hello there. welcome to "newsline." it's thursday, july 25 th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. a train has derailed in northwestern spain toppling passenger cars on their sides. spanish national railway has not released the casualty figures. but local authorities say at least 7 people are dead. a spokesmen say that 200

passengers were on the train when it departed madrid. it went off the tracks near the city of santiago de compostela. it's not clear yet what caused the accident. it looks like american fugitive edward snowden will be staying in moscow at a moscow airport for the time being. the former intelligence analyst had requested temporary asylum so he could enter russia. but snowden has not received the pass he needs to leave the airport. snowden worked on contract for the national security agency. earlier this year he leaked details of government surveillance programs to the press. he's wanted by u.s. authorities. he has been holed up in the airport's transit zone for more than a month. a lawyer helped snowden file his request for asylum early last week. he says immigration authorities usually grant documents that allow asylum seekers to move into the country one week after application. >> translator: the former nsa

contractor intends to study russia's culture, find work in russia and travel across russia. >> he says snowden eventually intends to move on to a latin american country where he intends to obtain permanent asylum. the u.s. authorities have been pushing russian counterparts to return snowed on the the u.s. they say they made it clear they want him to face charges of espionage. >> we've seen, of course, the press reports and are seeking clarification from the russian government. obviously, any move that would allow mr. snowden to leave the airport would be deeply disappointed. >> she said secretary of state john kerry had telephoned sergey lavrov to reiterate the u.s. position. indian police are questioning the principal of a primary school where 23 children died last week after eating a

school lunch laced with pesticide. the head mistress went missing soon after the children began falling sick. she was arrested on wednesday. the children started to show signs of food poisoning after eating the free lunch cooked at the school in the eastern state of bihar on july 16th. forensic tests have shown that meal contained toxic levels of a deadly pesticide. the chief minister of bihar state says police are now questioning the school headmistress. the indian government has been staging a nationwide campaign to provide free lunches with the aim of ensuring that children from poor families have at least one hot meal a day. but the poisoning case has sp k sparked skepticism about the safety of school meals. the wait is over. britain's prince william and wife catherine have named their newborn baby boy george alexander louis. royal officials made the

announcement on wednesday. george has been the name of six british kings. george vi was queen elizabeth's father. the choice seems popular. >> i think it's a good, strong name. >> it's traditional, but modern as well. >> the bbc says queen elizabeth visited kensington palace on wednesday to meet her great-grandson for the first time. the duke and duchess of cambridge together with the baby prince then traveled to the house of catherine's parents in berkshire. prince william is expected to return to his post at a royal air force base in wales after two weeks of paternity leave. catherine may stay in berkshire with the baby until around autumn. reports say they're trying to raise their child by themselves without the help of nannies. a popular japanese brand is in need of a makeover. a range of products from kanebo cosmetics promises to whiten skin, but some complain the

creams and lotions left blotches on their faces. now company executives have been left red-faced themselves. nhk reports. >> reporter: people have seen the ads, products that promise to make the skin of their faces whiter. some believe that will hide any flaws, but now they're finding out that cosmetics are not safe. >> translator: i wonder if the products were thoroughly tested. >> translator: i do whitening because i worry about blemishes, but when things like this happen, it makes me think twice about buying other products from the company. >> reporter: kanebo was founded in 1887. it grew into one of japan's leading cosmetics companies. in 2008, the company started selling products to whiten the skin on people's faces. customers in 11 other countries and territories started buying them up. then two years ago, managers

started hearing some complaints. more than 6,000 customers have contacted the company since the beginning of this month. more than 2,000 complained the blotches.left their skin with >> translator: we will continue to take action until every affected customer is completely cured. it's our responsibility to know the customer's present conditions and come up with measures to deal with their problems as soon as possible. >> reporter: company executives say they can't confirm whether their products caused the problems. but they're looking into an ingredient called rododenol. company scientists developed the substance and got it cleared in testing required by law. the executives should have taken measures earlier to prevent any further damage.

