welcome to "newsline." i'm cat r catherine kobayashi i coke -- tokyo. israel and hamas agreed to a 72-hour seize fire in the gaza strip. a series of explosions has caused hundreds of casualties in a taiwan ease industry. familiar brands are bopping up in supermarkets in japan. why electronic firms are > united natio secretary general moon and u.s. secretary of state john kerry have

announced a seize fire in the gaza strip. israeli forces send fighters with the islamic military group hamas have been trading fire for three weeks. all parties had agreed to an unconditional humanitarian truce. under the deal forces would stop fighting for 72 hours starting at 8:00 a.m. local time friday. >> this seize fire is krcritica to giving citizens reprieve from violence. civilians in gaza urgently needed relief and the opportunity to carry out vital functions. >> the forces on ground will remain in place but they urged them to act with restraint until the seize fire begins. representatives are ex many spected - expected to fly to cairo over how to prolong the seize fire. forces launched offensive on july 8th.

they were responding to increased rocket attacks from inside gaza. health officials in the territory say more than 1400 palestinians have been killed. more t 3rds of them civilians. fors in a city in southern taiwan suspect a gas leak sparked a series of explosions. residents heard a blast in the early hours of friday. 20 people were killed, 2070 injured. images from the seen show an explosion, then a fire above ground. one resident says it shook like an earthquake. the explosion left cars h the street.d rubble scat witnesses say firefigh at the site every before the explosion. they were responding to reports people had smelled gas. international investigators trying to recover remaining victims from malaysia airlines flight 17 have reached the crash site. they had been kept away because of fighting between ukrainian forces and separatists.

the team arrived thursday, two weeks after the plane was shot down. they are accompanied by officials with the organization for security and corporation in europe. osc officials posted on twitter four experts from the netherlands and australia took a new route to reach the site, and the ukrainian government declared a 24-hour truce. government officials said pro-russian separatists have repeatedly shelled nearby areas. it's unclear whether the experts will have time to conduct a full investigation. the operator of a power plant in central japan has under estimated the potential maximum height of a tsunami that could hit the complex, all japan's nuclear reactors are offline and need to pass straighter safety screenings following the 2011 disaster before they can resume operation. the power company conducted tsunami simulations for two

reactors at the plant. they included data involving the expected duration of an landslide, a major quake might cause. r regulation authority discovered the estimated tsunami height was too low immediately after screening began in july last year. they later raised the estimate of the maximum height. officials acre cemented the revised projections. but at a meeting on thursday, participants learned that they entered incorrect data concerning the potential length of the landslide. analysts say the results of the recalculations might force planners to rethink how they would respond to potential disasters. the process could delay completion of the tsunami wall at the plant. leaders in sierra leone declared a state of an emergency to contain an outbreak of ebola.

they mobilized police to quarantine areas where the disease was found. residents of guinea saw signs of the outbreak in march. then the virus spread to sierra leone and liberia. officials with the world health organization say 729 deaths have been directly associated. 233 people have died from the virus. president earnest said his country is in a great fight. he announced a series of measures expected to last 60 to 90 days. government officials will seal off areas where the disease has been identified, restrict public meetings and gatherings and screen people for signs of the virus. now u.s. health authorities issued a warning to americans, officials with the sents for disease control and prevention advised people to the avoid non-essential travel to the countries hit by the virus and they raise the alert level to

three, the highest on their scale. two dozen cdc experts are in west africa trying to help control the outbreak. about 50 more will head there within the month. the virus is spread through bodily fluids and cdc officials warned staff to avoid coming into contact with patients' sweat and blood. >> cdc director and say far too many lives have been lost already. it will take many months and won't be easy. but he said ebola can't be stopped. foreign ministry officials in france and germany also warned people to avoid non-essential travel to the region. the people at the international monitory advice for japanese leaders. we have more. what is happening. >> we talked before how japan carries one of the world's heaviest burdens of debt. japanese leaders need to tackle

it. they are recommending another increase in the consumption tax, they say japanese leaders need to follow through with their plans and raise the tax next year from 8 to 10%. outlined the recommendations in the annual assessment of japan's economic policy and wrote measures adopted by the prime minister are gaining traction. but they said more forceful growth reforms are needed. they recommended increasing the consumption tax gradually to at least 15%. the government just raised the tax in april fro 8% and that caused a slowdown in personal spending. still, the people at the imf forecast economy will grow this year by 1.6%. they say japan will struggle in the medium term to cope with the very high levels of public debt and shrinking labor force. they recommend japanese leaders push ahead with a range of growth strategies and get more women and foreigners working.

