welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hours. ncht supporters of egypt's ousted president have faced off against their opponents and security forces leaving seven people dead across the country. >> senior officials from the philippines work to strengthen military ties with the u.s. as the chinese navy becomes increasingly active in the

region. >> and as japanese prepare to vote in a national election, they are tuning in to a debate about whether their passivist constitution should be revised. pushing to bring back ousted president mohamed morsi have turned to the streets, they've run into a wall of security forces in others. seven people have died and more than 200 have been hurt. demonstrators gathered in the square and blocked streets in the area. security forces moved in and began firing teargas to disburse the crowd. some of the protesters responded by throwing rocks and setting fires. state-run media reported that the violence killed two people and injured 134 others. outside cairo morsi supporters faced off against the ousted president's opponents.

five people died and more than 100 were hurt. it's the first outbreak of fighting since security forces killed more than 50 people in a protest a week ago. officials in the obama administration have been careful not to take sides. still, u.s. deputy secretary of state william burns traveled to cairo to meet with the leaders of the interim government. he asked them to take measures to calm the situation. the philippines has opened talks with the united states over a planned joint-use military base on the edge of the south china sea. the facility will strengthen ties between the two allies at a time when the philippine government is entangled in maritime disputes with china. nhk world reports. >> reporter: philippine ambassador to the united states on tuesday said the two sides have started senior level talks about a proposed facility at

suvic bay. >> we are currently in discussions on how we can strengthen the relationship, the alliance. >> reporter: formerly the site of a u.s. navy base during the cold war, was one of the largest u.s. military facilities in asia. many philippine were opposed to the u.s. presence. and in 1992 the navy base was returned to the philippines. the area is currently being developed as a special economic zone. the philippines wants to strengthen its alliance with the united states to counterbalance the rising military power of its neighbor, china. the philippines and china have competing claims over this area of the south china sea. their dispute has become

increasingly tense making it an important strategic location once again. the proposed facility would give washington a foothold from which to monitor the south china sea and the maritime activities of china. the area contains shipping lanes critical to the functioning of the world economy. the philippine constitution bans foreign troops from keeping a permanent base in the country. the proposed joint-use facility will be governed by the philippine military to sidestep any constitutional issues. even so, the anticipated return of the u.s. military has already steered hostile demonstrations. ambassador chose his words carefully to try and ease public concern. >> let me stress it's a joint use of facilities. there is no mention at all of a permanent base because i think the u.s. is very well aware that

it will not be of course allowed under the constitution. >> reporter: china's becoming more assertive in the south china sea. in doing so, the philippine government is forced to strengthen its military relationship with the united states. many filipinos feel unhappy to be caught in the middle of this power game between the united states and china. nhk world, manila. >> the philippines has asked a united nations arbitration tribunal in the hague to look into the legality of china's massive territorial claims over the south china sea. the department of foreign affairs in manila on tuesday said the u.s./u.n. tribunal convened last week. the philippine government says china's claims run counter to international law. it's calling on china to settle disputes in line with the u.n. convention on the law of the sea. but china argues that territorial issues should be dealt with between the nations

involved. beijing has shown no intention of responding to the proposal from the philippines. russia's president vladimir putin wants to speed up development in the kuril islands including areas that japan claims as its territory. putin visited russia's far east to observe a large-scale military exercise. the week-long exercise began saturday. about 160,000 personnel from the army, navy and air force are taking part. military leaders have deployed around 1,000 tanks and armored vehicles, plus 130 aircraft and 70 naval vessels. putin later met with officials to discuss development in the province. the local government ministers four islands that russia controls but are claimed by japan. analysts say putin seemed to be putting pressure on local officials to demonstrate to russia's neighbors that living standards there are improving.

