hello and welcome to "newsline." edward snowden is hold up in the moscow airport and looking for a way hout. u.s. authorities want the former intelligence contractor on espionage charges. president vladimir putin is

refusing to hand him over. >> translator: russia does not have an agreement with the u.s. to extradite criminals. >> he is on a state visit to finland he stressed the government was surprised by the arievt of the contractor and says the sooner snowden chooses a destination the better for them and russia. snowden revealed private phone and internet data. he was expected to fly to cuba earlier this week but he didn't board the plane. he has applied for asylum in ecuador.

u.s. state department representatives have repeated their request for snowden's extradition. >> we do believe there is a basis for law enforcement cooperation to expel mr. snowden based on the charges against him and the status of travel documents. >> patrick van trel pointed out that u.s. authorities have given suspects to russia many times in similar situations. he stressed the obama administration will use different channels to persuade the russians to hand over snowden. european leaders have postponed a new round of membership talks with the country. the negotiations were supposed to start wednesday but were put off until at least october.

the demonstrations began late last month over a plan to redevelop a park in istanbul. it turned into a nationwide show of anger against the prime minister. e.u. officials suspended membership talks with turkey three years ago because of concerns over member rights. they are worried a large number of immigrants would move to e.u. states. turkish leaders warned they will have to reconsider talks. the e.u. is trying to acknowledge criticism with members while at the same time prevent relations from worsening. north korean authorities have given another sign they are open to dialogue with other asian countries. the foreign minister is expected to fly for the regional forum. the meeting is one of few conferences north kreen

officials attend. >> translator: we have heard the north korean foreign minister will attend. >> show thai young says he has no plans to meet his counterpart. the first vice foreign minister met his chinese counterpart last week. kim said pyongyang is willing to talk to all sides. he said officials will attend any kind of meeting, including the six-party talks on the country's nuclear development. the talks broke down in 2008. analysts are waiting to hear what north korea's foreign minister will say at the forum. u.s. secretary of state john kerry will also be there. chinese activist has criticized china's human rights record. he is the first chinese human rights activist to address the legislaturer.

known for exposing abuses in china. chen is known for exposing abuses in china, including forced abortion. he escaped house arrest in shandong province in april last year. he made headlines world when he flew to the united states after seeking refuge in the u.s. embassy in beijing. he has been visiting taiwan since sunday. chen took note of taiwan's successful transition to democracy, and criticized china's one-party rule. >> translator: the chinese communist party claims that democracy does not suit chinese society. but this is an excuse to hold on to power. >> chen said corruption and persecution are rampant under china's dictatorship. he called for a quick shift to a system that attaches importance to human rights. chen's scheduled meeting with the head of the legislature, wang jing-pyng, was cancelled, possibly out of consideration for china.

security forces in afghanistan are trying to figure out how a raid took place. >> reporter: it began around 6:30 in the morning. i was at the palace to cover a summit hosted by president hamid karzai. i counted out least seven blasts. soon after a gunfight eerupted between militants and security forces. journalists were taken into the basement of the palace. we could hear the battle for

about another hour. >> a suicide bomber and four other attackers died during the firefight. three security guards were also killed. the taliban released a statement claiming responsibility. they said the presidential palace, the defense ministry and the hotel used by foreigners were the targets. the palace is located in a heavily guarded part of the afghan capital near the u.s. embassy and the headquarters of the international security assistance force. this month kabul has witnessed a surge in taliban violence in the city. the group earlier targeted the international airport as well as a bus transporting workers from a judicial court. last week the taliban opened an office in qatar to facilitate direct talks with the united states, but the first round of talks has been postponed and not yet rescheduled. on monday afghan president hamid karzai and u.s. special envoy james dobbins discussed how to move the process forward.

tuesday's attack is being seen as an attempt by the taliban to undermine karzai. in a separate attack the same day, a roadside explosion hit a minibus in the southern province of kandahar. 11 passengers were killed, including eight women and two children. with no afghan or international troops in the area, officials say the militants deliberately targeted civilians. indonesia is promising to do everything in its power to tackle the fires that have blanketed singapore and parts of malaysia with a dangerous haze. the president on tuesday visited emergency services to offer his support a day after making a rare public apology to neighboring countries. nhk world reports. >> reporter: the president on tuesday visited an air base near jakarta. in a public relations effort for

