welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here is a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. the world health organization is warning nations to be on alert for a deadly virus. the new corona virus has killed 18 people and has been detected in the middle east and europe. crews on u.s. warships are taking part in drills with the south korean navy. north korean leaders say the exercises are intended to

trigger war. and, the pushing, the shoving, the slapping. our sumo expert has all that we need to know about summer grand sumo tournament in tokyo. researchers with the world health organization are trying to contain a new virus. they say at least 18 people have died. w.h.o. researchers have confirmed 34 cases of the new type of coronavirus. all of the patients were in the middle east and europe. 15 of those known to have died lived in saudi arabia. >> when there is close contact, this novel coronavirus can transmit from person to person. >> doctors first identified the virus last september in a man from qatar who had traveled to saudi arabia. researchers say they have no details on the source of the latest infections. still they have called on health

authorities to raise public awareness, even outside of areas where they've confirmed cases. the new strain is from a family of viruses that can cause a range of illnesses from the common cold to severe acute respiratory syndrome. the first cases of sars appeared in asia in 2003. the disease killed nearly 800 people as it swept across the world. crews with the south korean and u.s. navys have started two days of joint exercises off the southeastern coast of the korean peninsula. north korean leaders have objected to the drills which involve a nuclear-powered u.s. aircraft carrier. the american fleet arrived on saturday at the southern port. of pusan. the nuclear powered "uss nimitz" carries 64 fighter jets, mainly fa-18s. guided missile cruisers and destroyers are also taking part. american military officials say the routine drills are meant to ensure good coordination between the u.s. and south korean

navies. but north korean officials say the exercises are a grave military provocation designed to trigger war. members of the country's military recently removed missile launchers from its east coast. but south korea's defense ministry remains on alert against a possible ballistic missile launch. north korea's armed forces minister has been removed after just six months on the job. kim took over last october. earlier this year he was named as a candidate to the political bureau of the ruling creek workers party and a member of the national defense commission. former army corps commander will

replace him. he will be the first to lead the ministry since kim jong-un took power more than a year ago. park geun-hye apologizes for what her office calls a disgrateful incident that happened last week during her trip to the united states. yoon chung junk has been fired as spokesperson because of a case of alleged sexual harassment. the president spoke about the scandal for the first time on monday. media in south korea say yoon sexually harassed a female temp worker at the south korean embassy in washington. yoon denies the allegation. park was on her first trip to the u.s. since taking office. >> translator: i am deeply sorry that my former staff member disappointed south koreans. i want to apologize to the woman and her family from the bottom

of my heart. >> park called the scandal a grave matter for her country and its people. she urged public officials to discipline themselves. her chief public relations secretary is doing just that. he says he will resign to take responsibility. former prime minister of pakistan nawaz sharif is making a political comeback. his party looks set to form pakistan's next government. now people are waiting to see how the outcome will affect pakistan's role in u.s.-led anti-terrorist operations. barack obama released a statement saying they look forward to cooperates with a new government as equal partners in supporting a stable and secure prosperous future for the people

of pakistan. he is the leader of the pln party. he voiced opposition to drone strikes. he says the attacks are a violence of the country's sovereignty. they may be concerned that a sharif-led government may not cooperate. >> and they're watching the formation of their neighbors new administration. >> we very much hope that the next government in pakistan will pave the way for sincere cooperation in afghanistan. especially when it comes to the need for both countries to work together honestly and in a practical manner to eliminate the safe havens that exist for terrorists. pakistan is seen as a crucial player for bringing

stability to afghanistan. both countries are preparing to withdraw their combat forces. sharif says he will place an emphasis on dialogue. afghanistan citizens are skeptical about the pakistani election results. >> translator: i'm not optimistic regarding the new government. in our experience, any new government in pakistan has the same policy on afghanistan. they think that creating misery in afghanistan works to their advantage. >> political analysts point out that pakistan may have to be dependent on u.s. support. they say that the new government will have to give priority to the country's sluggish economy, and hand over security to the military.

