welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here is a look at some of the stories we are following this hour. israeli and palestinian negotiators set a goal to work out a peace agreement within nine months as they resume a process that has been on hold for three years. tourism officials in japan warn travelers of the dangers of climbing mt. fuji and other peaks after several south

koreans die hiking the japan alps. >> as trom mers in japan use a camera to capture what they call the first detailed images of the andromeda galaxy. israeli and palestinian representatives are trying to secure the peace that has eluded them for decades. they have held their first negotiations in three years and they have agreed to spend up to nine months trying to reach a deal. israeli justice minister tzipi livni and palestinian negotiator met in washington. secretary of state john kerry mediated. he said they will hold talks in two weeks either in israel or the palestinian territories. >> i can assure you that in these negotiations, it's not our

intention to argue about the past, but to create solutions and make decisions for the future. >> it's time for the palestinian people to have an independent, sovereign state of their own. >> the negotiations to create the state that palestinians have longed for have had many stops and starts. the palestinians quit the last round of talks in 2010 the to protest against the expansion of israeli settlements. they came back to the table after israeli leaders agreed to release palestinian prisoners who had been jailed for more than 20 years. here's how people on both sides view the resumption of the talks. >> reporter: this woman lives in the bethlehem city on the west bank. her son has been in prison in israel for nearly three decades.

he is serving two life sentences for killing two israelis. he said he was retaliating for israeli military operations which have killed many palestinians over the years. he is one of 104 prisoners who could be released under the latest agreement. >> translator: just imagining him coming home makes me so happy. >> reporter: palestinians revere these prisoners and consider them heroes in theory resiftant movement against israeli occupation. but this woman is hopeful all divisions and the violence will become a thing of the past. she hopes the new round of peace talks will take a difference. >> i don't want to see people killed, whether palestinians or israelis. >> reporter: some israelis aren't as enthusiastic about the

resumption of negotiations. about a hundred people protested on sunday in jerusalem saying they cannot trust the palestinians. they don't want the government to release palestinian prisoners. >> freeing convicted terrorists and murderers is not normal and the outcomes cannot be good. >> reporter: the issue is personal for cameron. his 17-year-old daughter was killed a decade ago when a palestinian suicide bomber attacked a bus. cameron says it's too early for peace talks. he argues the hatred on both sides is too deep and too entrenched. >> we need at least two more generations until the bad blood and bad feelings will sink in.

then maybe people on both sides will be able to open their heart and reach some kind of an agreement. >> joining us from jerusalem, why have the israelis and palestinians agreed to resume peace talks? >> in a nutshell they have vowed to renew pressure from the united states. secretary of state john kerry made middle east peace his priority. he has traveled to the region six times since he took office in february to encourage a return to the negotiation table. neither side wanted to be the one that stood in the way. however israeli and palestinian leaders aren't necessarily optimistic about prospects for reaching an agreement. >> has either side shown any willingness to compromise? >> israeli officials showed flexibility during the initial talks by agreeing to release palestinian prisoners.

but expansion of jewish settlements in an occupied territory is by far the bigger issue. the israeli government is constructing the settlements in violation of international law. the israeli government refused to put the freeze on further expansion. this also means it will be very difficult to agree on where the border will lie between the future palestinian state and israel. the debate over the status of jerusalem and the right of return for palestinian refugees are other issues. unless the two sides work to address these challenges and find ways to compromise, these new round of talks could end in another deadlock. the latest development is significant only in the sense that the israelis and palestinians have been pushed to meet again after three years. the path toward peace remains long and daunting. nhk world's kohe suji in jerusalem.

police in nagano prefecture are trying to find out how a group of south koreans got stranded on a mountain in central japan. a fourth climber, who was in critical condition, has been confirmed dead. three others earlier died of hypothermia. 20 climbers set out on sunday in the japan central alps. strong winds and rain hit the area and the group made an emergency call. rescuers found the first three victims on a mountain trail. they came across the fourth on a slope and said he had fallen 100 meters. officials from the south korean consulate general spoke with the survivors. they say the climbers became separated as elderly members lagged behind in the bad weather.

many foreign climbers find japanese mountains a challenge that's hard to resist. tourists are crowding mt. fuji since unesco made it a world heritage site. those with experience worry that casual hikers could easily end up in trouble. nhk world's tomoko kamata has more. >> reporter: people have always been attracted to mount fuji. some are attracted by its symmetry. others just want to scale japan's highest peak. in the months since its unesco listing, fuji has drawn more climbers than ever. >> it is a world heritage. so we are really interested. >> translator: i'm so excited to climb mt. fuji. >> reporter: the people who manage the mountain open it to climbers from early july to the end of august. about 9,000 people set out for