this month they started recalling 450,000 units. about 90,000 are still out there. and now they're considering offering customers some compensation to pay for any medical expenses. the case is a major blow for the people who run the company. still trying to figure out what the impact will be. but customers are already starting to shy away from kanebo cosmetics. reporting for nhk world, tokyo. japan's consumer affairs chief has slammed kanebo for keeping customers in the dark. >> translator: kanebo should have advised users to stop using the products in may when medical institutions informed the firm of the trouble. >> she said kanebo officials will update her weekly on the

product recall. she'll stay informed on the number of people affected and their recovery. doctors are calling on users of the cosmetics to consult specialists if they have skin trouble. an association of dermatologists in japan is recommending 81 hospitals across the country and officials have released guidelines for doctors on how to recognize and treat the complaint. doctors at this hospital in tokyo have examined the skin cells of patients. they say the products harm pigment-producing cells but the skin color in most cases should eventually return to normal. >> translator: it's important for patients to consult a doctor as soon as possible to receive an accurate diagnosis and information. >> patients are advised to stop using the products immediately. gunmen have stormed a police station in northern iraq killing nine officers. security forces are facing mounting sectarian violence with

500 iraqis killed in july alone. suspected sunni muslim militants attacked a police station near mosul on wednesday. soldiers were targeted in the same area just days earlier. bombers also struck tuesday in the capital baghdad and in nearby kut. 19 people were killed and 86 wounded in the day's violence. militants in a northern city of kirkuk detonated car bombs on the same night near two sunni mosques. police officers say the bombers were targeting sunni muslims attending evening prayers. muslims began observing the holy month of ramadan two weeks ago. a bombing outside a police station in egypt has left one person dead and dozens wounded. the attack comes after three days of clashes between supporters and opponents of ousted president mohamed morsi. security authorities say one soldier was killed in the explosion in the northern town of mansoura. they say civilians were among the injured. reports by media opposed to morsi blame the attack on his

power base, the muslim brotherhood, but the organization denies any involvement. morsi supports and opponents have clashed repeatedly across egypt since the military deposed him three weeks ago. 14 people have died in cairo and other locations from monday through wednesday. defense minister and army chief abdel fallah al sisi has called for demonstrations on friday. he wants the military to be given a mandate to confront what he calls violence and potential terrorism. bombers in southern thailand have killed three people and injured two others. security forces are facing violence in the region despite a peace deal with muslim separatists for the holy month of ramadan. an army spokesperson told nhk that suspected insurgents detonated an explosive near a hospital on wednesday. three teachers in a nearby car were killed and two police officers were wounded. teachers have become targets for

militants who demand that children receive an islamic education. muslim separatists have been waging an insurgency against the government for a decade. they're seeking autonomy for the three southern-most provinces. 1,300 people have been killed in the fighting since 2004 including 160 educators. the explosion comes two weeks after negotiators agreed to hold violence during ramadan. but frequent attacks are casting a shadow on the negotiations. the next round of talks is scheduled to commence after ramadan. afghanistan's first and only female governor has been awarded a prize many regard as asia's highest honor. the award foundation based in manila recognizes asian individuals and organizations who contribute to human development. the governor is among three

individuals and two organizations to win the prize this year. in this announcement the foundation commends her efforts and cites the poverty and discrimination she had to face to support her people. she champions education and women's rights in afghanistan. a member of the minority in myanmar is another of this year's recipients. it's given to individuals and groups that contribute to peace and social services in asia. the foundation will hold the awards ceremony on august 31st in manila. the government of myanmar is struggling to contain the spread of sectarian hatred in the