the area's current development program includes measures to promote the fisheries industry as well as plans to build roads and ports. putin said infrastructure development is not progressing quickly enough. >> translator: 80% of the plan has not been achieved. i'm not sure if you're really trying to do your job. i want to see progress by autumn. >> putin said he plans to extend the deadline for the development program beyond its original date of 2015. south korean officials say recent cyber attacks on the country's websites may have been carried out by north korea. the attacks took place on june 25th. they affected 69 government and private websites including those for the president's office and the ruling party. messages praising north korean leader kim jong-un were planted on the website. a government-led investigation team said 82 viruses and several

internet protocol addresses used in the attacks were identical to those used earlier by the north. the team said the method was also the same as the one used in attacks on south korean broadcasters and banks in march. judges on the international court of justice will spend the next few months going over a case that put japan's whaling program in the spotlight. they wrapped up three weeks of hearings in the hague. japanese representatives defended the program against a complaint by australia. >> convention does not buy japan from conducting its scientific research whaling because it is in accordance with the convention. >> deputy foreign minister said in closing arguments that japan's program is in line with the international convention for the regulation of whaling. the agreement allows countries

to hunt whales for scientific research. but australian representatives say japan's program is really for commercial purposes and therefore violates the convention. they filed a complaint with the court in 2010. if they win, japanese crews will not be able to continue whaling in the antarctic ocean. the court's ruling cannot be disputed. both sides have agreed to honor the decision. some japanese citizens have been paying attention to the case. >> translator: the ruling will not effect my family because we don't eat it very often. >> translator: it will be a loss of japanese culture. it is a problem. >> a panel of 16 judges on the international court of justice is expected to deliver a ruling at the end of this year. thousands of demonstrators angry at a jury verdict in the u.s. are continuing their protests. they're denouncing the acquittal of a man charged with killing an unarmed black teenager.

a jury ruled that the defendant shot 17-year-old trayvon martin in self-defense. it found him not guilty of murder or manslaughter. the defendant, george zimmerman, is of white and hispanic origin. protesters say the verdict was discriminatory. in central los angeles about 400 people gathered at a park to demand justice. police disbursed the crowd and closed the park. some protesters smashed the windows of nearby shops and damaged vehicles. police arrested 13 people on suspicion of inflicting damage to property. >> if you truly care about the martin family, if you truly care about the underlying issues, the last thing you should be doing is taking to the street, stealing scooters out of people's hands, assaulting people, smashing windows, scaring drivers or pedestrians. >> police plan to restrict traffic on roads near the park on tuesday to prevent further demonstrations. the top legal authority in the united states is vowing to

continue investigating the martin shooting. the attorney general says the justice department will probe the investigation. eric holder said department investigators will determine whether a federal civil rights law on racially motivated crimes applies to the case. >> i want to assure you that the department will continue to act in a manner consistent with the facts and the law. we are committed to standing with the people of sanford, with the individuals and families affected by this incident -- >> president barack obama spoke about the verdict. he said the united states is a nation of laws. obama urged people to respect the jury's decision. a u.n. body has appealed for international cooperation to help protect women from violence in developing nations and conflict zones. electronic gadgets are playing a part. a u.n. women is active in 74

countries with its campaign to end violence against women and girls. officials updated the u.n. members on their latest initiative to protect women by using technology. they said gps transmitters handed out in guatemala were helping women to identify and map dangerous areas. in central africa women are given mobile phones to report violence immediately and take photos of evidence. >> whether it is prevention of violence, whether it is about protection of women, we have to find new technological ways. >> questions raised about how the plan would work in regions without mobile phone networks. the operators of four japanese power companies are trying to get idle nuclear plants up and running again. they've held their first meetings with regulators in charge of screening applications to restart the facilities. the utilities are seeking approval to fire up a total of 12 reactors under new safety

