Welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Gene Otani in Tokyo.
People from around the globe have gathered for the funeral of Pope Francis, who passed away on Monday. They include world leaders such as US President Donald Trump, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. People have flocked to Vatican's St. Peter's Square hours before the start of the funeral mass. Local media report that hundreds of thousands of people from around the world are expected to visit.
The Vatican estimates that at least 160 foreign delegations, including heads of state, are likely to attend. Japan will be represented by Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi.
Some observers are watching to see whether Trump, Zelensky and other leaders will speak about a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine on the sidelines of the funeral. Pope Francis appealed for resolving global conflicts through dialogue. Even on the day before his death, he called for a fair and lasting peace in Ukraine.
The Pope's body will be laid to rest at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome in accordance with his will Unlike those of many of his predecessors who were buried at St. Peter's Basilica, the will had also asked that the Pope's tomb be simple.
The meeting lasted 3 hours. A Kremlin aide says they discussed resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
And he says Moscow and Washington are getting closer in their positions. Ahead of the talks, Ukrainian and European officials had their own meeting. They pushed back on US proposals that would allow Russia's annexation of Crimea.
The discussions come one day after President Trump criticized a Russian missile and drone attack. The strike on the capital, Kyiv, killed at least 12 people. A Ukrainian government spokesperson provided more details. He or he tihi says Russian forces used a ballistic missile made in North Korea. He says cooperation between Russia and the North has improved the accuracy of such weapons. He pointed out that the missiles used components made in the West and called for tighter sanctions.
The United Nations World Food Program says it has run out of food stocks in the Gaza Strip. Israel has been blocking aid from entering the area for almost 8 weeks. WFP officials said on Friday they had delivered their last remaining supplies to kitchens serving hot meals. They say all bakeries they were supporting had closed by March 31. They also say food prices have surged up to 1,400% since January when a ceasefire was in place.
Israel launched airstrikes across Gaza on Friday. Local health authorities said 84 people had died in the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to more than 2,000 since March 18.
That's when Israeli troops resumed attacks after cease-fire negotiations with Hamas stalled. Israel has been blocking the flow of aid supplies into Gaza since March 2.
A WFP official is urging all parties to immediately allow aid deliveries to resume.
To meet the basic needs of population in Gaza, it is critical that we are able to resume food deliveries into Gaza immediately.
The WFP says it's ready to supply enough food assistance to feed 1 million people in Gaza for up to four months.
Britain's Financial Times and other Western media outlets say US tech giant Apple. Plans to shift production of iPhones sold in the United States to India from China. The move is an apparent bid to mitigate risks related to higher tariffs. The media said Apple aims to assemble all or most of the iPhones it sells in the US at factories in India by the end of 2026. The company sells more than 60 million iPhones a year in the United States. A survey shows around 80% of them are made in China, reflecting Apple's heavy dependence on the country as its main production base.
The administration of President Trump has imposed additional tariffs of 145% on imports from China, except for smartphones and other electronic devices. Washington says it will impose other levies on such products after investigating potential risks to national security.
The Financial Times said the push builds on Apple's strategy to diversify its supply chain. but goes further and faster than investors appreciate.
Japan's spring holiday season has begun.
Narita Airport near Tokyo is crowded, with many travelers heading overseas.
Over 54,000 people are expected to fly abroad from this airport on Saturday alone. The airport's operator says it expects to serve around 1.2 million travelers from Friday to May 6.
It also says this figure is almost the same level as 2019, before the spread of the coronavirus. Popular travel destinations include resort areas such as Hawaii and Guam, as well as various parts of Asia, including South Korea.
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Narita Airport is expected to be packed on May 6, with travelers returning to Japan.
The city of Ofunato in northeastern Japan is making gradual progress in rebuilding two months after it was hit by massive wildfires.
The fires that erupted in Iwate Prefecture on February 26 killed one person and damaged 222 structures, including homes. The blaze burned more than 3,000 hectares before being declared extinguished on April 7.
Some 193 residents were in evacuation centers or elsewhere as of Friday after their homes were damaged in the fires. The evacuees have begun relocating to public housing. Temporary units are expected to be completed early next month at two locations in Ofunato. But the approaching rainy season poses new challenges as the fires diminish the water holding capacity of soil. In the burned areas, prefectural officials plan to take steps such as piling sandbags in areas at high risk of landslides.
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Those were the main stories for this hour.
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And that's the news this hour. I'm Gene Otani from all of us here at NHK Newsline to all around the world. Thanks very much for joining us.
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