country where it recently granted greater freedom of expression. religious leaders are reportedly fanning the conflict between buddhists and the small muslim population. violence between the two groups has killed more than 100 people since may last year. nhk world reports from myanmar's largest city, yangon. >> reporter: muslims around the world are celebrating the holy month of ramadan, including in myanmar. muslims make up a fraction of the population of myanmar, where 90% of people are buddhist. relations between the two communities have always been difficult. they're getting steadily worse. violence sparked in may last year when a group of muslim men attacked buddhist women in a western state. anti-muslim rioting killed more than a hundred people and left the government to declare a

state of emergency. the government was criticized for not doing enough to protect muslims. earlier this month president thein sein said he's committed to stopping the violence. >> translator: we'll crack down on those who spread fear and hatred. we'll do all we can to stop these criminal acts. >> reporter: some high-ranking buddhist monks are using inflammatory rhetoric and calling for muslims to be expelled from the country. this man is the leader of a radical anti-muslim group. he has called for a boycott of stores run by muslims, and he wants marriage between buddhists and muslims to be outlawed. >> translator: islamic extremists receiving assistance from abroad are behind the

recent violence in our country. >> reporter: u.s. news magazine "time" ran a feature story last month on wira thu. his face was on the cover with the headline, "the face of buddhist terror." the magazine portrayed monk as the bedroom manipulator who incites sectarian hatred. the article triggered angry demonstrations on the streets of yangon. protesters called it an insult to buddhism. the government of myanmar found itself in a difficult position. greater freedom of the press was one of its most high preferred democratic reforms, but citing security concerns the authorities decided to burn the issues of the magazine. >> translator: we've taken this

step to try and quell people's anger and prevent more confusion. >> reporter: many people in myanmar are starting to worry about the spread of radicalism. >> translator: it's only in a few people who are fanning hatred. >> translator: there's no denying we have religious divisions. the government should do something about it. >> reporter: people in myanmar were denied a voice by the previous military regime. under the civilian-led government, they're allowed to speak more freely. but free speech means allowing different opinions and opposing views to be heard. unless buddhists and muslims can find a willingness to compromise and coexist, religion threatens to derail myanmar's democracy.

reporting for nhk world, yangon. a team of paleontologists have dug up a dinosaur fossil in the desert of northern mexico that's being described as a rare find. it's the fossilized remains of a dinosaur tail, first ever found in mexico. they say the tail is unusually well preserved. it has 50 connected vertebrae and is completely intact. bones believed to be the dinosaur's hips were also found nearby. the researchers say the dinosaur could very well be the giant plant-eating hadrosaur that lived in the cretaceous period. >> translator: there are not many sites in the world where such discoveries are made. >> the team hopes the discovery will lead to new revelations about dinosaurs. the parents of children with disabilities say they could use some more help.

expenditures on services for japanese with disabilities account for less than a fifth of 1% of gdp. more and more parents say they need specialized facilities for their school-aged children. now some forward-thinking people are stepping in to help. ai uchida reports. >> reporter: this is an after-school child care center for children with disabilities. it opened this may in a ward of tokyo. elementary school children with special needs are usually sent to ordinary after-school centers, but these are available only until the end of elementary school so when children reach junior high age most have no place to go, but this facility can look after older disabled children until 6:00 p.m., and it's a valuable place for them to interact with people besides family members. support like services for people

with disabilities is often left up to the local governments to handle, but with so much red tape, things can take time. this woman decided to start this facility. her second of the kind. it's run by a worker's cooperative that is funded, managed and staffed by its members to meet the requirements of the local community. as a result, it's relatively flexible and can respond quickly to meet specific needs. >> translator: we're able to provide a lot of support and various kichbsd care and we work to answer the needs of the local community and resolve its issues. if we weren't a workers' cooperative there would be many things we'd be unable to do. >> this woman is one parent who uses the facility. she met them three years ago

when she was looking for a place to send her disabled son who was nearing the end of elementary school. everyone pitched in. she searched for people to work at the facility and helped raise start-up money. they looked for other locations for the facility and spread the word among local residents. >> translator: tt thing would be for the local government to take care of it, but we can't wait. we figure that if we got working, something would come from it. we decided that we had to create the services that we needed. >> translator: if we can raise the money from people in the local community and work together to make things happen, we can handle any difficulty. >> reporter: experts expect cooperatives like this to become engines of change in local communities.

