welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. the u.s. secretary of state gives syrian leaders credit for complying with u.n. efforts to destroy their chemical weapons arsenal. leaders plan to adopt a strategy to invest in public infrastructure as they meet in bali for the annual apec summit.

the number of people suffering from smartphone addiction is rising in the u.s., and south korea, so, too, is the number of services to help addicts unplug. international inspectors have begun the process of destroying syrian president bashar al assad's most feared weapon. experts from the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons and the united nations arrived in the capital of damascus almost a week allege. they're following through on a security council resolution demanding that syria dismantle its stockpile. they visited a military facility on sunday. they began the process of destroying rockets that can carry chemical arms and facilities that produce such weapons. some of those facilities are located in areas controlled by opposition fighters or areas where they are fighting government forces. and inspectors fear that could delay their mission. they want to get rid of all stockpiles by the middle of next

year. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is giving syrian leaders credit for complying with the efforts to destroy the weapons. kerry spoke alongside lavrov and they came up with the agreement to eliminate stockpiles. kerry says it's significant that inspectors are destroying weapons within a week of a passage of a security council resolution. >> i think it's also credit to the assad regime for complying rapidly, as they are supposed to. it's a good beginning, and we should welcome a good beginning. >> kerry says he's willing to work with russia to convene an international peace conference next month in geneva. the meeting would bring together representatives from the syrian government and opposition groups. leaders of 21 pacific rim economies are sitting down at the table to talk about free trade and investment. the summit of the asia pacific

economic cooperation is under way in bali, indonesia. earlier i spoke with nhk world's reporter who is covering the meeting. i started by asking him what the talks are focused on. >> apec is not a trade pact, nor a group with strong influential powers, rather it is a loose international forum where members discuss ways to promote free trade, and regional economic cooperation. this year, apec leaders are expected to adopt a three-year plan for active investment in growth and other public infrastructure. and they reaffirmed their support for the talks such as the transpacific partnership and asean. the leaders held talks on tuesday and adopted a joint statement. >> japanese prime minister shinzo abe is attending the summit. what is his message? >> prime minister abe has again appealed that he will steer

japan to growth, while at the same time deal with the finances. others spoke of the business forum before the summit and asked corporate ceos to actively invest in japan. he said the country would take advantage of its technological know-how to build infrastructure. >> translator: japan is committed to continuing the movement toward greater economic coordination with apec members. >> president barack obama has skipped the summit because of the u.s. government shutdown. what kind of impact is that having? >> secretary of state john kerry said their commitment to asia remains unchanged. >> i want to emphasize that there is nothing that will shake the commitment of the united states to the rebalance to asia

that president obama is leading. >> but this is the second year in a row that obama has missed the apec summit. last year, he was too busy campaigning for reelection. during his first time, president obama said his foreign policy clearly placed priority on strengthening economic ties with asia. yet he now appears to be struggling to score points on economic models in asia. china expanding ties in southeas southeast asia. >> nhk world in bali. on the sidelines of the apec summit, top officials from countries negotiating the transpacific partnership will be holding a separate meeting on tuesday. they're expected to express their determination to reach an agreement by the end of this year. leaders from the 12 nations are

to adopt a statement at the tpp summit. a draft statement shows they will say that significant progress has been made in recent months, in areas that include government procurement, investment and ab lishment of terrorists. they have agreed to move forward in negotiating unresolved issues to achieve the goal of working out the free trade deal by year end. but observers note that the absence of u.s. president barack obama from the summit may slow down the momentum for the negotiations. the president has been pressing for the conclusion of the pac this year. tough negotiations are still continuing over several issues. among them are intellectual property and fair competition between private sector and state-owned businesses. here are the latest market figures.

severe typhoon is affecting people living in japan southern prefecture of okinawa. for more we turn to meteorologist robert speta. robert, what's the latest on this typhoon? >> the good news is at this time danas is continuing to race off to the north away from the southern japanese islands. bad news, it's starting to move towards western portions of mainland japan. let's talk about the impact from the storm system. jima, just north of the island of okinawa here, you saw winds

reported up to 192 kilometers per hour. i'm going to show you some video of what that looks like. sustained winds over a ten-minute period, up to 135 kilometers per hour. so a very intense storm system. you can see the trees being blown about here. we also saw damage to some of the roofs out here. not to mention the waves which continue to crash ashore, up to ten meters high, still to shall expected across much of this area. these japanese islands and much of the chain out here has really high and strict building codes. so we often see when these intense storms come through, it is not so much severe damage. you get a lot of superficial damage. really, they're built for tie foons out here. sometimes when you see injuries is when people venture out and about instead of staying put. no reports of any injuries. hopefully most of the people did heed the warnings ahead of the storm system as it pushed overhead. still has winds gusting up to

