hello and welcome to "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. after a three-year stalemate, israel and palestine will soon resume peace negotiations. the two sides have committed to at least nine months of talks. israeli justice minister tzipi livni and palestinian chief negotiator, saeb erekat, made the announcement after a two-day meeting in washington. u.s. secretary of state john

kerry joined as mediator. kerry said the negotiators will hold the next round of talks within two weeks either in israel or the palestinian territories. >> we all know that it's not going to be easy. it's going to be hard with ups and downs. but i can assure you that these negotiations -- in these negotiations, it's not our intention to argue about the past but to create solutions and make decisions for the future. >> i'm delighted that all final status issues are on the table and will be resolved without any exceptions, and it's time for the palestinian people to have an independent, sovereign state of their own. >> thank you. >> the peace talks have been stalled for nearly three years. confrontations over israel's construction of jewish

settlements on occupied land have been a major factor. investigators in spain say the driver of the train that derailed last week was talking on the phone at the time of the crash. the investigators made the announcement after analyzing information from the train's data recorders. the driver is under arrest following the accident on a high-speed railway line near santiago de compostela july 24th. the crash killed 79 passengers. he reportedly received a call to his work phone several minutes before the accident. he was apparently consulting a document during the conversation. the investigators say the train was traveling at 192 kilometers per hour shortly before the accident. they also say the brake was activated but the train entered a curve at 153 kilometers per hour, nearly double the speed limit, and derailed. the investigators are looking into whether the driver violated work regulations.

supporters of ousted egyptian president mohamed morsi have gathered in cairo to mourn those killed in clashes with security forces last week. 80 people died. the former president's political base, the muslim brotherhood, held a massive rally for the victims on tuesday. more than 10,000 supporters participated. they walked along the capital's main streets, carrying wooden boxes resembling coffins. >> translator: the security forces and the military are the real terrorists. if they intend to crush the demonstrators, they'll face the judgment of history. >> thousands of morsi supporters are continuing sit-ins in cairo. some marched toward the defense ministry building. they're demanding morsi be restored as president. security forces are preparing to disperse the protesters, saying they're destabilizing society. pakistani lawmakers have elected a veteran politician as president.

he's a trusted ally of prime minister sharif. members of the two houses of parliament and assemblies in four provinces made up the electoral college that elected him. he won more than 80% of the votes. hussein is a member of the prime minister's pakistan muslim league. he replaced the incumbent in september. he'll join a leadership facing a number of challenges from overseeing anti-terrorism measures to reversing an economic slump. the president serves as head of state. it's largely ceremonial. they stripped the president of many powers when they revised the constitution three years ago. a group of tourists there south korea has spent a terrifying couple of days in the japan alps. the climbers got into trouble on a hike and had to be rescued. authorities say three of the

group's 20 members died of hypothermia, and a fourth has suffered cardiorespiratory arrest. the climbers started their truck on sunday in nagano prefecture. strong winds and rain hit the area. the group made an emergency call for help. rescuers found the climbers on a mountain trail on tuesday morning. three were in critical condition but died. the rescuers then went searching for a missing member of the group. they discovered him lying on a mountain slope. police say he had fallen about 100 meters. they're planning to take him down from the mountains on wednesday. tourism officials in nagano say mountain climbing is booming among south koreans. they say as many as 500 tourists from the country stay overnight each year at one of the main lodges in the alps. peaks of 3,000 meters and higher appeal to south korean climbers because there are no mountains of that scale in their own country. they also present unknown risks. the dangers were even greater for the stranded climbers

because they did not have a japanese guide. a japanese climber and her husband met the surviving party when they arrived in a hut. >> translator: they could not make themselves understood in japanese. it was very difficult to get their message across. >> winds of up to 55 kilometers per hour were believed to be blowing near the peak. the air temperature dropped by as much as 15 degrees celsius. wet clothing would have caused the body temperature to drop further. an official of the japan mountaineering association says climbers who are not familiar with the terrain need to be extra careful. >> translator: foreign climbers tend to stick to their plan, even in bad weather because they have traveled all the way to japan. but they should consult local guides about the weather in the area where they intend to climb.

