hello, and thanks for joining us on nhk world. this is "newsline." nato has accused russia of violating ukraine's sovereignty. the secretary-general swept aside russian denials. >> it is now clear that russian troops and equipment have illegally crossed the border into eastern and southeastern ukraine. >> rasmussen said russian forces are supplying weapons to separatists engaging in operations. he accused the leaders of defying all diplomatic methods for a peaceful solution. russian president vladimir putin said he's disappointed by the

support the united states and ukraine have given the government. he said the u.s. and other western nations are behind ukraine's political turmoil. and he criticized the western governments for putting pressure on countries that don't agree with their policies. putin said ukrainian authorities should immediately begin substantial talks with the pro-russian separatists. the ebola outbreak in west africa has crossed another bord border. senegal has their first case. he traveled from the capital of guinea. officials there had warned authorities they lost track of a student who is likely infected. they said he disappeared three weeks ago and may have entered senegal. then officials found him in the hospital in the capital. the student had not told hospital workers he might be infected. sen it egales health officials are trying to track people who

have come into contact with him. the world health organization reports over 3,000 confirmed or expected cases in guinea, liberia, nigeria and sierra leone. neighboring countries are on high alert. senega closed its border last week. indian prime minister narendra modi begins a visit to japan on saturday. he spoke to japanese reporters before he set off. modi stressed that stronger relations with japan will benefit all asian countries. patchari raksawong in bangkok is following the story. >> prime minister modi wants to focus on economic and security ties during his visit to japan. modi led his rightist bharatiya janata party to the landslide victory in the may parliamentary election. it was the first change of power in a decade. a meeting between modi and japanese prime minister shinzo abe is scheduled for monday. abe also plans to host a private dinner for modi in kyoto before

the summit. modi is keen to revitalize the indian economy after its worst growth in a decade. >> modi views japan as a key business partner for his country. he expressed willingness to improve india's business environment by easing regulations to encourage japan to invest more. india is increasingly concerned about china exerting greater influence in the asia-pacific region. india held a joint naval exercise with japan and the u.s. in late july. and security is likely to be high on the agenda when modi meets abe.

>> modi said he is hoping to obtain concrete cooperation for a nuclear energy pact that will allow india to use japanese technology, and modi also wants to discuss a planned high-speed train network for india. medical specialists gathered in bangkok on friday to discuss ways to regulate surrogate births. thailand does not have any laws on commercial surrogacy. the thai authorities are working on a draft bill that would ban commercial surrogacy and brokerage services. the chairperson of the thai medical council expressed caution about putting the law into effect. he said doctors may respond excessively if regulations are tightened.

he said this could make it difficult to provide the necessary medical services to those in need. a surrogacy case in the southeast asian nation was in the international spotlight this month. an australian couple arranged the birth of surrogate twins. they were later accused of abandoning the twin with down syndrome. in another case earlier this month, thai police took more than ten babies and toddlers into protective custody near bangkok. a japanese man had reportedly fathered the children through surrogate mothers. >> translator: i feel very sorry about these cases. it's better to have some regulations instead of doing nothing. >> on friday, australian officials held talks with thais seeking help in surrogacy cases that involve australian parents. australian couples with babies born to thai surrogate mothers have not been allowed to leave thailand for several weeks.

>> our main focus is how we handle cases that are between now and when the new law comes into place. >> we could find out the way we can do together, i mean, in any procedure and any cooperation based on two principles that the prime minister is concerned. it's about humanitarian and also the best interests of the child. >> the thai medical council basically bans commercial surrogacy. it only allows relatives of couples to act as surrogate mothers. but more hospitals in thailand are handling surrogate births because the ban is only an in-house rule for doctors. the surrogacy industry is expanding in thailand with brokerage services backing the trend. shipwrecks of vessels sunk during world war ii dot the oceans of the asia-pacific region. the wrecks are more than just monuments. they're the final resting places

of their fallen crews. or so it was believed until the discovery that parts from at least one japanese vessel have been plundered from waters in malaysia. nhk world's keiji himeno reports. >> reporter: the cruiser haguro of the long defunct imperial japanese navy sunk during a fierce battle off the coast of malaysia. more than 750 crew went down with the ship. keiko masuzaki lives in komamoto prefecture, southwest japan. her elder brother miyaku was on board the haguro when it sank. >> translator: to me, haguro is my brother. the sunken ship contains his remains so his real grave is

there, off penang. >> reporter: penang is an island in northwest malaysia. the wreck of the haguro lies offshore more than 60 meters under water. this footage was taken by an australian diver in 2010. the area is the final resting place of more than ten vessels sunk during the war. but last may, malaysian maritime authorities detained the captain and crew of a salvage ship for raising shipwrecks, including the haguro, without permission. iron stripped from the raised vessels was found on board the salvage ship. while nhk was filming the ship, a person believed to be from its operating company approached us.