standards that took effect last week. two of those reactors are at kyushu electric's plant. officials told members of the nuclear regulation authority they discussed preparations for earthquakes and tsunami waves and explained plans for a temporary command center for emergencies. the sendai plant is near several active volcanos. regulators said they need to check whether the plant will be vulnerable in the event of an eruption. representatives from hokkaido, shi go ku and kansai electric have also explained the steps they've taken to increase facility at their plant and facilities. politicians in japan are in the home stretch. they're campaigning for an upper house election. when voters go to the polls this sunday, they'll be weighing in on prime minister shinzo abe's first six months in office. and they'll be deciding whether to give his liberal democratic

party more power. the ldp controls the lower house, but opposition parties hold a majority of seats in the upper chamber. and that's created a divided diet where passing legislation can be tricky. in the days leading up to when japan decides, we'll be looking at some of the key campaign issues and hearing from voters about what matters to them. candidates from these nine parties are running in the election. the groups qualified for political party status, others that failed to meet the standards are still fielding candidates. in all, 433 candidates including independents are running in this election. prime minister abe has said he wants to win this election to end the political deadlock in japan. he's also hoping a strong showing will help him realize a long standing goal. abe is pushing to amend the constitution. that hasn't been done since it took effect in 1947. the prime minister wants to

change its passivist corp and make more like military. even if he gets the political power he needs to do that, he'll still have to convince the japanese people. nhk world's jun yotosumoto walks us through the issue. >> reporter: voters in japan have been hitting the books ahead of the upper house election. they're learning more about their constitution now that politicians are debating whether to change it. the managers of this bookstore say sales of constitution-related material are two to three times higher than usual. >> translator: i'm interested in the constitution as the ldp's new constitutional draft is a popular topic at my college. >> translator: i think we should seriously think about the constitution before the election, especially when there is a group of politicians who want to change it.

>> reporter: u.s.-led allied forces to control of japan after world war ii and worked to disarm the country. they made politicians write a new constitution. article ix states the japanese people forever renounce war. many citizens supported the passivist stance. but some politicians argued the constitution does not reflect the free will of japanese because it was established while their country was under occupation. they formed liberal democratic party in 1955 and made revising the document their mission. >> translator: the 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 will be again in the upper house poll. >> reporter: now that the ldp is back in power, prime minister shinzo abe is hoping to accomplish that goal. he wants to change the constitution so he can turn the self-defense forces into a national defense military, and defend allies that come under attack. but before he revises article ix, abe wants to change article 96. it stipulates modifying the constitution requires a two-thirds vote by lawmakers in both houses of the diet. then a national referendum. abe argues a simple majority should be enough. >> translator: it's nonsense to say that you can't change the

constitution if one-third of lawmakers oppose it when more than half of japan's citizens want to do this. revising article 96 will make it possible for the people to renew the constitution. >> reporter: lawmakers in the u.s., germany and south korea also need approval of two-thirds of their legislators to change their constitutions. the u.s. and german constitutions require additional legislative approval. in south korea, amendments must be approved by referendum. politicians in all of these nations have amended their constitutions multiple times since world war ii. those in japan have not since it took effect in 1947. some experts say the reason is that people who want to revise it haven't come up with a proposal that's convincing enough to sway the japanese

people. the discussions over amending article 96 have overshadowed the wider debate about whether the constitution should be revised at all. these issues will continue to cause divisions in japan long after the election. jun yotsumoto, nhk world, tokyo. >> the debate over the future of japan's constitution is politically and emotionally charged. so we're spreading our coverage over two days. on wednesday, we'll look closer at the arguments for and against revising article 9 which forbids japan from having a military. at the july grand sumo tournament in nagoya, day ten wrapped up on tuesday.