audiences at home and abroad, he was shown giving encouragement to the emergency services dispatched to attack the fires. some farmers on the island are burning patches of forest illegally to fertilize the soil and kill insects. the smoke is carried by seasonal rains to malaysia and singapore. thick haze forced malaysia on sunday to declare a state of emergency. two days earlier, singapore said pollution reached the highest level, indicating extremely dangerous air quality. some restaurants were forced to close, and an international conference was postponed. experts say the economic impact on singapore and malaysia could cost them $9 billion. the most since 1997. singapore prime minister

conveyed serious concerns in a letter last week to the president of indonesia. he replied on monday by issuing a rare apology. >> translator: we apologize to the people of singapore and malaysia and ask for their understanding. >> reporter: indonesia has stepped up efforts to put out the fires with measures including water bombing planes and cloud seeding. on monday, authorities arrested two farmers accused of illegally starting fires. the president says his administration is doing everything in its power to bring the situation under control. but the fires aren't only on the surface. experts say deep layers of burning peat will take time to extinguish. as long as its neighbors keep suffering, they'll remain under intense diplomatic pressure. nhk world, jakarta.

u.s. and russian leaders are trying to organize a conference to negotiate an end to syria's civil war. but government and opposition forces remain far apart on preconditions for joining the talks. they're continuing their armed struggle. troops loyal to president bashar al assad have been regaining ground. the lebanese militant group, hezbollah, has helped them. but its involvement is bringing the war across the border. nhk world's sho beppu shows us. >> reporter: hermel is a hezbollah stronghold. portraits of the militant group's leader, hasan asala, adorn the streets. in some areas, his image is side by side with that of syrian president bashar al assad.

lesser-known people are also honored here. this man's relative was a hezbollah militant who died fighting in syria. >> translator: i am proud of my cousin. he died as a martyr. >> reporter: this narrow waterway and the outskirts of hermel divides lebanon and syria. armed, hezbollah fighters cross the border freely. many went to the syrian town of qusair in may and june to support assad's troops. they helped them push out anti-government forces.

by aiding assad, hezbollah is trying to ensure its own survival. for years, its shiite allies in iran sent money and military support through syria. hezbollah supporters favor intervention in the conflict. but some have paid a heavy price. this man says his 20-year-old daughter died after the anti-government forces shelled the town. >> translator: only a parent knows what it's like to lose a child. it's heartbreaking. >> reporter: and many in lebanon support the syrian rebels.

most of them are sunnis, the same as the rebels. they held an anti hezbollah rally earlier this month in beirut. the protesters clashed with supporters of the militant group. some people were injured. 28-year-old hashan sellman died. >> translator: hezbollah killed my brother. they call themselves the party of god, but their deeds are evil. >> reporter: the syrian conflict started as a protest against the assad regime. but it is turning into a sectarian war between shiites and sunnis, furthering tensions. its repercussions are especially dangerous for lebanon, where religious divisions from the

civil war remain close to the surface. sho beppu, nhk world, hermel, lebanon. more japanese people are waiting to get married or have children. those are the findings of a government report that shows no sign of a turnaround for japan's low birth rate. officials blame lack of job security and low salaries for contributing to the long-running problem. the report says that in 2011, the average age at which japanese men got married for the first time was nearly 31. it was 29 for women. that's about three years later for men, when compared to 1980. it's almost four years later for women. it also says that the average age for a woman to have her first child was older than 30 for the first time. it was slightly later than the previous year. as of 2010, a record percentage of men and women remained unmarried into their 50s.

the cabinet approved the annual report, which proposes a range of measures to address the trend. >> translator: we have to implement emergency measures to address this critical situation. we'll support people at these stages of their life. marriage, pregnancy and childbirth. this is in line with the government's economic growth strategy. >> reporter: the minister said they will look at attempts to increase birth rates around the world, such as making it easier for young people to find housing. european and asian countries are keen to explore the arctic circle's trove of natural resources. an official from greenland says he will assist in developing the pole cap. greenland is located within the arctic circle. it's the world's largest island with a population of around 50,000. it's an autonomous region of denmark, but seeking independence. last month, japan became an observer of the arctic council. the international forum oversees exploitation and conservation in

the arctic. the deputy minister is visiting japan to strengthen ties. japan appointed an ambassador in charge of arctic affairs in march. >> we are ready to explore the new opportunities. and japan has been very important. japan is a very important act in greenland in the oil industry today already. and we would like to see japan also as an important actor in the other sectors of the raw materials boom that we are experiencing these years. >> andersen indicated the island wants to step up its development of natural resources. greenland is also attracting attention from asia, europe and the united states with its ample natural resources. chinese companies are also showing interest. >> for all these projects, and there are many, you need to build your own fort and you need to build your own airport. you need to build your own power station.

