at 18:00 (JST), November 03 (AI-CC by Clipchamp)

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20241103180000_english_1.mp3

Welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Ramin Mellegard in Tokyo. 

Now, with the US presidential election approaching, Republican candidate Donald Trump has brought his campaign to Virginia, where his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, is leading the polls. Just three days ahead of the vote, Trump supporters packed the venue with a capacity of 7,000 in Salem. 

Are you better off now than you were four years ago? It's going to be one of the most interesting days in the history of our country, and it's going to be the most important election in the history of our country. 

Now, Virginia is seen as a blue state where Democratic presidential candidates have won since 2008. In the final stretch of the 2016 race, Trump held rallies in Michigan and other states where his contender, Hillary Clinton, was ahead. That likely helped him win. Trump appears to be aiming to repeat that tactic.
Meanwhile, Vice President Harris on Saturday called for support in the battleground states of Georgia and North Carolina. Her campaign says her rally in North Carolina's largest city of Charlotte drew over 10,000 people. 

I pledge to you to listen to experts, to listen to people who disagree with me. 'Cause you see, unlike Donald Trump, I don't believe that people who disagree with me are the enemy. That's what real leadership looks like. That's what strong leadership looks like. 

And rock star Jon Bon Jovi urged people to cast their votes, saying now we can move forward together, embracing what makes us different. 

And Britain's Conservative Party has chosen Kemi Beynock as leader. She's the first black woman to lead a major British political party. The party on Saturday announced the results of a vote to pick the successor to former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Bednock is the former Secretary of Business and Trade. She defeated former Immigration Minister Robert Genrick. 

The time has come to tell the truth, to stand up for our principles, to plan for our future, to reset our politics and our thinking, and to give our party and our country the new start that they deserve. It is time to get down to business. It is time to renew.

The Conservative Party suffered a heavy defeat in the general election in July following a series of scandals and mishaps. It found itself out of power for the first time in 14 years, but remains the largest opposition party.
Now the 44 year old Badenoch was born in Britain to Nigerian parents. She grew up in Nigeria before returning to the UK at age 16. She's known for her cautious stance toward accepting immigrants and expanding the rights of sexual minorities. Her victory is seen as shifting the party more to the right.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer congratulated Bednock, saying the first black leader of a Westminster party is a proud moment for our country. He added that he looks forward to working with her and her party in the interests of the British people.

Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Agency says Russia has transferred more than 7000 North Korean soldiers from Russia's Far East to areas close to Ukraine. The agency says on social media that the transfer took place in the final week of October. It said the North Koreans have been provided with machine guns, night vision devices and other equipment.

Footage released by Ukrainian authorities in mid-October appears to show North Korean troops lining up to receive supplies and other items at a training facility in the Far East.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that of the 10,000 North Koreans sent to Russia, 8,000 have been positioned in the western region of Kursk.

We've not yet seen these troops deploy into combat against Ukrainian forces. But we would expect that to happen in the coming days. 

The US-based Institute for the Study of War says that Pyongyang is hoping that the deployment will give its troops vital combat experience and skills to operate drones. But the think tank notes that any battlefield lessons would be undermined if Russia uses North Korean troops as cannon fodder.

And Iran's supreme leader is warning of a crushing response to Israel's recent airstrike on Iranian military targets. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei did not elaborate. on the timing or method of a possible strike.
Khamenei was speaking to students in Tehran on Saturday ahead of the 45th anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. Embassy by Iranian students in 1979 that led to a long-lasting hostage crisis. Khamenei hinted that Iran would carry out another retaliatory attack on Israel. He said enemies, whether Israel or the United States, should know that they will definitely receive a crushing response for what they are doing against Iran.

Now U.S. media reporting that Iran might be preparing an attack on Israel that would happen in the coming days. The Israeli airstrike on October 26 was in response to a massive Iranian missile attack on Israel earlier in the month. 

Spain's Prime Minister says at least 211 people have died in devastating floods in the east of the country. Authorities are continuing their search and rescue efforts.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a televised address on Saturday he wants to speed up the search for those still missing. He said he had ordered another 10,000 people from the military, the police and elsewhere to join the search. More than 60 people have died in the town of Paiporta in Valencia. Residents were seen carrying their belongings out from houses and shops and clearing away mud. Volunteers came on foot, carrying shovels and buckets to help with the cleanup. Food and water are being provided to disaster victims in various places.

This is really great. I hope there will be more support places like this.

Some areas remain without power. Road and rail networks have been cut in many locations.

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OK, you're going to enjoy this. Visitors enjoyed a hot bath with floating apples in the northern Japanese prefecture of Akita on Sunday.

The hot spring at an inn in Yokota City was filled with 160 apples to promote locally grown fruit. Yokota is known for having the largest apple production in the prefecture. People began taking dips in the apple scented water from 6:00 AM. 

It's a strange and striking sight to see so many apples potting in the bath.

It feels like my body absorbed the apple extract. It's so warming.

I hope visitors can experience the rare apple bath and enjoy the warmth of the hot spring. 

The apple baths will also be available on Sundays and national holidays in December and January, as well as the first three days of the New Year.

Got to try that. Those are the top stories for this hour.

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That's a wrap for this edition of NHK News Line. I'm Ramin Mellegard. Thank you very much for joining us.