252 kilometers per hour, though. it will move off to the north, then make this turn towards the northeast, impacting western kusha. even around nagasaki, you could see typhoon-strength winds here going through tuesday evening. also heavy rainfall. some areas could see about 180 millimeters of rain here in western portions of tren. the tropical storm strength and possibly typhoon strength winds, and it will track off to northern honshu. definitely a storm system we want to continue to watch here through the coming days. health workers in pakistan have again been targeted in what looks like an attack by islamic extremists. here are the details. >> at least two people were killed and 20 wounded when a bomb detonated near a polio vaccination team in northwest

pakistan. it was the latest in a string of attacks against health workers in a campaign to eradicate the disease. local police say the bomb was outside a hospital on the outskirts of the provincial capital peshawar. the device exploded when the team arrived to collect vaccines. >> translator: i was with the polio team. we reached the front of the hospital along with the police, and right away there was a blast in front of the gate. >> the pakistani taliban say it's a plot to material sterilize muslims. they've spoken out to debunk those misconceptions. the polio eradication initiative said cases of the disease which can cause paralysis were reported just last week in pakistan. vietnam will hold a state

funeral this week for ay hero diedn fday at the age of 102. the general led the vietnamese to victory over colonial france and played a key role in the defeat of u.s. forces during the etnam war. the communist party seems to hope that his legacy will help justify its continued one-party rule. akiko reports. >> reporter: people have come to payhe lt respects to the general ahead of his funeral. he became a national hero. his house is in the heart of the capital hanoi near the museum of the vietnam's fnding father ho chi minh. considered to be the second most important national hero. >> translator: to me, general

zeb is a hero of the vietnamese nation. i think his contribution to the country is great, and i respect him very much. >> translator: he's like our teacher, our father and our leader. we know that he cannotavoid death, but we all try to overcome this pain. >> he came to prominence in 1964, when he spearheaded the attacks against the french at a battle in northwest vietnam. french troops were stationed at a fortress near the lao border. he mobilized huge numbers of fighters to bring cannons to the mountains. they forced france to give up colonial rule over vietnam.

the government had celebrations to mark the victory. especially in 2004, the 50th anniversary of the battle. the government invited him to return to the site of the battle. state-run television aired a special program. >> translator: we the vietnamese people must build our lives on the foundation of the battle of dien ben hu. >> last saturday at noon they reported that he had died. the government plans to hold a two-day state funeral from

saturday, that will be live on tv and radio. the communist party says such victories are its own achievement. economic reforms are creating new loyalties, but the government apparently expects the funeral of demonstrate a one-party rule. nhk world, hanoi. and that wraps up our bulletin in bangkok. a court in japan has ruled against a group that repeatedly targeted a korean school in kyoto with hate speech. it ordered the group to be banned from the area. the organization that manages the school filed a complaint with the kyoto district court. members of the group used loud

speakers to deliver hateful messages near the school from 2009 to 2010. administrators said the activities infringed on the school's ethnic education. they demanded about $300,000 in damages, and asked that the group cease its activities in the area. during the trial, representatives of the anti-korea group said they were protesting against the school's use of a nearby park without permission. they argued they were exercising their right to freedom of expression. the presiding judge said the group's actions horrified students and faculty and disrupted classes. he said the speeches were highly offensive, saying they amounted to racial discrimination which is banned under an international convention. the court ordered the group to pay about $120,000 in damages, and stop its activities near the school. a lawyer for the school says this is the first time a japanese court has recognized hate speech as illegal, and ordered monetary compensation. the top government spokesperson says he's concerned

about hate speech. the cabinet secretary won't comment on the individual civil suit, but says anything that disrupts business and school activities should be stopped. >> translator: it is vital that the relevant authorities act to prevent such things from happening. >> suga responded to a question on whether there are plans to introduce new laws in the wake of the ruling. he says the government will keep an eye on developments and take appropriate action. the head of the company in charge of japan's crippled nuclear plant says he plans to make improvements to prevent human error. recent mistakes at fukushima daiichi have led to the contamination of rainwater and suspension of a reactor cooling system. the president of tepco said workers at the plant are overstretched.

>> translator: we need to increase the work force. we also believe it's very important to improve their working environment. >> earlier on monday, human error caused a partial power failure at the plant. tepco officials say a worker mistakenly hit a stop button that cut power to the pump that injects water to cool nuclear fuel inside reactor 1. a backup pump quickly kicked in. officials say the reactor's temperature didn't change. the chairman of the nuclear regulation authority says the situation at fukushima daiichi could have an impact on tepco's bid to restart its largest nuclear reactor. >> translator: the situation at fukushima daiichi has not been sufficiently stabilized to assure the public about safety. we will proceed very carefully with our safety inspections.