it's frontier investment. and some of these, the chinese are very good for. each investor has things they are good at. and we have to be realistic about there are some things the chinese can do that nobody else can do. >> andersen said chinese involvement is essential. he said greenland wants to deepen ties with china, while paying attention to environmental protection. time now to take a look at the market figures.

more and more people in industrialized nations are developing food allergies. there has been a corresponding increase in the number of deaths. nhk world has the story. >> reporter: last month children with food allergies gathered to publici publicize. a 7-year-old girl in the state of virginia died last year after eating a peanut, a food she was allergic to. since then parents, schools and

legislateers have taken steps to avoid accidents like that. they are trying a variety of methods. at this nebraska elementary school students fingers are scanned to identify children who have food allergies. first grader is allergic to peanuts. whenever he is scanned the computer flashes a warning. >> this comes in very handy especially at the beginning of the school year when we have new kids coming and i don't know the kids that well. >> reporter: children with peanut allergies sit at a designated table. with this arrangement it is not as likely the children will come into contact with food that contains peanuts. if a child should eat dangerous food and find breathing

difficult the staff are prepared. they can administer an epipen. in 1998 nebraska was the first state to adopt a rule requiring schools to have an epipen on hand. if a student goes into severe shock it is the teacher's responsibility to administer the device. faculty members who give injections are not held responsible if something goes wrong. but teachers must receive regular training on how to use the epipen. >> where is the only place we can give it? >> the outer thigh. we go to that area. how long do we hold it? >> ten seconds. >> you let that medication get in. >> andrea runs a group that spreads information about food allergies. her group has investigated accidents at schools and held study sessions so a more

rigorous protocol could be implemented. >> this is a life threatening asthma attack or a life threatening severe allergy you have to act so quickly due to those tragic deaths at school the school community reached out to medical professionals. they came together and came up with a protocol. >> reporter: the c er measures have had good results. high school freshman went into sudden shock after eating a sun flow er seed at school. a teacher injected an epipen and the girl recovered. >> i look at it as my duty to make sure that every student i treat as my own. >> if they didn't have it i could have died. you never know. so that scares me. i feel great. i feel happy and i'm thankful

for my teachers that were there to help me. >> 15 million people in the united states are said to be c allergic to some kind of school. other states are still debating legislation to save children. time for a check in world weather. people in parts of western and central japan are getting an incredible amount of rain. >> you are absolutely right. significant amounts of rafrl has been observed in much of western and central japan due to the two water masses bringing and supplying moisture to this area and energizing the seasonal event lingering over. we have a record of 400

millimeters already. the land is very well soaked, very prone to flooding. so any amounts of additional rainfall could cause further flooding as well as land slides. i'm afraid land slides have already occurred in hiroshima. days of torrential down pours have caused land slides. one person was buried and found dead after several hours. the land slide was about 20 meters high and 50 meters wide. the city has had 175 millimeters of rain in three days. rain is likely to continue into this afternoon. so unfortunate news that this rain will be continuing across the area. you see very bright pink water moving over hiroshima where that video came out from. additional amounts of 100

millimeters is likely into the next 24 hours. you see it will be moving oever to central japan. in addition to that upper cold air disturbance clashing. after the daytime heating we are looking into thunder showers which would be random in the afternoon. more rain of about 200 millimete millimeters. certainly enough to trigger flooding land slides and mud slides. the seasonal event is moving on the way. it is very active. additional amounts of 120 millimeters likely. southwestern monsoonal flow is quite active here in theindo china peninsula. chances of thunderstorms leaving bangkok with 33 degrees. northeastern china will likely see threats of large hail, as

well. tokyo at 23 degrees. over to north america. still the system is going to be affecting the great lakes region. yesterday we had a report of two tornado touchdowns in north dakota. the same system affecting the areas including bismarck, minneapolis and chicago. flash flooding the main threat. that is going to be continuing into your tuesday overnight hours. to the southwest we want the precipitation and we are not going to get any. you see the temperatures reflected here with that heat. phoenix 43 degrees. quite breezy here. there is a lot of recipes for critical fire weather. excessive heat warnings are still posted across southern california and into arizona. still very summer like. i'll leave you now for our extended forecast.

that is all for this edition of "newsline." thanks very much for joining us.