a court in south korea is adding its voice to a legal push to pressure major japanese firms to give compensation related to japan's colonial rule of the korean peninsula. the high court ruled mitsubishi heavy industries forced five korean men to work in its factories, and it ordered the company to compensate their families. the court says mitsubishi must give about $70,000 to each of the families of the now-deceased workers. the plaintiffs say their relatives were forced to work in factories in japan from 1944 until the end of world war ii in 1945. the decision follows one on july 10th by the seoul high court which ordered nippon steel and somito metal corporation to pay compensation to the plaintiffs. the company is appealing. japan and south korea normalized relations in 1965. the japanese government says leaders at the time resolved

post-war compensation during treaty talks. the south korean government takes the same stance, but last year judges on the south korean supreme court said the treaty didn't invalidate the right of individuals to seek damages. japan's top government spokesperson says this latest ruling goes against the bilateral agreement. >> translator: the issue of seeking compensation was settled by the 1965 agreement between japan and south korea that addresses the japan/south korea claim rights and economic cooperation. >> plaintiffs in four similar cases are seeking compensation following the supreme court decision. a political banner at a japan/south korea soccer match has stoked tensions between the two countries. now south korean foreign ministry officials say a japanese minister in charge of

sports has made offensive remarks. he commented on the banner displayed by south korean soccer fans at the east asia soccer championship in seoul on sunday. >> translator: such an incident shows the cultural level of a nation. i hope south koreans will watch sports games in a fair manner. >> he also said if soccer fans had tried to do the same in japan, they would have been stopped by other fans. the banner read "a people who forget history have no future," a criticism of remarks by japanese politicians on historical issues between the two countries. fifa, the governing body for world soccer, bans political statements at matches. the banner could be a violation of the rule. some people in south korea say the fans should not have brought the banner to the game. but others have criticized some japanese fans for carrying the

country's rising sun flag. many south koreans see the flag as a militaristic symbol. japanese prime minister shinzo abe has asked a government panel to work out specific measures to rebuild the economy and at the same time cut the budget deficit. he issued the instructions at a meeting of the council on economic and fiscal policy on tuesday. the panel is discussing medium-term economic and fiscal policies as well as guidelines for the fiscal 2014 budget. >> translator: it's necessary to implement concrete measures so that people can actually feel the economic recovery. >> at the meeting private sector council members said the government needs to raise the consumption tax in order to achieve the goal of cutting the primary balance deficit in half by march 2016.

they also noted it's necessary for the central as well as local governments to curb spending. these members also urged the pane to set strict budget guidelines for the next fiscal year and hammer out bold steps to stimulate domestic demand. the council plans to come up with recommendations as early as next week. the second round of free trade talks is now under way among asia's biggest economies. japan, china and south korea. at the start of the talks in shanghai on tuesday, china's assistant commerce minister expressed hope that the three countries will be able to conclude an fta agreement soon. the remark demonstrated china's interest in strengthening economic ties with japan and south korea. it also appeared to show that beijing was prepared to set aside strained diplomatic relations with tokyo. officials are expected to consider lowering import tariffs on agricultural and industrial products.

they will also discuss how much of a product can be made up of imported components and still be considered domestically made. in a separate session, tokyo is expected to demand that japanese companies investing in china be allowed to compete with china's state-run firms under the same conditions. this month china made major concessions to a similar demand from the u.s. japanese consumer products maker kao expects to lose about $100 million in sales in their fiscal year. representatives say the recall of skin whitening products by group company kanebo, is largely to blame. >> translator: i deeply apologize for the inconvenience and anxiety we have caused. >> kao president said the group's operating profits for the same period will fall by about $60 million. sawata said the group will unite to prevent a recurrence. he said the company will fully

