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. egypt has a new interim president. he is replacing mohamed morsi who was ousted by the military. the united states and the european union launch a probe into alleged spying by american intelligence workers. and fertile ground for

terrorists. afghanistan struggles to contain farm chemicals used to make improvised bombs. egypt has a new head of government replacing ousted president mohamed morsi. the chief justice of the constitutional court has been installed as interim president. adly mansour took the oath of office in cairo. >> military commanders announced they had suspended the constitution and ordered a new presidential election. they chose mansour as provisional head of state.

>> anti-morsi rallies erupt ed across the country last week. protesters said the economy and public security worsened after the president took power a year ago. they demanded he resign immediately. military commanders gave morsi 48 hours to resolve the crisis. he rejected the ultimatum, so the army moved in. they have deployed armored vehicles at a number of locations, but morsi supporters have barricaded roads in some parts of cairo. they say they are ready to die fighting the military. a video on the internet shows

the ousted president. a spokesperson says morsi is being held at a defense ministry facility. the egyptian prosecutor's office has ordered the arrest of the top leaders of muslim brotherhood. the group supports deposed president mohamed morsi. egypt's state-run news agency says arrest warrants were issued from muslim brotherhood supreme guide mohamed bade and his deputy. prosecutors accuse the two men of inciting violence. he's seen as the top political strategist. he was the group's first choice candidate for the election a year ago. prosecutors say the two leaders ordered members of the group to kill anti-morsi demonstrators. clashes outside the muslim brotherhood headquarters on sunday and monday left eight people dead. the violence in egypt is having a severe impact on tourism.

government officials in the u.s. and britain say citizens should avoid visiting egypt. japanese travel agencies are canceling package tours. japanese foreign ministry officials raised the travel advisory one notch on wednesday. they recommend people should reconsider plans to visit egypt. staff of travel agency reacted to the announcement they had canceled tours for this month. about 60 japanese firms have companies in egypt. they have ordered some of their employees to return to japan. governments of the united states, britain, and many other nations are warning their citizens to defer travel to the country. leaders in the united states and europe are taking a step toward healing a recent rift. they are gathering experts to study allegations of u.s. spying on allies in europe. the german magazine said last week that the u.s. national

security agency wiretapped european union facilities both in the u.s. and in europe. the report was based on documents leaked by former american intelligence contractor edward snowden. european commission president manuel barrosa and german chancellor angela merkel met in berlin. they announced the launch of working groups to look into the reported surveillance. white house officials say the first meeting is scheduled for monday. european leaders had expressed concern about the spying allegations. they said they could derail negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement with the u.s. eu officials say the trade talks will go ahead as planned in parallel with the working group's investigations. american technology visionary who transformed the way people work has died. he invented the computer mouse and helped introduce innovations that shaped the way we communicate. he began work on computer

technology when he joined the stanford research institute in 1957. he invented the mouse in 1963 and gave the first public demonstration five years later. and he explained his theory for tying pages of information together using text-based links. that idea helped form the architecture of the internet. spokespersons for the standford institute shed light on his creation of the computer mouse. they say he was looking for a smoother way to input data and hit on the idea of a device that rolls on a ball. douglas englebart was 88. prime minister shinzo abe has worked to reshape japan's economy and get it to grow. now, he's setting his sights on amending the constitution. less than a year after putting abe in power, japanese voters have a chance to judge him on his record. don't miss our special coverage

leading up to the july 21st election right here on "newsline." politicians in japan will spend the next couple of weeks trying to sell their message to voters. candidates and party officials have filed the necessary paperwork for the upper house election. and so the official campaign is now underway. prime minister shinzo abe wants to wrestle control of the chamber away from the opposition and break a political deadlock in the diet. this will be the first national vote since abe and his ruling liberal democratic party took power last december. >> translator: we, the coalition government, unfortunately do not have the majority in the upper house. since the diet is divided, reconstruction efforts in northeastern japan are not up to speed. economic recovery is also not up to speed. reform is not proceeding. i want this division to be fixed.