>> translator: this is our ship. don't film it. i can't talk to you. leave right now. >> reporter: we repeatedly asked him whether the metal came from salvaged japanese warships, but he didn't answer. local fishermen told us they often witness the salvage vessel pulling up japanese shipwrecks. >> translator: fishermen operating around here talk of wrecked japanese warships. scrap iron sells well so the salvage firm might be trying to do that. >> reporter: the salvage company was found to have recovered nearly 100 tons of iron each time it hoisted a shipwreck.

scrap iron is in high demand in this booming economy. the malaysian authorities suspect the salvage company made tens of thousands of dollars in profit from each salvage operation. masuzuki believed her brother was resting peacefully in his sunken ship. after seeing footage of iron lifted from the shipwrecks, she had this to say. >> translator: if not all the ship has been lifted, i hope the rest will remain untouched under water. i can't go to penang. all i can do is pray from here. >> reporter: 69 years have passed since the war, but the remains of the shipwrecks that double as graves for the fallen.

keiji himeno, nhk world, penang, malaysia. that wraps up our bulletin. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. chinese prosecutors are punishing a company they believe sold expired meat products to fast-food chains and convenience stores. they've given police permission to arrest six executives. the firm is based in shanghai. prosecutors say staff committed food safety violations. police have held the executives just after the scandal came to light. they can detain suspects before making a formal arrest. the u.s. food supplier osi group is the shanghai firm's parent company. representatives say they'll continue to cooperate with chinese authorities.

north korean officials have changed their minds about sending cheerleaders to south korea. the squad was supposed to perform at the upcoming asian games, and their presence was meant to be an opportunity to improve relations on the peninsula. state-run korean central television reported the turnaround. pyongyang initially said a record 700 people would travel to incheon for the games. that included athletes, officials, and cheerleaders. the tv station said seoul raised issues about the size of the squad last month during talks. the report said pyongyang will send athletes and officials as scheduled. pyongyang is also criticizing a joint u.s./south korea joint military exercise which began last week. officials say it will threaten peace and security on the korean peninsula. officials at south korea's unification ministry told nhk the government and the games organizing committee will continue with preparations for hosting the squad.

a publisher in china is offering people there a new way to look at japan. su jing has seen the two countries go through some difficult times, and he wants to give young chinese a taste of japanese culture. nhk world's daisuke azuma has his story. >> reporter: about 350,000 people turned out recently for one of china's largest book fairs. "zhi japan" is a chinese magazine about japan. it first came out in 2011. each issue focuses on a single theme like japanese lifestyles, food, or culture. its circulation has grown ten times since the first few issues. chinese even bought 100,000 copies of one issue. >> translator: i love food.

this issue featuring food is so mouth watering that i couldn't resist buying a copy. >> translator: good articles and a great design. you can feel japanese culture. >> reporter: su jing started up the magazine when he was in college. he read a novel and became fascinated by japan. after graduation, he was hired by a major publisher in beijing. two years ago, he founded his own publishing house. su often hears anti-japanese remarks. recent news reports in china emphasize japan is beefing up its armed forces. he feels information like this leads to misunderstanding. >> translator: some people may think i'm going against the flow, but i think china and japan should understand each other.

they shouldn't fight. >> reporter: this issue features japanese manners. the article here shows how to hand out and accept business cards. it's important to japanese professionals. another article was about bowing. the illustration shows how japanese change their bows depending on the situation. >> translator: i want chinese people to learn from the japanese, but many people have lost their good manners. i don't know how we can deal with others when we behave like this. >> reporter: the magazine is put together by young editors. they get the most up-to-date information from chinese researchers living in japan. >> translator: this is the first japanese anime with human characters, operating robots

from inside them. >> translator: readers won't be satisfied with ordinary topics. we must write about topics that are current. >> reporter: su also tried to attract new readers through social network services. he writes about how staff put together each issue and also posts movies introducing japan. about 340,000 readers follow his posts. su takes note of the opinions when he publishes articles in his magazine. >> translator: our magazine plays a role like a pipeline that sends out information about japan. one story after the other. in china, some media reports about japan have been biased. that's why we want to keep publishing.