our sumo guy, hiro morita, joins us with the details. >> heading into day ten, mongolian yokozuna grand champion hakuho had a perfect record of nine wins. let's see how he fared. not only had hakuho won nine bouts, but lost none. he'd won his last 39 bouts. his opponent, the dangerous who defeated ha ee eed the next day shows a lot poise and in the end brings his opponent down and extends his winning streak to 40 matches. while hakuho seems to be well on his way to picking up another championship, the other mongolian yokozuna harumafuji,

with six wins and three losses. as a yokozuna another defeat would be humiliating. he took on the third highest rank. goido with a sharp charge has harumafuji back peddling. up ends. harumafuji loses for the third straight day. here's my break down of harumafu harumafuji's setback. he's nowhere near his top form. he's banged up and hobbled by pain in his ankles and right shoulder. so he has a hard time fending off his opponent's charges. also, he has a tendency to try to rough up his opponent rather than just defeat him. but that creates an opening for his fall. here, harumafuji tries to hurt his opponent by swinging his arms, but he paid the price as he suffered his third defeat. now here are the current standings after ten days.

hakuho is still the sole leader at 10-0. nipping at his heels, kotooshu and rank and file kaisei from brazil. each with nine wins and one loss. is hakuho going to capture his 26th championship? or will someone else walk away with the emperor's cup? we'll let you know how it all turns out at the nagoya tourney next week. stay tuned. there's a new tropical depression forming near the philippines. meteorologist robert speta is here with details. robert. >> we are watching this new system just spinning up just off the east coast of luzon. it's expected to become a tropical storm in the next 24 hours. it will pull off towards the north actually means wild oxen, where it is impacting in the philippines. you're going to see heavy

rainfall into northern luzon and also the inflow of moisture wrapping around the storm system across the west coast and down towards versailles, there's a risk of flooding out of this storm system as it continues to linger off the coastline. but then as we go into the next several days, it's going to continue to push off here towards the north. and there is a potential of this impacting taiwan as a tropical storm, drop in some heavy rainfall. typically that wouldn't be so much of a problem, but we just had typhoon soulik come through on friday, it made landfall here in northeastern taiwan. ground out here already saturated. we saw some totals over 600 to 700 millimeters within a 24-hour period out here. so there is a high risk of flooding. we want to continue to keep an eye on this storm system definitely here into the next several days. now, farther off towards the north and even towards the west central and western china you have been contending with heavy rainfall out here, some significant flooding last several weeks. and the last thing you want to hear is more rain in the forecast. well, it does look like a few

areas out here 50 to 100 millimeters expected in the next 24 hours. isolated regions could see about 250 millimeters of this very short time heavy rain just over a course of about 24 hours. then even towards the korean peninsula we're looking at another low pressure area that's pushing through here. now, that's going to weaken out. but then look at this just shooting off that. it's a new low pressure area that's going to start to push into the tohoku region across northern japan, bring showers and even a stray shower into the tohoku area. for the most part cloudy skies the preside expected wednesday into thursday. and big high last week where it was into the mid-30s. sole, shanghai hot spot on the map, 36 on your wednesday. now, as you look towards the americas, well, there's this upper level low spinning there into the texas panhandle. that's been bringing some showers out here. the good news, it's at some relief because you have been dealing with drought across much of this area. and the rain is going to bring some a little bit of a relief

for that especially for the farmers out here. the problem is short-time heavy rain, there's the risk of flooding with that as well. even some of these lightning strikes continuing to occur with these storm systems that are going to continue o pop up. really widespread showers but a few isolated areas could still see about 130 millimeters of rain. on the flip side of that also looking at very warm temperatures into the northeastern u.s., even oit there towards ontario. temperatures continuing to climb into the high 20s to low 30s here on tuesday and that's expected throughout the rest of the workweek. into the 30s itself is not so bad, but a lot of these areas you're going to be seeing humidity up to about 100%. so very, very muggy conditions out across much of this area. now, in europe, high pressure dominating for the most part. still seeing isolated showers popping up into southern france, northern italy as well. but clear skies expected over the next several days. that's going to keep things, clear skies, and also some warm temperatures. paris with a high of 29, berlin at 28, warsaw continue to warm

up, 25 on your wednesday. across the british isles, look at this, temperatures well above average. that's a look at your world weather. here's the extended forecast.

that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo. enjoy your day.

♪ the cloudy skies signal the end of the rainy season in ohara, kyoto.