the north western part of the sea, and it involved shooting and detaining a ship. russia warned this week that vessels bound for ukraine would be considered as transporting

military supplies. kyiv responded saying all ships sailing from russian held ports may be subject to attack. moscow's withdrawal from the grain deal is triggering an emergency meeting at the united nations. the security council is set to gather friday morning. the plan is to discuss the humanitarian consequences of russia's decision. members already met this week shortly after the initial news broke. western nations denounced the pull out saying it's a threat to the world's food security. russia says it will not return to the deal unless sanctions hindering its own agricultural exports are lifted. the japanese government's top spokesperson called the move by moscow extremely regrettable. >> translator: we strongly urge russia to return to the international framework so that ukraine can resume grain

exports. >> matsuno says japan will work closely with the international community on the issue. pakistan's foreign minister has held talks with his visiting ukrainian counterpart. he said islamabad seeks closer ties with kyiv. thursday's meeting came after pakistan began importing crude oil from russia. >> building trade and economic ties is a priority area for pakistan. we aspire to build a mutually beneficial relationship that contributes to the prosperity and well-being of our nations. >> he's making his first trip to pakistan. the foreign minister accused russia of undermining global food security after moscow pulled out of the grain agreement. he said he tried to discuss with the u.n. chief and counter parts

in turkey and russia restoring those exports, pointing out developing countries stand to suffer from the collapsed grain deal, too. pakistan's economy is in a dire situation following devastating floods last year. the country is also badly short of foreign exchange reserves. amid rising energy prices, pakistan has been struggling to import oil. in response, it's beefed up trade ties with russia which is struggling under western economic sanctions over its invasion of ukraine. islamabad faces the awkward challenge of balancing ties with both kyiv and moscow. henry kissinger paid a surprise visit to china this week as tensions between washington and beijing continue to simmer. another former u.s. envoy sat down with nhk world to discuss where things are at with some of the indo-pacific region's major

players. >> right now the relationship between washington and beijing is very bad. it's probably worse than it's been in the 50 years since henry kissinger and president nixon traveled there and established diplomatic relations. >> reporter: daniel russell says the u.s. is playing a balancing act. it's trying to get cooperation from china on global challenges like food insecurity and climate change, but some issues have no room for compromise. >> and there are areas where the united states is going to compete very hard and in fact to push very hard particularly on emerging technology and on defense. >> reporter: those points converge in taiwan where the u.s. has maintained diplomatic ambiguity for decades. now that taiwan is a linchpin for the global tech industry,

that may not be so easy. >> the world is highly dependent on taiwan, and not only would the disruption of the democratic society on taiwan be a crisis, but the disruption of taiwan's semiconductor manufacturing industry would also be a crisis. >> reporter: russell says xi jinping is likely thinking twice about military action in taiwan. >> president xi jinping certainly was told by vladimir putin that the russian military would easily take ukraine's capital. i think the fact that the russian military attacked against ukraine has been a complete disaster probably causes president xi jinping to ask himself can i really trust what my generals are saying.

>> but he also warns the risk is far from zero. >> i don't believe that any leader in beijing and washington or in taipei wants to see military conflict. the fact that leaders may not want war doesn't prevent war from happening. >> reporter: a potential clash with pyeongyang is also top of mind for washington and its strategic partners. russell says the north has tried to strike divisions with its missile launches, hoping to convince japan and south korea the u.s. will not back them up. but that appears to have backfired. >> instead what north korea is seeing is a closer and closer alignment of the three governments. this is pyeongyang's worst nightmare, and it's also a very

big headache for beijing. >> reporter: he says part of that has been japan's willingness to rethink its regional role, boosting defense spending and building up its alliance with the u.s. >> i think that u.s.-japan relations are better today than any time in my diplomatic career. >> reporter: russell also says the more japan can do to protect itself, the more it helps maintain stability in the region. and that's good for everybody. on sunday people in cambodia will cast their ballots in the first general election in five years. but international concern is mounting about the authoritarian rule of prime minister jun sen. journalists are also facing threats to the very concept of

freedom of speech. nhk world has more. >> this is our studio and it not been used for many months in the shutdown in february 13. >> reporter: voice of democracy was one of the last independent media outlets in cambodia. known better as vod, it has been reporting on social injustice and corruption for the last two decades. but in february the government suspended its media license after it published a story on jun sen's eldest son. the report criticized the army chief for overstepping his authority supposedly in his father's name. it's an allegation both have denied. authorities say it harmed the honor and prestige of the government. >> without the presence of the independent media i'm afraid

that people will lose credible news and information. >> reporter: vod journalists are also becoming direct targets. he's been honored by the united states department for his coverage of human trafficking an issue prevalent in cambodia. however, his criticism of the government has jeopardized his livelihood. >> translator: this is a message in which the minister of information directly criticized me by name. >> reporter: dara now works freelance, but he says no domestic outlets are willing to assign him stories. >> translator: it is very difficult for media outlets in the country to accept me. they don't want to work with me. i was accused of serving overseas interests or the opposition. >> reporter: given the media suppression, efforts are under way to help ordinary people share the news that matters to