>> tanaka ordered tepco to issue a report by the end of this week. an exhibition highlighting the world's environmental problems is under way in southwestern japan. the event is a run-up to a u.n. conference that will convene later this week. the city is known for an outbreak of mercury poisoning more than 50 years ago. it caused a neurological syndrome that came to be known as the nimata disease. on one globe, white dots indicate areas affected by mercury pollution. on another globe, blacked-out parts show areas where the soil is deteriorating. >> translator: i hope the works by engo will inspire visitors to think about the fact that all kinds of environmental problems are affecting our world.

what happened in minimata is still occurring today. >> the exhibition runs through monday of next week. the u.n. conference will start on wednesday. delegates are set to adopt a legally binding treaty regulating the use and trade of mercury. more japanese teenagers are suffering from what's being called internet dependency. the popularity of smartphones is only making matters worse. people in other nations are struggling with the same condition. that's encouraged some in the u.s. and south korea to find ways to break the addiction. we have two reports starting with nhk world's john ellis guard yola. >> 28-year-old charlie pope is addicted to his smartphone. he receives counseling at a rehab center that specializes in treating patients like him. this is his seventh week there.

when he wasn't at work, he played games on his phone. eventually he couldn't sleep, and became mentally unstable. >> i was never interacting with my friends. i had absolutely no positive energy coming in from the outside world. i was just pouring all of my self-loathing and depression and anxiety. >> reporter: mobile phones are banned here. five or six patients live communa communally. as for insomnia and other symptoms, it can take three months for them to disappear. >> i recognize that my addiction is a lot more powerful and a lot bigger and a lot mr insidious than i thought it was. >> reporter: some businesses also offer relief to phone addicts. this hotel offers a digital

detox package. i'd like to check in, please. >> could i have your digital device? >> and i surrender my digital p without a mobile device. >> dinner with friends and they're sitting at dinner and they're looking at their smartphone or shooting an e-mail. it takes away from them being present with us. >> reporter: this package costs about $570 for two per night. finally, some precious phone-free time together. >> this is a chance to unplug, unwind, and get away from the devices. and just really focus on what's most important, each other, relax. >> reporter: here in south korea, people have also become

attached to their smartphones. one out of every five people under the age of 20 who don't have their device nearby suffer with the symptom. at this school in seoul, most students have their own smartphone. teachers have difficulty keeping the students from playing games. so they use a software that limits what the students can do on their phones. city officials might use this system in all elementary schools. parents also use it. now each day they keep track of how many hours their children use their phones. >> translator: i'll be back in the evening, and i'll set it

that you can't use your phone until i get home, understand? i was always concerned that my child was using the phone too much while i was at work. now i don't have to worry. >> translator: it is inconvenient not using it whenever i want. but i guess i have no choice. >> reporter: a mobile phone addiction that takes control of people's behavior, it's a lesson for everyone in this high-tech age. nhk world. meteorologist robert speta is here once again with the rest of world weather. robert? >> as we continue to watch typhoon dana, still rolling across western japan here, going through the next 24 hours, we also have the remnants of feto, which passed over the southern japanese islands on saturday and sunday, and brought pretty gusty

winds and rain. good news with this storm system, it is quickly weakening out here. you can see on the satellite imagery the cloud cover being pulled off there towards the northeast. we'll be seeing that one continue to weaken. it will continue to bring heavy rainfall on top of what has already been falling, over 400 millimeters in the past 24 hours off towards portions of korea, combined with daas here, and some rain showers along the frontal area which will continue to linger in that region. let's talk about the tropics. we have these two areas up here, but we're talking about a low pressure area over thailand. that's been bringing heavy rain showers, possibly going to become a named system in the bay of ben gal. and a new tropical depression forming here, it could bring heavy rain showers and maybe a named system out of this towards the philippines. we are going to continue to watch the tropics. it is not calming down at all here in the near future.

30 there in manila. even towards bangkok at 32. 27 expected on tuesday there in tokyo. let's talk about the americas. severe weather has been rolling across here over the past weekend. now here into monday, we're talking about the tornadoes there around nebraska. heavy snowfall into the dakotas. then this moved off to the east and now into new england. there's a risk here on monday of large hail, damaging winds, and still the threat of some tornadoes possibly here, not to mention the sustained winds in some areas, straight line winds up to 90 kilometers per hour. same conditions very well possible in portions of quebec. this low pressure area, that is actually the remnants of karen. that storm system pushed up into the gulf of mexico and quickly dissipated. but still, kind of a ghost of that storm bringing showers there across the florida peninsula. all this is going to be pushed off to the east with the high pressure moving in behind it. the pacific northwest and

british columbia, on the other hand, 40 kilometer per hour winds up here. you'll see heavy rain showers, low pressure area moving through. temperatures in the teens. even snow into the higher elevations, much like what you saw last week. here in europe, though, several low pressure areas moving across the british isles, off to scandinavian peninsula. this has been bringing winds about 96 kilometers per hour reported there in scotland. also going to be seeing heavy showers in southwestern portions of norway. low countries, on the other hand, pretty decent weather out here. if you have flight plans in and out of italy, or travel plans, you want to check in ahead of that ahead of time. there is already heavy rain and advisories in effect here. rome, temperatures out in the low 20s. the thunderstorms are going to be in place. paris, sunny skies, 17 for your high. berlin getting up to 17. partly cloudy skies on tuesday. but that's a look at your world weather. here's your extended forecast.

♪ can you see the blue sign on the left? it says great east japan earthquake tsunami level. the water reached that height. >> two and a half years have passed since the 3/11 disaster. local people have started organizing group tours to sites to observe the disaster's impact. >> some of the local people are against it. they don't want a ship to be left there. >> tourists visiting places such a