the peak every day, but it's not the simple hike many think. the weather can change quickly. snow can fall, even in summer. last year, police had to rescue 76 people. 16 of them, visitors from abroad. police say most of those who got into trouble were not sufficiently fit or others didn't have the right equipment such as head lamps or crampones. many visit this tourist information bureau. staff here say this year they've seen four times as many visitors from abroad, asking them about how to climb mt. fuji. an office in tokyo gives out climbing guides in english and other languages. staff tell visitors what gear

they need and where to get it. >> i only brought sandals and running shoes. >> translator: you need trekking shoes, warm clothing, rain gear and a hat. and if you climb at night, a head lamp. some people say they've climbed in sandals, but they've just been lucky with the weather. >> reporter: she says visitors can't enjoy the beauty of mt. fuji unless they're safe. she says it's impressive they're so keen to head up the mountain, but they need to be ready to come down. tomoko kamata, nhk world, tokyo. the u.s. economy is showing signs of a moderate recovery.

growth met analysts expectations. the u.s. department of commerce released preliminary gross domestic product data for the april to june period. it shows that the country's economy grew in an annualized pace of 1.7% from the previous three months. analysts expected growth of around 1%. the figure is up from 1.1% growth in the january to march period. investment and residential property increase 13.4% and exports of goods and services increased 5.4%. people in zimbabwe are deciding whether to extend robert magabe's lock on power. they are voting on a presidential election. hundreds lined up to cast ballots at one polling station. a tent in the capital suburb. they are voting in what is effectively a two man race. the mugabe is once again up

against zhang ray, also prime minister. the rivals faced off in 2002 and 2008. political violence and allegations of vote rigging marred those elections. >> hoping to create opportunities for us to better our country. >> zimbabwe has endured political and economic turmoil under mugabe's administration. the election results will be announced within five days. if none of the candidates win te runoff is expected in september. astronomers in japan have taken the first detailed photograph of the nearest major galaxy to our own. they used a high performance tell scope in hawaii to cap tour images of the an dromeda galaxy. it is 2.3 million light years

from earth. all of the stars appear as a single shiny mass and this is surrounded by clusters of other stars. the purple patches are clouds you have dust and other gases. they used the subaru telescope which sits atop a mountain. last august they fitted it with a high angle resolution camera, 3 meters tall and weighs 3 tons. 116 light sensors. they are 40 times more powerful than those in a typical single lens reflex camera. the professor of the national as tromiccal academy says it will put landmark findings within reach. >> translator: we want to try to solve the mystery of how galaxies evolve and the accelerating universe. we think we can produce some interesting study results.

>> members of the observatory plan to use the telescope to analyze hundreds and millions of galaxies over the next five years. south korean soccer officials say japanese fans are to blame for an incident that deepened divisions between the two nations. they say the japanese acted first in a dispute related to difficult issues from the past. it happened in seoul during the east asian cup final. south korean fans raised a banner that read "a nation that forgets history has no future." spokespersons said that violated a ban on political statements and matches put in place by the game's governing body fifa. but officials say japanese fans first waved a rising sun flag. the japanese military used the flag during world war ii they

say it symbolizes past suffering of south koreans and calls to mind acts of the former japanese imperial army. japan's sports minister caused further stir with his comments. >> translator: such an incident shows the cultural level of a nation. i hope south koreans will watch sports games in a fair manner. >> south korea's foreign ministry called his remark rude and deeply regrettable. activists raised a statue newer los angeles that caused a controversy. women forced to work in brafles to serve japanese soldiers during world war ii. 500 attended the unveil,

including one woman who claims to be a former comfort women. it's the first such statue on u.s. west coast. korean americans have helped put up at least three on the east coast. >> translator: japan should quickly admit to its mistakes and apologize. >> some japanese who live in the area and japanese-americans complained about the statue as has japan's top government spokesman. >> translator: the government's stance is to avoid making it into a political and diplomatic issue. we cannot reconcile our way of thinking with the building of this statue. >> the japanese consulate general issued a statement, it said the ee recollection of the statue is extremely regrettable. people in japan's disaster stricken areas have put great

store in promises that their communities will be rebuilt but officials now say more than one third of last year's budget for recovery from the march 2011 disaster went unused. this suggests the work has not been going smoothly. government officials allocated about $97 billion in reconstruction funds for the fiscal year that ended in march. about 65% of the money was spent. officials of the reconstruction agency say the plan of rebuilding the contamination projects took more time than expected and pledge the unused funds will still be used for reconstruction. american performer guy totaro is a firm believer in the old addage, laughter is the best medicine. he has been traveling back and forth from his home in tokyo to japan's northeast to get children smiling again.

the 2011 disaster traumatized many kids and he has been trying to heal them with humor. here's the story. >> northeastern japan is like a second home for guy totaro. the professional clown has come here many times since the earthquake and tsunami ravaged the region to give the kids something to smile about. >> translator: it was so exciting. >> he has visited almost 120 day cares, schools, and evacuation centers in two years. more than 9,000 children have seen his performances. >> even though things are moving forward with the reconstruction and everything, there is still problems. families still have issues. there is not jobs.