them. this ngo has been conducting a media reporting course for ten years to encourage citizen journalism. the program attracts many young participants including lekh, part of an ethnic minority she's determined to highlight the poverty in her community as well as human rights issues that have seen little coverage. the course includes practical elements to teach journalism on the ground. participants visited a community that has been devastated by a flood. they listened to the people there as they spoke of their difficulties even getting authorities to listen to them. >> translator: i want to help people facing challenges related to threats against them, restrictions on their freedom and other problems. i want to share their voices. >> reporter: since the ngo launched the project, it has

developed a network of over 400 citizen journalists. the group says their online reports are less vulnerable to government regulation. >> translator: some of the citizen journalists we have trained will play a part in continuing to report from their communities as well as keeping a free press alive in cambodia. >> reporter: the toigening grip on cambodia is a major setback on a country that's barely recovered from the brutal civil war three decades ago. in many ways the threat to the independent media mirrors the precarious state of the country's democracy. earlier kanako sachno spoke to nhk world's tamarin. >> authorities are intensifying the crack down on the media. how extensive is the

suppression? >> reporter: well, well according to a local journalist association last year saw more than 50 journalists critical of the government harassed including intimidation and imprisonment in cambodia. an expert says that jun sen's increasingly heavy-handed stance on the media directly impacts the country's democracy. >> there are fewer avenues for people to get justice to hold leaders accountable and therefore they were to accept a greater level of injustice as a result. >> reporter: the upcoming election is viewed as a referendum for his eldest son who could be the successor of jun sen. the prime minister apparently want his son to take over with a solid base. so there's a possibility of an even more intense media crack down to come.

>> and how do you think the repression of freedom of speech is affecting people's lives? >> reporter: even though jun sen has a certain level of support thanks to the country's rapid economic growth i think the feeling of fear and stagnation among some citizens is palpable. authorities have also been increasing the monitoring of social media posts. there has been a number of cases where people were arrested for posting critical comments against the government. an opposition supporter i spoke to said she has to pose as a ruling party supporter. cambodia recovered from decades long civil war to become a nation in the 1990s. but the upcoming election could be a turning point for the

democracy. it's time now for a check on the weather with our meteorologist jonathan oh. western parts of india are dealing with the aftermath of a landslide due to heavy rain. jonathan has the latest. >> hello. the southwest monsoon has continued to impact india, but every time we keep an eye out on this pattern, we're talking about heavy rain. and you see all these clouds hovering on the western areas of india, that's where the heavy rain is taking place and leading to problems on the ground. take a look at this video that's coming from the region as a massive landslide occurred wednesday night at a village in western india. at least 16 people were killed and more than 100 are feared to have been trapped under the landslide. heavy rain has made the narrow road leading to the hill muddy and difficult for heavy machinery to move. so rescue teams are having to use their hands to dig out the debris. in addition dog squads are deployed to speed up operations. and the thing is the rain

continues, and we'll continue to see that happening as you go into the weekend. it'll be like that not just for saturday but continually for the foreseeable future as we have this monsoonal pattern in place. the heat won't be as an issue. we're looking at the mid and upper 20s, but again the wet weather may complicate those wefrts in trying to get to those who are currently in the aftermath of that landslide. meanwhile we look to the east which is tropical storm trying to gather together east of the philippines expected to turn through the north as you go through the first part of next week. nevertheless, may have certain impacts and possibly heading towards taiwan as we head forward in time. at least for the next few days the core of the system will still be over the waters, so hopefully that will stay away for any land as you go into the first part of next week. the view around east asia, looking at rain and thunderstorms from beijing down

through shanghai and taipei looking at 35. tokyo looking at partly cloudy skies, a temperature of 32 for the daytime high, but we are expecting temperatures to start pushing back up as we go into next week. hope you have a good day wherever you are. that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi osawara in tokyo.

thanks for watching and do stay with us for more. ♪ this is "newsline biz." i'm gene otani. consumers in japan have been watching prices at supermarkets creep up. and that has quickened the pace of increase in the overall consumer price index. the internal affairs ministry says the cpi excluding fresh food in june was 3.3% higher than a year earlier. the margin of increase was slightly larger than in the

previous month. many food items were slapped with bigger price tags, causing that index to soar last month from a year earlier by 9.2%. fresh items are excluded because they vary widely in price based on the weather. the increase in may was the same and was the biggest in over 47 years. the price of eggs jump by more than a third. carbonated drinks and hamburgers were both up about 17%. but energy prices actually went down due to government subsidies. electricity bills fell by more than 12%. japan's cpi for all items in june was also up 3.3% from last year. the same index in the united states slowed to a 3% rise last month after reaching a four-decade high of 9.1% a year ago. now inflation in japan is outpacing that of the u.s. rising utility costs are taking an especially big toll on energy if tensive businesses such as