your power helped change politics in last year's general election. the economy also changed. so, please, give us a strong mandate again in this upper house election. >> the leaders of the main opposition democratic party are fighting to keep control of the upper house. >> translator: six months have passed since the abe government came into power. now, i want all of you to stop and think if your lives have become better. the abe government has destroyed the lives of the japanese people. we need to do our best to faceoff against his administration in this upper house election. >> candidates from the following official political parties will also be chasing ballots. restoration party, new komeito, your party, people's life party,

japanese communist party, social democratic party, green wind. 121 of the 242 seats in the upper house will be at stake in the july 21st vote. 73 of them represent constituencies across japan. 48 are assigned to a proportional representation system. 271 candidates are running for constituency seats. and 162 candidates are vying for proportional representation spot. voters will consider the effectiveness of prime minister abe's economic policies known as abeconomics. and they'll decide whether to hand him more power so he can move ahead with his plans to amend the constitution. energy policy will also be on the top of people's minds. japanese have been talking about it since the 2011 nuclear

accident in fukushima. campaign managers are already busy mapping out their tactics. earlier i spoke with nhk world's senior political commentator. he has charted the strategy of countless campaigns. i started by asking him what's at stake in the upcoming election? >> for the prime minister quite a lot of things at stake. abe's hoping the ruling coalition can win majority in the upper house. the ruling liberal democratic party and its partner new komei already control the upper house, but it is the opposition has the power to block legislation. as a result abe has struggled to get bills through the diet. he says the divided parliament has produced years of indecisive politics. he also says his party needs to win this election to ensure a stable future for japan. recent opinion polls suggest that abe's cabinet still enjoys

relatively high public support. the ldp's strong performance in the election last month gave him a big boost. >> we hit on this a little bit earlier. what are the major issues for japanese voters? >> survey suggest many voters are focused upon the government's economic and energy polici policies. many seem to support abe's economic policies dubbed abeconomics. he's been pushing monetary easing and higher public spending. the prime minister says this has changed the mood in japan since he came to power six months ago. and yet many people say that they haven't felt the effects of an economic recovery. regarding energy policies, voters want to know where the parties stand on nuclear power in light of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. >> are there any other issues that will have an impact on the

o outcome? >> well, the constitution could be an issue too. prime minister shinzo abe wants to amend the constitution. he will need the backing of two-thirds of upper house members. abe says japan should be able to exercise the right to collective self-defense. he also wants to upgrade the status of the self-defense force to a national defense force. abe told reporters last month that he hopes to build a broad coalition of lawmakers who support constitutional change. but some regard abe as too hoekish and worry that the changes will cause friction with japan's asian neighbors. while polls suggest many of the japanese voters are still wondering whether the constitutional amendments are really necessary. we'll see how the japanese voters feel about this and other key issues in just over two weeks.

the european central bank has kept its key interest rate unchanged at a record low of .5%. this is aimed at supporting the eurozone's sluggish economy. the bank's poll makers decided to keep the rates on hold at its headquarters in frankfurt, germany. in may the board cut the rate to 0.5%. the regional economy is still in severe situation. the jobless rate stood at a record high of 12.2% in may. >> looking ahead our monetary policy stance will remain accommodative for as long as necessary. the governing council expects the key ecb interest rates to remain at present or lower levels for an extended period of time.