japanese retailers in vietnam expressed hope. many places have opened outlets in the thriving company. their impact on the local economy should first be assessed. japan is seeking and toend such regulations. vietnam's trade and industry ministry say it's will allow new stores under 500 square meter ifs they have completed infrastructure. the change will take effect on june 7th. japanese stores want deregulation to help them expand, but some firms are cautious. they think the exact meaning of completed infrastructure is unclear. the decline of the yen has

been helping many countries improver their earnings. firms will only increase their assets after it is set and the real economy improved. manufacturers that import materials and sell products in japan are struggling because of the yen's fall, but he notes that the japanese car insurance yip down trend is boosting exporters. >> translator: i think japanese companies will increase domestic capital investment and employment. and they feel sure the country's economy will grow. japanese electronics maker pioneer are going to team up to develop advanced car gps system.

docomo will invest about $49 million in pioneer this year. mitsubishi already has a partnership, but they will develop more. they want to have a car battery indicator, and online music and video downloads. the company is hoping for access to their partner's companies and increased global sales. demand for car navigation systems is expected to grow in emerging countries, but it has been falling in japan due to the spreading use of smart phones. researchers are expected to install the world's first hiybrd

system. the wind turbine is 47 meters above the day. the two sections will be connected by an on board generator. the researchers say they'll have enough power to supply about 300 households. here is a quick look at what's happening on the global economic scene this week. first, retail sales will come out on monday. this personal indicator of personal spending dipped in the previous money. euro zone finance ministers will meet on tuesday, they're expecting to bring spain's dote an acceptable level. on wednesday, an initial report for the jan to march quarter gdp. in the final few months last year, the economy shrank from

the july to september period. and the japanese economy manage todd grow at an annual pace of 0.2% between october and december from the proceeding three months. on the same day, u.s. housing starting for april will be out. it increased 7% from february and it was the first time in about five years. here are the latest market figures.

japanese prime minister shinzo abe seems to be beating the odds. he is maintaining his popularity about five months after his liberal democratic party took power. that's something his predecessors had trouble doing. still, voters are opposed to one of his key initiatives, revising the constitution. compare that to the recent prime ministers from the former democratic party government. after five months in off. 318% surveyed supported nikuoda. 33% say it appears to be better than others. a fifth said it has the ability to act.

it asked if japan's current constitution should be amended. the results were pretty enly mixed. 26 were opposed. the liberal democrats want to revise the constitution and rename the self-defense forces as a national defense force. the biggest group was the 40% that said they could not decide. it would make it easier to modify other articles and a similar result. 35% of respondents disagreed with the idea. 39% said they could not decide. government leaders have reopened their constitutions with various -- vashing degrees of success. german leader have revised their 59 times, the u.s. has made six,

and japan has made none. general douglas took over. his aides wants to disarm japan and have no further aggression. but the japanese leaders say they need to rewrite the constitution to express the will of the people. the liberal democrats have been calling for the document to be amended every since the party was founded in 1955. shinzo abe says he needs to reopen the constitution to change how the japanese defend themselves. he wants them be able to exercise collective self-defense. first, he wants to make a change

that will make all changes easier. right now, any revision requires at least two-thirds of the members of both houses of the diet, and a majority of voters in a national referendum. abe wants to leez the two third's equipment to a simple majority. >> amendment of the constitution has been one of our main goals since the foundation of our party. it was our pledge in the recent lower house election, and it will be again in the coming upper house election. >> members of the japan restoration party are on sight. but abe and his new partners are cautious. he has to keep them happen with

an inspection expected this summer. he says lawmakers have to be careful. >> the candidates are pretty much dependent on the supporters of the party. so it's not easy for them to depart from the party. >> to do what they want, abe and members of his party will have to almost double the number of seats they hold in the upper house. they will start out trying to bring their coalition partner. then they will have to convince the public. fans of japan's national

support are getting their fix of shoving, pushing, and slapping. the 15-day summer grand sumo has started. so what should we expect? the grand sumo tournament is held six times a year in japan. this time, around four fresh faces have joined the top division. among the possible contenders, a mongolian is the favorite. he is trying to win back to back titles. he got his ninth championship in march. the most in history. he is able to fend him off for a moment but he calmly slaps him down. hakuho's 24 titles put him in fourth place overall. he's now off his mongolian camp

