glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's tuesday, july 2nd, i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. the man who exposed u.s. intelligence gathering secrets is reportedly reaching out to another nation for help. russian media say edward snowden has applied for political asylum in russia. the former national security agency contractor has asked

ecuador for asylum. snowden revealed last month that nsa agents collect phone and private data at home and abroad. american authorities have charged him with espionage and asked russia to extradite him. he's believed to be staying in the transit area of a moscow airport. vladimir putin said he can stay in russia if he promises to stop leaking information. >> translator: if he wants to stay in russia, there's one condition. he must stop his activities aimed at inflicting damage on our american partners. >> the latest reports based on snowden's revelations have put even more heat on the u.s. government. they say american agents spied on embassies and missions belonging to their allies around the world. nhk world has details. >> reporter: the german magazine "der spiegel" reported that workers at the u.s. national

security agency installed listening devices in eu offices in washington and new york. they say they eavesdropped on meetings on eu officials. they cited a secret document leaked by snowden. the article said nsa workers hacked into computer networks to intercept documents and e-mails. eu leaders responded with strong words. >> i was shocked in the case. if it is true, as a european representative of the institution like a representative of an enemy. >> reporter: the report also describes a u.s. spying program in germany. it says the operation is as comprehensive as the ones in china and iraq. u.s. agents monitored about 500 phone calls and e-mails every month.

german prosecutors have launched an investigation. the document leaked by snowden also points to spying on other u.s. allies. a report in the british newspaper "the guardian," said the u.s. had surveillance systems in 38 embassies and diplomatic offices in washington and new york. that includes france, mexico, south korea and japan. japan's chief cabinet secretary said his government will ask the u.s. to confirm whether the report is true or not. >> translator: we are not sure about the alleged report. we would like to seek information through diplomatic channels. >> reporter: u.s. intelligence officials released a statement saying they will respond to the complaints from eu politicians through appropriate diplomatic channels. they say u.s. security agencies

go about collecting information just like other nations do. one person who has come out in support of snowden is the founder of wikileaks. julian assange calls the whistleblower a hero. >> there is no stopping the publishing process at this stage. great care has been taken to make sure that mr. snowden can't be pressured by any state. >> reporter: snowden is believed to be in the transit area of a moscow airport. his whereabouts have not been confirmed but his revelations are affecting diplomacy around the world. reporting for nhk world. u.s. president barack obama is trying to reassure his allies and play down the significance of snowden's revelations. obama said he's ordered his staff to analyze claims that the national security agency bugged eu offices and embassies in

washington, but he suggested that spying on other nations was nothing unusual. >> wherever there's an intelligence service, here's one thing they're going to be doing. they're going to be trying to understand the world better from sources that aren't available through "the new york times" or nbc news. >> obama said the u.s. never does anything that would betray european leaders. egyptians are watching a familiar political story unfold in their country. military commanders have issued an ultimatum to president mohamed morsi and his opponents. they say they'll intervene if both sides fail to resolve their differences by wednesday afternoon. anti-government protesters are demanding morsi resign. they say they won't leave the streets until he leaves office. nhk world reports from kir pope cairo. >> reporter: about a million people poured into the streets

of cairo and other cities. morsi opponents say that the conditions have worsened during his rule which began a year ago on sunday. some administrators in the egyptian capital stormed the head office of the muslim brotherhood. it is is the president's party. morsi supporters in the building opened fire. state-run television is reporting that violence since sunday has killed at least 14 people. protesters surrounding the presidential palace say they're not going anywhere. they're telling morsi to step down by tuesday at 5:00 p.m. >> translator: we gave an official notice demanding that morsi resign by tuesday. we will continue rallies until he steps down. >> reporter: morsi supporters

have been occupying a road about three kilometers from the presidential palace. they are threatening to use force if. >> translator: morsi was elected. the only way to force him to step down is through an election. we protect the president with our lives. >> reporter: government officials are calling for talks to end the turmoil. a presidential spokesperson says morsiy's open to dialogue with the various political parties and national powers. mustafa fathy, nhk world, cairo. the top diplomat from the

united states is stressing the asia pacific will continue to be one of his country's main priorities. secretary of state john kerry has pledged to strengthen u.s. involvement in the security and stability of the region. kerry addressed foreign ministers from the association of southeast asia nations at their conference in brunei. some asean members have criticized china for increasing its activities in the south china sea. kerry says the u.s. interests are with remaining international interests. >> as a nation, we take our pacific relationships and responsibilities and we will continue to build an active adherence in every respect. >> he met with counterparts from japan and south korea to go over their united approach on north korea. they say they'll work together to push authorities in pyongyang to stop developing nuclear weapons.

kerry sat down in brunei with fumio kishida and south korean foreign minister yun byung-se. >> translator: this is the right time for representatives of the three countries to exchange opinions over north korean issues. >> yun called the meeting significant. the first of its kind since japan and south korea elected new governments and president obama entered his second term. kerry said the three nations have been coordinating responses to the north's provocations. north korean leaders have indicated they're willing to restart talks on their nuclear program, but the ministers agreed the country must first abide by u.n. security council resolutions and abandon its nuclear development. now, kishida also held one on one talks with south korea's yun. they agreed to try to improve relations between their countries.