there is not permanent housing. i think it's important that they know that people on the outside keep on coming back and continue to care about them. >> reporter: but totaro isn't sure how long he'll be able to continue putting on shows in the northeast. volunteers initially supported his activeties but now they are pulling out, leaving totaro on his own. at his office in tokyo, he works the phones and sends e-mails, hoping to find more support. he has been arranging his visits with school officials and driving himself around. >> i have good supporters, people who are financing the program, individuals and a few small companies. but i don't feel like there is some sense of community behind me, like a team. >> reporter: his latest show is

at a day care. the disaster killed 340 residents here. about 80 others are still listed as missing. he helped to arrange the visit mostly because of how totaro helps him. he took his son to a show two years ago. totaro put a smile on the 5-year-old's face, a rare sight since the disaster. seeing his boy light up, he pledged to do the same. he had been at a loss. since it destroyed the plants he used to run and he was in debt. he decided to relocate his business and now runs a temporary fish processing factory. his experience made him want to expose other children to totaro's performances. he started introducing totaro to

local day cares and schools. >> translator: i hope children consider guy's shows a good memory thinking i know him. i had a fun time with him. and that will help them recover in the future. >> that's been the case with soshi. >> translator: i had fun. it was magical. >> i know that the immediate impact i have is directly on the children. they are happy. when they go home their parents are happy and in turn their community is happy so it looks like i am just entertaining kids but in effect, i'm really entertaining on affecting hopefully entire community. the goal is to continue that until a time when it's no longer needed. >> totaro says he will keep working hard to keep young people in the northeast smiling.

despite the challenges he faces, he knows he will be back again. nhk world, japan. there's a tropical storm in southeast asia. robert speta has more on that. we have been watching the tropical storm off the coast of the philippines here still moving west though and really just ever so slowly, about ten kilometers per hour at this time where it's expected to make landfall friday evening into saturday once it pushes overhead. eventually in the northern vietnam by saturday evening. but really, rain now winds 65, gusting up to 90 kilometers per hour. it's on weaker end of the intensity and expected to become possibly a severe thunderstorm by the latter part of the week. the main threat is going to be the heavy rainfall.

we're talking about the monso monsoonal flow, you could see 60 to 80 millimeter thursday into from in the philippines, including the manila area where the schools have been closed into thursday because of this heavy rain still forecasted to impact the area. landslides expected out of this. still seeing showers across the indochina peninsula. we want to keep an eye on it for the further risk of flooding. to the north we have a stationary boundary impacting south korea towards japan. this is still going to be dropping heavy rainfall going into the week and thursday into friday as well. you still could be seeing up to 120 millimeters and this does continue to push overhead. earlier in the week on monday, the region saw that severe flooding. so this is falling on already saturated ground so river runoff will be a threat.

even into tokyo, expecting some showers especially going through the afternoon hours on thursday. a few thunderstorms could be popping up. take a look at temperatures, 29 for the high in tokyo, cooler than earlier in the week. seoul with 32. and shanghai, especially in eastern and central china, high pressure has been dominating here and the temperatures have been reflecting that. some areas could be feeling like it gets into the 40s. now let's look over towards the americas, what's going on here. right now it's a frontal area pushing through the western great lakes towards the east. that is already bringing some thunderstorms. the same front even brought a tornado report into the dakotas. really sparking off the wet weather here. farther to the south we have another low pressure area that brought the severe weather across the central plains earlier in the week. it is bringing thunderstorms out here, not too uncommon to see tornadoes or thunderstorms there into the florida peninsula. speaking of tornadoes, a water spout off the coast of tampa.

it is not too uncommon to see these here as well. especially water spouts, the one that stayed off the coastline within the tropical systems, used to work out into jacksonville florida as well. it does look like the threat will linger here. that one was taken here on tuesday. good news by thursday morning, that pushes east and we'll sigh fair weather behind it. wednesday with a high of 29 and thunderstorms expected for you there in atlanta. off there towards the north, chicago up to 26. let's look at europe. the cold front brought the severe weather to central europe. it's moving off, much fairer conditions and behind it we have high pressure dominating and that is really going to be bringing much fairer weather. if we have severe weather, it's the british isles, a warm front pushing through here but that is all for right now. here's your extended forecast.

. before we leave you this

hour, we'll take you to a traditional summer festival now underway in northeastern japan. ♪ >> the festival features a parade of more than 60 illuminated floats winding through the city. the event dates back more than 200 years. ♪ some of the floats are shaped like fans and painted with images of samurai warriors. others look like dolls. >> translator: it was wonderful. i feel like summer has finally come. >> the festival runs through next monday. that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

from all of us here at nhk world, thanks for joining us. have a great day wherever you are.

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