support those who develop skin problems after using kanable's skin whitening cosmetics. about 2,000 customers in japan have complained of developing white blotches and other symptoms. the company recalled 54 skin whitening products in early july. investors are bracing for two announcements out of the u.s. they're waiting for the latest numbers on gross domestic product and the federal reserve's decision to monetary policy. david stockton is a former director at the fed and a senior fellow at the petersen institute of international economics. our reporter asked him for his views. >> first of all, i'd like to ask you about the outlook of the gdp cutting up. what is your prospect? >> well, i think we're likely to see a weak second quarter figure, somewhere probably 1% or below at an annualized rate, and that comes on the heels of 1.5%

in the first quarter. so the economy in the first half is certainly underperformed its potential by quite a bit. >> and are we expecting the next monetary policy meeting coming up on the same day. now, do you think those weak numbers would affect some of the fed's decision? >> so i think it will certainly be some influence on their decision. they probably at this point are reading the data, as many economists are here, as having been relatively soft in terms of gdp. on the other hand, the labor market has actually performed quite well with payroll employment gains running around 200,000 a month over the past six months. and that's a pretty solid performance. so i think ultimately, while gdp will certainly be a factor that they will consider, they're going to be looking more forward than looking backward. so the weakness in the first half will likely bother them less if they see signs over the next month or so that the economy seems to be picking up from the first half softness.

>> so what would you be expecting from this monetary policy meeting? we've been hearing that there might be some changes in the forward guidance. >> so i think this meeting is likely to be pretty quiet. i think the -- and i would not expect any major announcements of policy change, and i wouldn't expect too many changes in the fomc's statement which will be released on wednesday. if there's any change, i think it's likely to incorporate what chairman bernanke talked about in his press conference, which indicated he indicated at that time that he saw likely that the qe purchases would end in the middle of 2014 when the unemployment rate was running about 7% according to their forecasts. so there's some chance that that will actually be incorporated into the fomc statement. but other than that, i think this is likely to be a pretty quiet meeting. so i still think the most likely time for the first tapering would be september. and i think that's where the center of gravity of the fomc, certainly the fomc voters is at this point.

as you know, there have some people who have wanted for some time to actually end qe immediately, and certainly president george of the kansas city fed has been dissenting on that reason for quite some time. and there are others that are probably nervous about beginning to taper now and would prefer to do it later. i think if the labor market continues to show gains in jobs of, let's say, between 175,000 and 200,000 over the next couple of months, and if the economy looks like it's rebounding from the doldrums that it hit in the first half of this year that were likely attributable to fiscal policy, then i think tapering in september seems like the most likely outcome. if that doesn't happen, and if there are any significant setbacks especially on the labor market side, i think we could easily see the tapering put off until december. at this point i still think september looks like -- until december, i still think september looks like the most likely outcome.

now time to take a look at the market figures. drugmakers at novartis pharma are answering questions about a drug used to treat high blood pressure. researchers at a japanese university have found that clinical dat fa for the drug was manipulated. a panel from the medical school looked into research used to

approve the drug. scientists at several universities including gk participated in the research. members of the university's panel say the research contains data on blood pressure that does not match the original clinical records. but they say they don't believe researchers from their school altered the data. a former official from novartis led the research team. the official took part in clinical tests at a number of medical schools. panel members criticize the researchers for not reporting that someone from the pharmaceutical company participated in the study. the revelations follow others earlier this month from kyoto prefectural university of medicine. scientists there had said the drug is more effective than others in reducing strokes and angina. now they say their clinical study may have come to the wrong conclusions. managers at novartis pharma used the results of the study to promote the drug. annual sales of the drug in japan were worth about $1 billion.

japanese soldiers fought some fierce battles during world war ii, even as the war was drawing to a close. some of them met their end fighting soviet troops on the island of sakhalin in russia's far east. now a group of russians is working to ensure the lives sacrificed on both sides are not forgotten. nhk world's reporter reports. >> reporter: i've come to the forest. this place very close to the former border between japan and the soviet was a hard-fought battlefield back in 1945. while people here are starting to search for the remains of japanese soldiers. the search team is a volunteer group. they've made it their mission to recover fallen soldiers. they hope today will be the start of a homecoming.

the 50th parallel was the site of a fierce battle at the end of world war ii. japanese troops tried to stop the invading soviet army. they failed and hundreds died. it's believed that many of them perished in this area. about five kilometers south of the border. the majority still lie where they fell. the team follows an overgrown trail. 20 minutes later, the metal detector goes off. >> translator: this is a soviet cartridge. this is from a japanese rifle. >> reporter: they're looking for a battlefield called 314 highlands. following clues provided by former japanese soldiers.