ties remain strained over a territorial dispute and other issues. >> translator: japan and south korea are important partners that share fundamental values. >> translator: the administration of president park guen-hye wants to work closely with japan to ensure the stable development of bilateral ties. >> the 30-minute meeting was the first between foreign ministers since japanese prime minister shinzo abe and south korean president park guen-hye took office. bilateral meetings took place four or five times a year until 2011, but relations soured over historical issues. japan and south korea are at odds over islets in the sea of japan. south korea controls them, but japan claims them as part of its history -- or rather its territory. in april, foreign minister yun cancelled a trip to tokyo after

members of the japanese cabinet visited yasakuni shrine. it o honors the war dead including leaders convicted of war crimes after world war ii. he pledged to handle matters with the utmost care. kishida said he hoped the south korean government will better understand japan's position. populous, prosperous, pushing ahead. chi china's rise brought it wealth, power and problems. an income gap divides its people, ploos threatens their health and disputed seas strain relations with its neighbors. find out about the challenges china faces on "newsline." >> tens of thousands of people have marched through hong kong's streets. they called for rulers to honor promises of universal suffrage. victims organized on the 16th anniversary of hong kong's

reversion to chinese rule. some waved the flag used when the territory was british and called for the right to vote for the chief executive in 2017. they protested against officials who said they would screen the candidates. >> translator: what we want is true democracy in hong kong in accordance with the law. ♪ >> top figures attended a ceremony celebrating hong kong's return. chief executive leung chun-ying said it's key to work towards universal suffrage. he praised china for the preferential treatment that has allowed the development of hong kong. sentiment worsened in june from the previous month. that's fueling concerns over the outlook of the world's second largest economy. china's national bureau of statistics said on monday the official purchasing manager's index stood at 50.1 last month,

that's just over the 50-point mark indicating growth, but the index fell 0.7 percentage points from may. an index on production orders was also down. it tumbled 1.4 points month on month indicating slowing economic activity. the declines come on the back of a sluggish global economy. export growth is also losing steam due to the yuan's strength against other major currencies. u.s. defense officials are planning to double the deployment of a controversial transport aircraft in okinawa, southern japan. they say they'll send 12 ospreys, a plane locals say is noisy and dangerous. japanese defense ministry officials told the government that the ospreys will arrive at the u.s. marine corps futon ma air station in early august. a squadron was deployed last year.

okinawa governor hirokazu nakaima said that the u.s. should call off the plan or deploy the additional aircraft outside okinawa. >> translator: people's concerns over the ospreys have not been addressed. >> he claims the u.s. military has violated rules for operating the osprey more than 300 times. a fast-moving wildfire in the u.s. state of arizona has killed some of the people who are trained to put it out. authorities say 19 firefighters are dead. the fire started on friday in the unit of yarnell. authorities say by sunday teams had recovered the bodies of the firefighters. >> the hot shot crew are the people that literally go out on the fireline and attack with tools and other implements. these are the corps of fire fighting right there in the middle of the incident. >> dry, hot conditions and high winds have caused the fires to spread out of control.

arizona officials say the flames have already burned their way through 800 hectares of land. some residents face evacuation. several hundred firefighters are still working around the clock to put out the fires. >> south africans are hoping prayer and song will help their former president make a full recovery. nelson mandela is in critical condition in hospital struggling with a lung infection and other ailments. people have packed churches across the country to pray for the 94-year-old. about 300 gathered in a church in johannesburg where anti-apartheid activists used to meet in secret. they paid tribute to the man who helped dismantle the country's system of racial segregation. a priest said mandela gave hope and joy to the nation. >> he standing up for the country, he's standing up for all of us. so we wish him rest from all the pain, all the suffering. >> crowds continue to maintain a

vigil outside a hospital in pretoria where doctors are officialing mandela. musicians and singers have joined to keep spirits high. ♪ the secretary general of the u.n. is urging countries around the world to intensify their efforts to reduce poverty and protect the environment. ban ki-moon says progress has been made in reaching the millennium development goals but he notes much remains to be done ahead of the 2015 deadline. u.n. staff put out an interim report on what's been accomplished so far. they say the goal of cutting worldwide poverty in half has been reached. 22% of the global population lived in absolute poverty in 2010. in 1990, 47% got by on less than $1.25 a day. the report goes on to say targets for reducing the number of people suffering from hunger and infectious diseases will likely be reached. but it notes less progress has

been made on environmental protection. it says greenhouse gas emissions have grown by 46% since 1990. the secretary general notes there are fewer than 1,000 days left before the millennium development goals deadline. thousands of residents are still waiting to go home. vast tracts of land are still waiting to be restored. and more than half of fishing ports on the pacific coast must be rebuilt. people in northeastern japan still face challenges following the 2011 disaster, but step by step they're moving forward. see their stories every wednesday on "the road ahead" right here on "newsline." more and more people in asia have the means to travel to get the health care they need. many go to singapore which has some of the world's best facilities. the growth in medical tourism

prompted some japanese doctors to set up there. we see how they plan to help their patients. >> reporter: this hospital is home to a new health care venture. japanese doctors are leasing the facilities. they aim to provide live donor liver transplants. this doctor is the project head. he's an authority on liver transplants from living donors. he has performed about 2,000 operations. >> translator: many people are still suffering across asia. we want to export japanese medical know-how. we should be working more closely with people of other countries. >> reporter: tanaka's team has partnered with a japanese firm.