swimming schools. one operator with three pools in tokyo has raised its monthly fees by as much as 600 yen or roughly $4. >> translator: i was a bit surprised, but my kid really enjoys coming here, so i guess i'll do my best. >> translator: it was hard to keep going in circumstances. we decided we had to make a change. >> the operator is also trying to cut costs by scaling back on gas consumption. staff have been turning off the boilers that warm the pool water an hour earlier. the operator says the rise in energy prices since 2021 has made it much more expensive to maintain the water temperature. one analyst predicts inflation is now at its peak in japan and will gradually taper off. at the nli research institute says that's because inflationary pressure is being absorbed down to the chain. >> translator: companies have

gradually passed on the cost of importing raw materials in the form of higher prices for their products. right now the prices of goods and services are rising, and that's the main factor behind the inflation we're seeing. >> kuga says import prices peaked last summer. >> translator: at this stage companies are still passing on their costs to customers. but from now on the impact of the cost of raw materials on prices will weaken. i expect inflation will fall below 3% in the coming months and the figure for the whole fiscal 2023 will be under 3%, so i'd say we're at the peak now. next, nhk world's yanaka marie is here with biz picks. >> every friday we bring you the latest in business with biz picks. first, a wrap of the markets

this week. the nikkei average closed at 32,304 on friday, july 21st. for the week it lost about a quarter of a percent. earlier in the week there was a rebound following overseas market rally. in the latter half investors were cautious about making big moves ahead of some key earnings reports as well major market events. so let's have a look at the week ahead. major central banks around the world are set to make policy announcements. on wednesday we'll see if the u.s. federal reserve will resume tightening after paused rate hikes in june. and on thursday the european central bank is widely expected to raise rates again. that's followed on friday with a decision from the bank of japan, which has been holding caps on its ultra-loose policy.

to shed more light what to expect we spoke with the executive economist at nomura research institute and a former boj board member. he says the fed needs to hike rates further, but he also believes it's in the final stage of tightening. >> translator: inflation in the u.s. isn't easing as much as hoped, but it is steadily coming down. some of the fed are starting to think that rate hikes have done enough to lower prices, so i think the fed will wrap up its rate hikes by raising rates twice more at most including next week. >> as for the bank of japan, its yield curve control policy is in focus. the bank currently tapped japanese government bond yields at around 0.5%. some investors are speculating that the boj may raise this limit, but he notes the odds of

that happening at the next meeting are low. >> translator: it might not be wise to raise the limit now because the fed still hasn't finished tightening and long-term u.s. interest rates remain elevated. if the boj raises the cap in this environment japan's long-term interest rates could follow u.s. interest rates higher. that would have negative impacts especially on the japanese institutions that have core funds at lower rates. >> he says it's important as the boj wants to limit impact on the financial market. he thinks when it happened largely depends on how the u.s. economy fares. >> translator: i think the bojng will review yield curve control after the fed rate hikes end after the u.s. economy slows, but before it slows down too much and the u.s. has to implement full-scale easing. so it depends on the u.s. given the current economic climate october could be when we see the cap raised.

>> he says the boj may give a signal before any decisions are made as governor ueda has emphasized he would aim to communicate more with market participants. i'm yanaka marie, and that was this week's biz picks. the value of shares traded by overseas investors on japan stock exchanges hit a record high in june following a recovery in the tokyo equity market. the tokyo stock exchange says shares traded by foreign investors totaled about 123 trillion yen or about $880 billion. that's up 16% in yen terms since may and the most since comparable data became available in january, 1989. shares traded by investors in europe rose 17% to almost 85 trillion yen. the value of asian based investors transactions jumped

20% to nearly 20 trillion yen. stocks traded by market participants in north america increased 2% to about 8.4 trillion yen. tokyo's bench mark nikkei stock average recovered to levels not seen for more than three decades in june. that was driven by investors betting that japanese companies will continue to perform well due to the bank of japan maintaining its monetary easing policy. but markets says the investments were so rapid they now seem to be pausing japanese stocks. whiskey continues to gain pop lair at home and abroad. and one company has responded to the trend by using its woodworking expertise to create high quality barrels. the company nishin furniture crafters started selling its 220 barrels. crafters at the company are experts at a technique that uses

water and heat to bend planks. the technique has long been passed down in the region to make chairs and other furniture. the company says it can make barrels from oak and other wood that are airtight. that's an important quality for aging the spirit. the national tax agency says sales of japanese whiskey are rising both in japan and overseas with exports now 28 times what they were just a decade ago. that has prompted companies to start distilling whiskey. all right, let's have a look at the markets.

and from the news line biz team in tokyo, i'm gene otani. thanks very much for

>> israel says it recognizes morocco's sovereignty. it is an area claimed by the polisario front. and what will israel get in return? this is "inside story". ♪ >> welcome to the program, disputes over western sahara have raged forad