-- compatriot sasshoryu's 25. he has a chance to beat taiho who won 32 championships. he is hoping to redeem himself after finishing with a dismal nine wins and six losses in march. as the yokozuna he needs to place well and win each and every tournament. they are hoping to score a huge up set. they both lose balance at the get go, harumafuji loses his balance but he pulls off the upset. hakuho shows who's boss but harumafuji is off to a rocky start. let's look how they got to the sport's highest rank. currently there are 635 professional sumo wrestlers, among them only 42 compete in

the top division. there are five different ranks. there is yokozuna, ozeki, sekiwake, komusubi and mae fwrks gashi. and the lowest known as rank and file. it is a symbol of strength and success in professional sumo. that's why yokozuna are advised to keep on winning, period. besides the two yokozuna a couple of up and commerce are getting attention this time around. it is a newly promoted goeido. he is 27 years old. he's been fighting at the third highest sekiwaki rank for seven consecutive tournaments. he won ten bouts in march and put together a string of double digit winning records he'll likely earn promotion to ozeki in 2013. okinoumi has become the first native in 121 years to rich the fourth highest rank of komusubi. he's fighting aggressively with his solid physic.

here is goiedo competing on monday. he took on the bulgarian oshu. on the left-hand outside grip he marches forward and forces the ozeki wanna-be out. okinoumi's day two event was kotoshugi. he takes the ozeki's charge and finds himself back pedaling. he refuses to he's up and easily takes the match. finally, let's go over how the top ranked performed after two days into the may tourney. the top dogs, hakuho is two for two. he is in the driver's seat. haramafuji is 1-1. after withdrawing from the match competition with an injury, kotooshu must win to maintain

his ozeki status. otherwise he'll be demoted to sekiwaki. goeido's record is the same to far. he wants to regroup and bounce back from his two early losses. that's all for today's sumo sum-up. it's still early in the may tournament, and anything could happen in the course of the next 13 days. i'll be back with a recap of the end of the competition so i'll see you then. there is a tropical cyclone in the bay of bengal. >> yes, we're going to go there first of all and talk about a tropical cyclone heading in towards bangladesh and myanmar. it subpoena likely to make rainfall on thursday near the end of the week anyway. the winds are currently

sustained at 17 miles per hour. the winds are not going to be an issue. the rain is going to be coming down. there's a lot of people in temporary houses there and that could really be an issue. it is a story that we will see into the ooesz. things are going to share in the north half of the country. comes other from china, they're turning a little severe, and that will be on wednesday night. the southern half should be staying dry under pressure. meanwhile, downtowards central china, things are changing here too as they spread in heavy rain. you can see those showers blossoming there. we're looking across the northern countries. it is 28 in seoul and 26 in

tokyo. they will moderate to what we ublly see here in the middle of the week. to the americas and the west here, thunderstorms and showers in the mountains. a surge of warmth through the center of the continent. now it's not going to be bringing much in the way of rainfall. when we put all of those things together, it will be dry, windy, and hot. it's a good recipe for fire and there are some watches and warnings in the northern plains posted for that. the warmth will spread in the midwest. chicago you will see a big jump in your temperature, but it's very quite chilly. there is frost expected in the early hours of the monday for

you in the great lakes region. there is a low in canada that's bringing in chilly air. that will be improving for the rest of the week. look at 191 degrees in toronto, 17 in chicago, that will be jumping up to the upper 20s in the next day or two. in l.a., 32 degrees. it will come down to the upper 20s with that cooler air coming in. lastly 2000 university. it will be dominated by a low pressure system. that's bringing chilly and wet weather not just through through the british isles. the next couple days we'll see showers coming down from that system as well. drier in the center of the

continent, warming up as well, but it will be wet with thunderstorms for you into turkey and the balkin and russia as well. out east it's looking very summer-like indeed. in london, did doesn't look much like spring at all. just ten degrees for you and showers. here is your extended forecast.

before we go, the higher temperatures that rachel told us about are giving an early boost to tales with something associated to japan. for years, jab news have heard the bells and thought of a hot summer day. the items went on sale in april. the shob's owner says ee ee eer

says he sold 20% of his stock because of the unabseasonably wm weather. that's it for "newsline" this hour. thank you for joining us wherever you are. .

in february this year, elin lindqvist a freelance journalist from sweden visited miyagi prefecture. he was in japan in 2011 after the earthquake reporting on the aftermath of the disaster. >> i felt it was very important to come to japan and to talk to people here and to understand what exactly were people feeling, how were people doing in tohoku. >> elin lindqvist returned to