company staff have drafted the business plan and provide administrative support. singapore permits hospitals such as this one to lease their facilities. doctors can then treat patients and even operate using advanced theaters and machines. tanaka's colleagues say within three years they hope to perform 30 operations per year. so-called medical tourism is a growth industry and singapore is a favorite destination. for residents of asia, the island state offers not only quality personnel and facilities but also culture familiarity. >> translator: many asian countries lack high level health care. more and more people are going abroad for treatment. we chose singapore because it's ideally located as a hub for those patients.

>> reporter: tanaka's team say coming to singapore will help improve the skills of japanese and local doctors. this doctor is one of the members. she has assisted tanaka in operations around the world. she wanted to come to singapore to apply what she has learned and polish it further. she's called to singapore even before the clinic opens. she's been asked to consult with local doctors about the treatment of a certain patient. last year an indonesian girl received a liver transplant by tanaka in japan. the operation was successful, but the girl is showing signs of rejecting the new organ.

transplant patients require sophisticated post surgical care, but in many asian countries, such attention can be difficult and impractical to provide. >> translator: i hope to learn about my patients' lifestyles and values. we should be able to see patients on a regular basis and help them maintain their health after receiving transplants. >> reporter: japanese doctors are hoping their project here will lead to the improvement of hospital services in all of asia. reporting for nhk world, singapore. all right, now let's take a look at the market figures.

time now for a check on the weather with say ako mori. what's the latest there? >> yes, a tropical storm has made landfall in western guangdong province this morning. the system is still packing winds of 83 kilometers per hour with gusts of nearly 130 kilometers per hour near the center of the storm system. after making landfall, it should quickly weak on the a tropical depression by wednesday morning due to friction over land and also a loss of moisture. winds could ease, but that rainfall will decrease. we're expecting more than 150

millimeter of rain in some locations. and these are the areas which were battered by the previous storm system last week. so additional rain is certainly not welcomed. the heavy rain is going to be a big story for the rest of china as well because we're seeing a very heavy rain across eastern sichuan. yesterday 300 millimeters fell in just 24 hours. it looks like an additional 100 millimeters is likely through tomorrow morning. flooding and landslides will be a big issue here. flooding the happening over towards northeastern china. and some of it is starting to affect the korean peninsula. northcal north korea could be hit the hardest. with 150 millimeters. it should stay largely dry for northern japan but we're expecting wet conditions across much of the country and that includes saga prefecture. i want to show you video coming out of this area. the temple in saga temple turns

a brilliant pink. the lotuses bloom each morning from dawn until around noon. the flowers have been there for around 2,000 years. some are up to 30 sent ta meters at full bloom. beautiful flowers out there. but it seems it's not a good idea to see the beautiful flowers tomorrow because wet weather is anticipating starting wednesday. tokyo getting up to 28 degrees today but seoul going down to 24 degrees after days of hot conditions. heating up to 34 in beijing as well as chongqing on your tuesday. north america, we've been watching a tropical storm. this is delilah. it could become a hurricane by tuesday, but the good news is that it's pulling away from mexico. so tropical storm warnings and watches have been discontinued across the southwest coast. winds could ease, but rainfall will likely continue for the next couple of days across southwestern part of mexico. now, up towards the u.s. and

canada, it should stay largely dry on your monday, so enjoy your canada day, but across the u.s. there's a lot going on. we have flood rains across the east and extreme heat over towards the west. we have a stalled frontal system over towards the east. and this is causing ongoing heavy rain, isolated tornadoes are likely, that is accompanied by thunderstorms as well as gusty winds. we have a bermuda high over the atlantic. and this is preventing from the storm system this system from moving towards the east. so unstable weather will continue for the next several days here, unfortunately. out towards the west is very hot. going up to 53 degrees for you in death valley. 43 in sacramento. that's more than 10 degrees higher than where it should be this year. the heat is also affecting seattle going up to 29 on tuesday. here's the extended forecast. ♪

just a reminder of our lead story this hour. the man who exposed u.s. intelligence gathering secrets is reportedly reaching out to another nation for help. russian media say edward snowden has applied for political asylum in russia. the former national security agency contractor has also asked ecuador for asylum. snowden revealed last month that nsa agents collect private phone and internet data at home and abroad. american authorities have charged him with espionage and asked russia to extradite him. he's believed to be staying in the transit area of a moscow airport. president vladimir putin says snowden can stay in russia if he promises to stop leaking information. >> translator: if he wants to stay in russia, there's one condition. he must stop his activities aimed at inflicting damage on

our american partners. >> and that is all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do join us again.