>> translator: hey, there's something over here. come here. >> reporter: it looks like a human skull. >> translator: looking at the remains, i'd say that he was an 18 to 20-year-old soldier. it's terrible. i never want this to happen again. >> reporter: more digging unearthed some relics. among the findings, bayonets and hand grenades. they also find a japanese coin.

it's dated 1944. scientists will have to examine the remains to confirm their identities. but the group is convinced they are japanese soldiers. >> translator: we don't care if these people fought for the other side. we respect all of the soldiers who gave their lives. and we want to give them a proper burial. this war won't officially be over until the last soldier is buried. >> reporter: japanese officials are now preparing for a possible homecoming. they say any bodies identified as japanese will be buried at a national cemetery in tokyo. nhk world, russia. time now for a check on the weather with meteorologist. good morning. it seems people in southeast asia are dealing with heavy monsoonal rains.

what's the latest there? >> yes, catherine, this year the southwest monsoon is very active. so we are seeing more than average rainfall for many years, particularly in the western parts of the indo-china peninsula. numerous reports of landslides as well as flooding. but unfortunately, no relief is in sight. for the foreseeable future. we're expecting more than 150 millimeters of rain for the west coast. more than 200 millimeters for southern parts of the indo-china peninsula. more disastrous conditions could happen, unfortunately. and you'll notice another area of heavy rain can be found across the western parts of the philippines. and this is do you ue to a trop depression, enhancing the southwest monsoon. and actually, the monsoon is enhancing the upper-level high pressure which is called a tibetan high which is resulting in extremely high temperatures for the south and central parts of china, parts of the korean peninsula as well as japan. we have heat warnings and advisories posted for many

areas. shanghai, the highs have been over 38 degrees over the past several days. your high could be 35 degrees today as well as yamaguchi prefecture as well. so drink plenty of water and take extra precautions against heat stroke. now, to the north of it, where hot air is colliding with warmer air, excuse me, cool air, we are seeing quite heavy rain from southwestern china through northeastern china, the korean peninsula as well as the western flank of japan. so heavy rain will raise the risk of flooding. across north america, there are two areas of severe weather. one is in the northern half of the plains. actually one tornado has been reported in south dakota with hail the size of a golf ball. the system is expected to head towards the south affecting the kansas area on wednesday. and another area can be found across the mid-mississippi river valley and surrounding areas. the greater risk could be damaging winds as well as lightning. the system will also head towards the southeast.

now, towards the west, looking quite dry, and no monsoonal showers for the southwest and towards the north, there's a high risk of wildfires. temperatures will be comfortable across the coastal areas. 27 degrees in seattle. very hot in phoenix at 42 degrees on wednesday. all right. in europe, yesterday we showed you some video of a tornado in italy. i want to show you another video which was taken from inside the building. take a look at this video. this footage captures the moment a strong tornado hit a suburb of milan. these amateur videos show the system ripping through the industrial zone, sending debris flying through the air. it left a trail of devastation, overturning cars and trucks and damaging buildings. although no deaths have been reported, there are reports of a dozen injuries. so there is serious video out there. but luckily, the system has weakened and shifted towards the east. so no tornado threat anymore.

now, across the west, the pacific system is moving into the british isles. once again heavy rain will likely continue into your friday. but other than that, staying quite dry and quite pleasant. at 24 degrees in berlin. 29 degrees in vienna. the hottest place is going to be found across the iberian peninsula. all right. here's the extended forecast.

and that is all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks very much for joining us. n

dvd. >> good afternoon. please find a seat. everybody. here we go. we have an overflow crowd. that is because this program will be so good. the movable feast continues. this is the third of a series of activities celebrating woodrow