this expectation is based on the overall subdued outlook for inflation extending into the medium term given the broad base weakness in the real economy. >> the bank of england also decided to maintain its key rate at a record low of 0.5%. and the bank will keep the size of its asset purchase program at 375 billion pounds. the decisions were made at the first board meeting under the new governor, mark carney. now let's see how european markets are reacting to the announcement by the ecb and bank of england. looks like a rally in the stock market. london's ftse gaining by 2.76%. the dax ip almost 2% and the cac40 in paris up almost 2.2%. turning to currencies. the yur plunged more than 0.6% against the dollar after

draghi's news conference. taking a look at the euro/yen, $/yen at 100 to .04 to .05. the governor likes what he sees. karodu says the program of pumping money into the system is having a positive impact and will pull the country out of deflation. he spoke at a meeting of the bank's 32 branch managers. he says the economy is picking up. he expects domestic demand to grow as a result of the bank's monetary easing measures and the government's stimulus efforts. the boj chief says the economy is heading for a moderate recovery as countries outside japan also post growth. he says the central bank's bond buying program has let businesses and consumers to expect prices will rise. tourism officials say more and more travelers are visiting japan. more business leaders have started taking notice. they're offering goods and

services that meet the needs of muslims. officials at travel organizations that's trying to attract tourists from islamic regions hosted an event at a hotel near tokyo. about 200 people took part. the guest rooms are stocked with some important items for worship. they have prayer rugs on the floor and a sign that points in the direction of mecca. the event featured a tasting of foods japanese style dishes were prepared in accordance with islamic law. the chefs use no pork or alcohol. >> translator: i'm so glad i could try japanese food prepared with halow meat. >> it's good. i live in japan about two months. and it's very, very hard to find hallowed food especially for meats.

>> officials at the japan and national tourism organization say the number of muslims visiting japan from malaysia and indonesia has risen nearly 30% so far this year. four children have died in afghanistan when militants set off an explosive at a wedding. patchari raksawong in bangkok is following the story. >> officials have blamed the incident on the taliban. they say government employees attending the wedding were the real target. thursday's blast happened in the southern province of helmand, a hot bed of the islamist insurgency. afp reports the children who died were aged between 7 and 12. they were, apparently, collecting water from a river during the celebration when an improvised explosive device, or i.e.d., detonated on a footpath. the united nations estimates that 21% of civilians killed or wounded by i.e.d.s in

afghanistan in the first half of 2013 were children, preventing militants from making i.e.d.s is especially difficult because they often use chemicals that are readily available in this nation of farmers. nhk world hideki yui has more details. >> reporter: a bomb detonated remotely. afghans are dying every day from explosives like these. they killed more than 1,000 people last year. this bomb was constructed by afghan forces. the main ingredient of white powder is ammonium nitrate. set on fire, it becomes explosive. three years ago, the afghan

government banned all chemical fertilizers containing ammonium nitrate, but the ban has had little effect. militants smuggle chemicals across the border from neighboring pakistan. 70% of the bombs used in afghanistan are said to be made using fertilizer from pakistan. >> ammonia nitrate coming from pakistan and how much of a concern that is, the ammonium nitrate that is used in i.e.d.s is still a concern to the forces. >> reporter: this shop outside the capital sells fertilizer containing ammonium nitrate. a bag costs about $15. the shop will sell to anyone with money. >> translator: we just sell

fertilizer. it's not our fault if our products are put to bad use. >> reporter: fertilizer is widely used in pakistan. it's said to rapidly enhance the growth of wheat and cotton. many farmers couldn't survive without it. the u.s. government has demanded of pakistan prevent fertilizer containing ammonium nitrate from crossing into afghanistan. this year the pakistani government banned the movement of the chemicals into northwest regions near the border with afghanistan. it also pressed to introduce a system to monitor fertilizer sales in other regions. pakistan invited high-ranking officials from governments and militaries in the u.s. and europe to a meeting in may to discuss countermeasures. they agreed to crack down on smugglers near the border. but traffickers said the illegal

trade will continue. >> translator: they have clamped down and closed roads, but still we have various ways to get around that. >> reporter: usage of other sorts of fertilizer bombs are also on the rise, such as ones that use a material used in some chemical fertilizers, as well as mulches. these weapons are made from substances almost anyone can get their hands on, so keeping them out of the hands of terrorists seems like an almost impossible task. hideki yui, nhk world, islamabad. >> philippine troops have clashed with communist rebels on the island of luzon leaving eight guerilla fighters dead.