>> translator: they try to make things that are beneficial to the entire community, not just for a handful of people. they've been stepping in to tackle the problems of local people when authorities cannot. it is great to spread the concept of workers cooperatives, have so many people feel this way and see how important they can be. >> reporter: children's needs will change as they grow older. people at this cooperative are currently considering starting a door-to-door transportation service. how quickly they're able to implement such changes may put the workers' cooperative movement further into the spotlight. ai uchida, nhk world. time for a check on the market figures.

all right. now mai shoji joins with us the latest in weather. mai, good morning. it seems people in eastern thailand are dealing with torrential downpourps cs are happening there. >> a deluge of rain has been affecting much of thailand. especially these areas that's here in the satellite picture. take a look at a video picture first to show you the situation. a southwest monsoon is causing persisting drenching rains in thailand. in chanthaburi prorinse two

people including a 9-year-old boy have died in flood-related accidents. roads have been inundated with tens of thousands of people affected. returning to the satellite picture, you can see that we've got rain clouds covering much of the indo-china peninsula. this is due to the southwest monsoonal flow pounding the coastal areas with rainfall. that includes chanthaburi as well. we're looking at more rain which means higher risk of further flooding and landslides. we'll keep a very close eye on this. and to the bigger picture, an upp upper cold sitting here at the china and russia border. it is bringing thunderstorms, hail and gusts are possible. the system is affecting northern japan and thunderstorms on the severe side could be possible, even tornadic activity, sudden burst of showers could be possible into the next 24 hours

here across the northern half of much of this country. in between these two systems, this is the high pressure system sitting here. doesn't look like it's going anywhere. but between here rain bands will be developing into friday and heavy rain to come in between beijing and shanghai. i did mention about the summer pacific high sitting here. it is still affecting the area. shanghai is reaching 39 degrees, quite a dangerous level. even western japan is in the wake of that. kyoto where the gion festival is held, 35 degrees until friday, but take a look at hangzhou, the 40s to friday. do stay hydrated. let's look at the americas where the cold front is sagging all the way to the south. due to the tropical moisture from the south. thunderstorms are active across the southeast. this one actually could spawn tornadoes. we have a tornado watch in

southern manitoba as we speak. flash floods are also still posted, risk is actually posted in a wide range in the southwest and down to new mexico due to the moisture surging from the bay of california. it's quite hot. still that heat dome across the pacific northwest, but cooler and dry across the great lakes region. and that includes chicago, toronto, looking at nice temperature, but houston's reaching up to 37 degrees and phoenix, 41, las vegas in the 40s, too. let's move over to europe. we have atlantic system moving into the british isles. this will bring you showers on the heavier side sometimes and thunderstorms into your weekend. it's pulling a very active warm front. from this we have a report of a frontal system. unstable conditions will continue for the next couple days. paris, madrid, milan, take a look at that in the 30s due to the very hot heat moving in from

north africa. i'll leave you for the extended forecast. @ ♪

just a reminder of our lead story this hour. a train has derailed in northwestern spain toppling passenger cars on their sides. spanish national railway has not released the casualty figures, but local authorities say at least 47 people are dead. spokespersons for the railway company say about 200 passengers were on the train when it departed the capital madrid. it went off the tracks near the city of santiago de compostela. it's not clear yet what caused the accident.

now, details are still trickling in. we'll bring you updates as they come. all right. and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks very much for joining us. 

2:00 p.m. >> good afternoon and welcome to the woodrow wilson center. this is america's living tribute to its 20th president. just a memorial like some some of the places you visit in washington d c. you may have noticed that on your way and. the upper floors of this memorial are filled with human beings who are engaged in deep research about issues and importance around the country and the world.