leaders say they are not responsible for a default, the second in their country in 13 years. they are blaming a number of people in the u.s. for forcing them to miss an interest payment. analysts at fitch ratings joins counter parts in downgrading argentina's debt. the analysts changed their rating from double c to rd, restrictive default. officials were trying to negotiate a deal to pay interest on bonds held by their creditors. but people at u.s. hedge funds insisted they be paid in full first. a judge on the u.s. supreme court agreed. negotiators were trying to reach a compromise until the last minute, but their discussions broke down. analysts at standard and poours downgraded to sd selective default. investors are worried about

argentina and other emerging markets and sold stocks across the world, including on wall street. the nikkei opened lower but many business results and portin that's providing support to stock prices down. now earlier in new york, traders bought the dollar after da to showed wages are rising but it's locked in a band in th 2 yen range. investors are waiting for today's u.s. monthly jobs data to confirm the economy is rebounding. inflation in the eros zone, that came in at five-year lows and dealers are selling the eros. the single currency is at eight-month lows against the dollar, six-month lows against the yen. now officials in china have just released the government's factory activity data for july. it showed many factory expanded

for four months ia row, the purchasing manager's index at 51.7, slightly above market forecast. so let's see how investors in chinese stocks are reacting. the shanghai index is trading flat whereas the hong kong is down half a percent. a bit of a mixed reaction there. the leaders of japan and chile say they want to get a move on with negotiations over free trade deal in the asia pacific. their keen to wrap up an agreement for the chance pacific partner ship as soon as possible. prime minister met in the chile capitol with president michelle. the leaders agree to work together to develop chile's natural resources and confirm delegates will meet soon to review terrifics and aspects of an economic partnership.

they said government officials will talk about ways to boost investments and develop better technology for mining. executives at sony are sizing up their competition from china and they see a threat to one of their, one part of their business. they say they will overhaul the smart phone division to stop a slide in sales. the executives brought in higher profits for the april to june quarter, they credit strong sales for their video games, and movie business. but they failed to reach their target for mobile phones. they have struggled to compete against chinese firms that make econoieeconomies.ets for the executives aiming to sell 50 million phones this year, but they have lowered that estimate to 43 million. they say they will restructure the division to cut their losses and they may stop selling phones in some markets.

pamanagers of some firms ar branching out. their companies made conductors, tvs and gadgets for years but they have struggled to stay profitable. so some are looking to the future and their future looks green. nhk world's caraig dale explain. >> reporter: they are not easy to find, tucked in among the apples, the radishes and leaks at this supermarket sit small packages of lettuce. on the labels, a familiar name. >> translator: you mean the company that makes electronics. >> reporter: ts the one. the firm known for computing parts and products is now growing food who executives have been moving away from the semi conductor business and that's why they retro fitted part of this facility. now row upon row of lettuce

flourishes where they once made conductors. a so-called clean room so no dust, no dirt, no bugs and limited bacteria to preserve freshness. the staff hars thousands of heads of lettuce but putting their brand on food isn't the main aim of the venture. he is in charge of the project. his team uses tablet computers to control everything from the lights. >> turn on. ae air quality. all the information is transmitted to the cloud computing system, which the company is promoting. the technology provides farmers with a more advanced way to track the crops. it's supposed to making a culture more efficient and profitable. >> translator: our system gathers data on how much time people worked in the field, and how much it costs.

if we analyze the data, we can figure out where to cut costs and where to stream line operations. >> reporte other japanese electronics pifirms are racing apply their skills toshiba had to shift gears because of dismal tv sales. that includes growing food. he is directing a setup similar to the other company that will harvest leafy vegetables. toshiba executives plan to open more factories in japan and abroad. they want to sell the complete kit. >> the writing system, that's a business chance for us. >> reporter: now both firms aren't counting on making a lot in the short term, only between 1.5 and 4 million.

consider they bring in annual sales in the tens of billions. still, with farmers in japan ageing and children not taking over, and with asianen consumers gaining more buying power, this analysts says the diversification makes sense. >> translator: the potential is big for the business considering the fact that people are more conscious of food safety and the population is ageing and this is not just happening in japan. this is happening all over the world. >> reporter: it's a great strategy company executives can actually track and when consumers may be able to dig into. craig dale, nhk world, tokyo. that's the latest in business news. thanks very much. japan's cabinet to decide in july to change the interpretation of the constitution to enable the nation to exercise the right to

collective self-defense. the decision comes at a time of heightenings tensions over north korea's missile launches and china's stepped up maritime activities. today we look at japan's defense polic japanese officials worry about a number of things as they look out around them. north korean miss l launches, china's maritime activities. china declared an air identification zone over the east china sea that includes the islands in prefecture. >> translator: the new zone is designed to protect china's sovereignty and safety of the territory and air space. >> reporter: china says aircraft in the area had to obey instructions from the chinese

defense ministry and the country may use force against aircraft that failed to compile. this has put the japanese government on alert. in may, a chinese war plane flew dangerously close to two japanese self-defense force aircraft need the median line between the two countries. similar incidents occurred in june, as well. a mid the tension, prime minister visited australia and met with his counter part tony abbit in july. they signed a pact to jointly develop defense equipment. the two nations plan to hold a joint defense drill with the united states of prefecture to strengthen defense ties. japan's maritime and self-defense force took a drill between the united states and india in july. it was the first time in five years that japan has taken part.

