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Welcome to NHK Newsline, I'm Chino

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Tati in Tokyo. We begin in the

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Middle East where negotiators hoping

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to broker an end to the

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conflict between Israel and Hamas have

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paused their talks on a ceasefire

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deal. But UN

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aid officials warn that only

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a ceasefire can avert further

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bloodshed and restore desperately needed

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deliveries of aid. The

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bombings continue to fall, the bow is falling

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all over Rafa, there's no real area where

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there's no shelling or air strikes. In

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general what we're seeing is that

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they are increasingly closer to Mavasi.

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That's the area Israeli troops

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have designated a humanitarian zone.

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UN officials say hundreds of

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thousands of displaced people are taking

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refuge there, but they say the

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military operations are so close by

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they're left with no viable and

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safe way to deliver aid. They

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also say no trucks have been able

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to enter since Israeli troops

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seized Rafa crossing earlier this week. So

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they have been forced to, as they

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put it, scrape the bottom

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of the barrel for food and fuel.

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Their worried hospitals will collapse and that

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a lack of clean water will spread

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disease. And they warn that

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the World Food Program will

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run out of supplies for

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southern Gaza by Saturday. Israel's

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war cabinet voted Thursday night to

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expand what it's called a limited

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operation in Rafa. More than

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110,000 Palestinians have already fled the city. U.S. Defense

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Secretary Lloyd Austin says there

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have been far too many

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civilian casualties and they must

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be moved out of harm's

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way. Meanwhile

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Washington says Israel's use of U.S. supplied

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weapons in Gaza may have

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been inconsistent with its

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international humanitarian law obligations,

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but it has avoided making a

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conclusive assessment that could halt the

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shipment of the weapons. The

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Biden administration submitted a report to

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Congress on Friday about Israel's military

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operations in Gaza between January 2023

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and April of this year. The

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two countries have an agreement under which

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the U.S. can review its provision

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of weapons if it confirms

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Israel has committed violations. The

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report said it was reasonable

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to assess that Israeli security

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forces used U.S. weapons in

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ways inconsistent with established best

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practices for mitigating civilian harm.

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But it added that it

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is difficult to assess or

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reach conclusive findings on

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individual incidents and that

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the administration will continue to monitor the

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situation. Biden has already

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indicated the U.S. would hold

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off on providing ammunition and

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some weapons if Israel goes

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ahead with its planned ground

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operation in Rafah. Biden's

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military says Russian troops have

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crossed the border into the

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eastern region of Kharkiv, most

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likely to establish a buffer

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zone between the two countries.

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The regional governor said on social

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media on Friday that the Russians

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have started a new stage of

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their offensive in northern Kharkiv. The

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governor says an area near the

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border with Russia came under heavy

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shelling, killing two civilians. That

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official of the Ukrainian military's general staff

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told NHK that Russian troops

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have entered from the north

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and pushed one kilometer into

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the region. The official says

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the scale of the incursion suggest

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the objective is not to seize

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the city of Harkeev. They say

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it's to create a 10 kilometer

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wide buffer zone along the border

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to prevent Ukrainian shelling into Russian

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territory. Ukrainian president Vladimir

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Zelensky told reporters that Russia has

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begun a new wave of counter

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offensive actions in this direction. He

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says Ukraine was prepared for

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the attack and fought back

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with brigades and artillery. Diplomatic

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sources in Kiev say this is

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believed to be the first Russian

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incursion into the Harkeev region since

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the Ukrainian forces recaptured most of

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the territory in September 2022. North

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Korea says on Friday its leader

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Kim Jong-un oversaw test firing of

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controllable shells for an updated 240

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millimeter multiple rocket

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launcher system. South Korea

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media quotes observers saying Pyongyang

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may be aiming to gain

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economic benefits by exporting such

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weapons to Russia. North

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Korea's state media newspaper

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wrote on Saturday that the launcher

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has an automatic fire combined control

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system. It says all eight shells

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fired in the test hit their

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targets. The paper also says the

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system will be deployed to North

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Korean army units from this year

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to 2026. It says

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Kim discussed ways to further speed

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up what the paper called national

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defense economic work. He instructed production

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of the shells to be raised

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to the highest level. South Korea's

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unification ministry said last year

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that the term national defense

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economic work could be a

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reference to arms exports. Space

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weather researchers say a

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series of strong solar flares

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could disrupt communication satellites, GPS,

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and shortwave radio around the

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world. over the next few days. Coronal

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mass ejections are explosions of

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plasma and magnetic fields from

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the Sun's corona causing geomagnetic

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storms when they reach Earth.

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The US National Oceanic and

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Atmospheric Administration said a severe

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geomagnetic storm was likely as

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early as Friday evening and

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could continue through the weekend.

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NOAA issued a severe geomagnetic

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storm watch the second highest

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such advisory on a

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scale of five. It also says

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the storm includes the potential for

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ornery to be visible over much

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of the northern half of the

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country and possibly as far as

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south as Alabama. NOAA

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says the solar cycle is

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a roughly 11 year periodic

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change in the Sun's sunspot

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activity. It adds that the

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cycle is expected to peak

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this year with another severe

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storm possible in the future. Rice

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plating has begun on terrorist paddies

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in central Japan's Noto Peninsula coast

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where a powerful earthquake hit on

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New Year's Day. More

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than 50 people from across

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the country took part in

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planning at some of the

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repaired paddies on Saturday. Shiro-yone

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Senmaida consists of about 1,000

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paddies along a slope in

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Wachima City that overlook the

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Sea of Japan. The area

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in Ishikawa Prefecture has been

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designated as a National

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Scenic Spot. earthquake extensively damaged

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the rice fields. It caused cracks and

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80% of them, the

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people planting, are members of an ownership

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system for conserving the patties. It was

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created to help deal with a shortage

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of farmers in the area. Members in

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the system pay fees to grow rice.

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I'm happy

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to take part in an event like this

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if it helps rebuild the patties.

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I'm glad I came here today. Volunteer

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workers including local high school

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students participate next to the family.

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Those were the main stories for this event. And

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that's the news this hour. I'm Gene Otani from all

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of us here at NHK Newsline to all around the

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world. It's very much for everybody.