a.p. says fighting broke out in sorsogon province. authorities later recovered firearms, explosives and grenade launchers. the rebels accuse the government of failing to improve the lives of the poor and being subservant to the united states. the new people's army has around 4,000 active fighters. the u.s. and the european union have labeled it a terrorist organization. the 44-year insurgency has resulted in at least 30,000 deaths. the philippine government suspended peace talks in april after rebels rejected an immediate cease-fire. manila seems increasingly unlikely to achieve its goal of ending the violence by 2016. and that will wrap up our bulletin. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. emerging economic powers

still struggling with poverty. emboldened citizens still demanding democracy. the threat of violence, the push for peace, the shadow of conflict. get news and insight on south and southeast asia every weekday live from bangkok only on nhk world "newsline." and it looks like rainy season prevails here in japan. meteorologist robert speta has more. robert. >> let's first start off by talking about this and that frontal area continuing to linger overhead not just in japan but south korea. you see that big band of cloud cover still bringing heavy showers. show you video out of yamaguchi here into japan. a visual of how heavy the showers are. the past 24 hours in this city alone about 44 millimeters. 80 millimeters in just an hour spans some of these storms are packing. still the risk of landslides coming out of this as well.

what is happening into the upcoming weekend with this front because right now it is still overhead. but it should start to lift off here towards north going into friday and saturday. so the heaviest showers are going to push in across portions of korea, parts of northern japan here. about 150 millimeters still going to be expected though. and still these short-time heavy rains will continue to pop up. even on the pacific coast. what's starting to lift this off to the north is the high pressure down there towards the south. you're still going to be seeing very heavy showers here, but i'm talking near the coastal areas, even inland areas on the pacific si side you have the daytime heating due to the moisture associated with this front and rather hot out here.oing to get take a look at these temperatures. beijing up to about 34, 32 here on sunday. but tokyo up to 35 by sunday. typically you see about 28 for this time of year. so that is going to help fuel up those storms, makes the atmosphere quite unstable. that's when you start to see that rough weather pop up,

especially through the evening hours. let's take a look towards the americas, what's going on here as far as this really high amplitude jet stream continuing to linger overhead making for some foul weather in many areas out here for the independence day coming up here on thursday. actually, i want to show you video coming out of new york city because what's going on here is that the statue of liberty is reopening for the first time since hurricane sandy came ashore. so it's been over six months now on liberty island about 75% of the island was completely submerged by the storm surge here. ellis island also was completely submerged. that ended up about $59 million worth of damage. let's take a look at what is going to be happening though as far as the weather across this area. we still have the cloud cover, we're still going to have the rain showers in effect. so that may be souring up some of the activities, but still the heavy stuff is going to be remaining here towards the south. you got any independence day plans down here, that is very well going to be a hard time

getting those off because right now look at the florida panhandle. still expecting about 200 millimeters of rainfall, flash flood watches and warnings in effect across much of alabama through georgia, even into tennessee and kentucky here as well. those showers continue to persist overhead. then off towards the west i know we have this rain symbol here, but this is not widespread showers. it's very localized. heavy at times. risk of flash flooding. for the most part much of the southwest is extremely dry. so we have these fire weather bans in place. and the problem with that you get, well, the independence holiday people want to launch fireworks and that very well if you do go against some of these fire bans could result in, well, igniting more wildfires. so you want to be very careful about that. central to the u.s. though temperatures looking pretty decent. this is where you want to be if you have a picnic or anything outside. denver with a high 32, chicago up to 27. 30 in new york. that's a look at world weather. here's your extended forecast.

that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo. from all of us here at nhk world, thanks for joining us.

♪ ♪ the theme of today's spring paper. washi, paper made of a special japanese technique known as nagashazuki features exquisitely elegant designs created by the unpredictable movement of water.