defense minister boarded a u.s. nuclear powered aircraft carrier. he's the first japanese cabinet minister to do so during the drill. japan is trying to establish ties with several countries. >> defense minister joined us earlier in the studio. nhk world's commentator asked him about japan's defense policy and where it's headed. >> thank you very much today for joining us. you went on board an american aircraft carrier and watched it in operation. that's an unusual thing to do for a japanese defense minister. what is behind it? >> translator: it was possibr a to visit an american aircraft carrier and while it was taking part in exercises, because of the alliance between japan and

the u.s. this alliance is a long-standing one. it's important to strengthen it for the sake of stability in east asia. >> translator: india took part in the drills as well as japan and the u.s. and you're planning exercises with australia. some say japan is trying to constrain china. what is the goal behind the exercises? >> translator: we're not conducting these exercises to constrain any particular country. the pacific and indian oceans are important to japan and other countries because they are used for transporting oil and other supplies. military exercises with countries that have close ties with us are important for protecting freedom of

navigation. >> translator: does japan need to take part in drills as well as those that only involve japan and the u.s.? >> translator: yes, for instance, consider the international exercises known as rim pack, they are hosted by the united states. china took part this year for the first time. it's an example of international exercises that promote understanding between military forces and reduce the risk of an unintended conflict. they play an important role in maintaining a peaceful environment. i believe we need to have lots of military interaction. with all countries. >> translator: how about japan's relations with china? things are quite tense, how do you plan to proceed? >> china is increasingly active

on the maritime front. some big problems involving the philippines in vietnam are arising in the south chi and china is affecting japan by expanding areas of activity in the east china sea. china's growing maritime activities should not be causing tensions with neighboring countries. involving territory and sources should result withe in line with international rules. changing the status quo not using force is not acceptable. that's the view of countries in asia. i believe countrie wk y together to address these issues with china through dialogue.

>>. >> translator: between china. >> translator: unannounced is cancer for military forces could escalate. that's a great concern, so we need hot lines between military forces at the level of personnel in the field and the level of top commanders. the fi admini agreed with china's president to establish that mechanism for maritime come money case but ours stopped two years ago. we'll keep urging china to work on this. >> translator: what are the prospects? >> translator: i believe the chinese have the same intentions as we do. but unfortunately, they say japad china have problems involving the islands. i don't think this single issue should stand in the way of our efforts to establish a hot line.

a constructive path for us to take. so we'll keep letting the chinese know our position. >> thank you very much. it's time to take a look at the weather, people in southern japan are dealing with stormy weather conditions. meteorologist robert speta joins us with the latest. >> we continue to track the storm system off there towards western portions. already we have actually seen winds out here gusting as high as 137 kilometers per hour putting the gust at the least into the typhoon category and toss around debris that may be in the way of the winds as we continue to look ahead to the next 24 to 48 hours you can see jma issued where that 50 knot threshold will be as this storm continued to upgrade, 90

kilometers as it pushes towards the north. on the southern japanese islands, the backside of the storm system will wrap around so as you go through your afternoon hours, still expecting these winds to continue to persist plus the heavy rainfall. we're talking about 100 and 200 millimeters of rain. the flood threat is definitely in place and the threat of landslides and even the possibility of isolated tornados as we look ahead. so this is definitely the big story into the week and towards korea and eastern portions of china. by next weeke tro are not going to settle down at all because we have another stm system, out here pushed across guam on wednesday. it's moving west and northwest and it's expected to impact japan by next tuesday into wednesday. that will be the thing to watch next week. for now, though, the other thing is spinning right here but it's pulling in the warm, humid air out of the tropics, so across parts of japan that is,

actually, over towards korea, near-record-breaking temperatures, 37 out there towards the west. 38 there in tottori and that will combine with the heat as we go ahead into thursday, these are reported highs thursday as we look ahead into friday. it will combine with the heat and a threat of afternoon thunderstorms for you and towards korea, as well. let's look at the temperatures, 30 in shanghai, 33 seoul and tokyo 31. the big top pick is the thunderstorms over there towards the peninsula and back towards the west and the peninsula we could be seeing hail and damaging winds. but i also want to mention the heat because this is just as important. heat stroke definitely very serious situation in moscow temperatures rising up to the mid 30s. video while tourists and local residents alike dealing with this as day him highs rose.

seemed to not mind the heat and enjoy the summer sun. city dwellering spending time here in the fountains and shadows of buildings, some using umbrels and eating ice cream. stay hydrated and cool and stay out of the heat there. the forecast, still looks rather, well, oppressive at the very least. the average on friday, but look by sunday, 10 degrees above your average as we look ahead by the end of the weekend. wrapping things up. i want to talk about india. we're seeing rainfall that's typical but too much in a short period of time results in flooding. that's been the case in western india. also we have been seeing the reports of landslides out here and you can see in the past seven days, some areas, out here, seeing five to 600 millimeters of rainfall. definitely too much shown there can result in these problems, and the forecast, it does look grim. we'll see heavy showers towards the west. here is your extended ou

and that concludes this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for w er

good evening from las vegas, i'm tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with robin roberts. the "good morning america" an core is now a new author. she recounts the last few years of her life, a turbulent time to say the least, including battling a rare blood disorder with a life-saving bone marrow transplant from her sister. glad you joined us. a conversation with robin roberts coming up right now. ♪