welcome to "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. rescue workers in india are racing to save people who are in danger because of flooding and landslides. monsoon rains have turned parts of the north into a disaster zone. authorities say they've confirmed nearly 600 deaths. but the number is expected to rise. swollen rivers swept away houses and roads in the himalayan state of uttarkhand.

state government officials say they launched full-scale rescue operations on thursday. a day later emergency workers found more than 400 bodies. officials have confirmed at least 576 deaths. landslides have blocked roads. 60,000 tourists and hindu pilgrims are stranded in towns across uttarkhand. helicopters are carry people to safety. the mayor of the brazilian city of rio did ja nero says he won't tolerate violent demonstrations. more than a million protesters have taken to the streets across the country to speak out against government spending on international sporting events. some have targeted public and private property. rio mayor eduardo pei says he supports democratic rallies but rejects all violence. he says the safety of citizens must be guaranteed. the anti-government protests began earlier this month.

the wave of unrest soon washed across the country. demonstrators first fought back against public transit fee hikes. they soon started calling on brazilian leaders to spend more on welfare and education rather than building infrastructure for the world cup soccer finals in 2014 and the 2016 olympics. more than a million people took part in rallies in over 100 cities. some protests in rio turned violent. people set vex on fire and damaged buildings. more demonstrations are being planned across the country. authorities in pyongyang have been showing almost daily they're taupe dialogue about the situation on the korean peninsula. their first vice foreign minister has met with a senior official in china and agreed restarting multinational talks would be effective. kim kye gwan had lunch in beijing with foreign minister wang yi. the pair discussed in details

the stalled six-party talks on the north's nuclear program. the negotiations have been suspended since december 2008. kim has already said his country is ready to take part in any form of dialogue including the six-party talks. he later held meetings with chinese official in the zhongnanh zhongnanhai, the government's compound. they are pushing for direct talks with the united states. their enjoy to the u.n. has repeated an offer to hold government level discussions, but there is a condition. the ambassador gave a rare news conference at u.n. headquarters in new york. >> they will never give up its nuclear deterrent unless the united states fundamentally and irreversible abandons its

hostile policy. >> he says that the hostile policy is to blame for heightens tensions on the korean peninsula. talking points would include a proposal to replace the armistice agreement that ended the korean war in 1953 with a peace treaty. sin is urging nations not to comply with u.s.-led u.n. security council sanctions or threats. he says his country rejects the sanctions imposed in retaliation for its nuclear and missile tests. sin's news conference was the first in three years by a north korean envoy to the u.n. the last came in 2010 when diplomats defended the north following the singi isinking ofh korean warship in the yellow sea. they're discussing the merits of the sites nominated for world heritage status. they spent the first three days looking at nominations. people in japan are hoping

they'll approve mount fuji. committee members got together in the cambodian capital phnom penh. they approved eight sites as national properties. those include the region of western china and mount etna in italy. observers say committee members could endorse mount fuji as early as saturday. the mountain is a candidate for recognition as a cultural property. it's 19th on unesco's list. committee members first have to get through nominations for natural properties and sites that are natural and cultural. lawyers for u.s. tech giant apple have won a victory in their global patent fight against south korea samsung electronics. the latest case unfolded in tokyo. a tokyo district court issued a preliminary verdict on friday in favor of apple.

the judge said that technology used in some samsung products infringes on an apple patent. the patent in question includes technology that's used for scrolling the screen on smartphones and tablets. pages snap back when users come to end. apple lawyers argue the sale of samsung products involving the infringed patent total about $760 million. the trial will continue to determine damages for a final verdict. samsung's spokesperson says they will study the ruling to decide whether to file an appeal. they say the technology in question is no longer used in any products currently on sale. a district badly contaminated by radiation from fukushima daiichi will soon be powering the community's recovery. the mayor says it will be home to a solar electricity plant. norio kanno is mayor of iitate

village. he says local leaders are joining hands with an electric equipment company in tokyo. he says they'll build what's known as a mega solar power plant on 14 hectares of land that belong to the village. the land used to be a ranch. the mayor says the plant will generate 10,000 kilowatts of electricity, enough to supply 3,000 households for a year. local leaders plan to spend about $40 million in construction. the mayor says they'll sell the electricity for a profit. he says they'll make about $7 million over 20 years and he says they'll use that money to support recovery work in the village. >> translator: the solar plant will be a symbol of the reconstruction of iitate. >> construction is due to start next april. the plant's expected to start generating electricity in april 2016. here's the three-day world weather forecast.

♪ have been admiring part of their country's cultural heritage. they visited the imperial

archive to see ancient music scores that were restored to their original beauty. the music was written for a kind of lute called the biwa. experts restored scores for 40 pieces of players. and instructions for players. it represents the heian period between the 12th and 8th centuries. paper is decorated with gold dust. officials bought the scores 55 years ago from a branch of the imperial family. restoration experts repaired worn holes and colored it with pigments from the grounds of the imperial palace. they spent 20 years on the job. the emperor and empress met some of the experts and praised their efforts claiming the biwa was considered an essential skill for emperors back in the heian period. the restored scores will help

people learn about the imperial culture of a bygone era. that's all for this hour on "newsline." i'm keiko