>> reporter: in china, the authorities restrict freedom of speech, yet chinese, especially the younger people, want to know more about japan. that interest could bring about a more positive image of the country. daisuke azuma, nhk world. populous. prosperous. pushing ahead. china's rise brought it wealth, power, and problems. an income gap divides its people. pollution threatens their health. and differences over territory strain relations with its neighbors. find out the challenges china faces on "newsline." workers at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant are busy 0 checking the safety of one of the damaged reactor buildings. they had earlier tried to remove wreckage from the site but dropped it into a pool holding more than 500 nuclear fuel rods.

officials with tokyo electric power company say the incident took place shortly after noon on friday at the number 3 reactor building. the workers were using a remotely operated crane to lift a control console when it slipped. the device weighs 400 kilograms. the officials say they've detected no change in radiation levels near the pool or the plant's monitoring post. they also say no one was injured. the number 3 reactor building was badly damaged by the hydrogen explosion that destroyed the plant in 2011. its fuel pool is still littered with wreckage. more bad news for people at japan's most prestigious research institute, riken. first, papers written by riken scientists on a new type of stem cell were debunked by the scientific community and retracted. now the science ministry has decided to cut its budget request by nearly 20%. ministry officials say they had sought more than $500 million

for riken for the next fiscal year. the officials say this is the first time that a budget request for the institute has been slashed. they say they sought minimum funding for new studies so that the staff at riken can focus on preventing a recurrence of misconduct. it's planning to streamline its center for developmental biology to around half its current size in response to the stap cell controversy. the retracted papers claim to offer a quick and easy way of making stem cells that would be capable of developing into any type of tissue. peach and pear growers in the japanese prefecture of fukushima are celebrating a breakthrough. they suffered restrictions on their exports after the nuclear accident in 2011. now they are shipping into indonesia for the first time ever. japanese farm officials offered samples at a high-end supermarket. customers had a taste. one bought peaches that cost more than $13 each.

>> translator: it's delicious. very fresh and sweet. i've eaten fruit from fukushima abroad, and i'm not worried about its safety. >> fruit farmers in fukushima have been hit hard by import restrictions in hong kong and taiwan. for sales in indonesia because the economy there is growing. by now, many have seen images like these online or on tv, videos of people dumping ice water on their heads. just about everyone seems to be taking the ice bucket challenge, from movie stars to former presidents. it's a campaign to raise awareness about als, or

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and to call for support for those suffering from the disease. people who are challenged are encouraged to douse themselves in ice water or donate. the campaign has raised millions of dollars but has sparked some criticism that its rules amount to coercion. still, few argue with the results. people around the world are talking about als and its deadly impact. and one sufferer in japan says that's a good thing. 0 nhk world's misako oshie reports. >> reporter: residents of well-known companies and tv personalities in japan got together last week for a now-familiar ritual. >> translator: it's very important that more people donate to help als patients and fund therapeutic research. >> reporter: they took part in the ice bucket challenge, a charity event that's gone global.

hiro fujita organized this gathering, which raised about $40,000 in donations. the 34-year-old has als. he's the founder of the nonprofit organization end als. fujita had been building a successful career as a planning director at an advertising agency when doctors diagnosed him four years ago. als is a neurological disease. it causes motor neurons to die and muscles to degenerate over time. an american institute estimates about 450,000 people worldwide suffer from it. there is no cure. fujita started using a wheelchair soon after his diagnosis. he had to get a tracheostomy last year and lost his voice.

still, he goes to the office once a week, and this equipment helps him communicate. it translates his eye movements into written or audio messages. fujita says the system has helped him keep working and stay socially connected. >> translator: it helped being a planner because we have to come up with solutions. but more than that, it helped that i worked for this company in advertising surrounded by people who care. >> reporter: fujita has been giving lectures and organizing events to inform the public about the challenges als patients face. pharmaceutical companies don't often invest in drugs to treat diseases that affect a minority of people. end als has been making donations to an organization

studying ways to combat the illness. fujita and his team also submitted recommendations to the japanese welfare minister calling for the government's support. not everyone believes the ice bucket challenge is the best way to tackle als, but fujita says he will do whatever it takes to inform people. his lip reader conveyed his message. >> translator: als is killing us slowly. this is torture. please help free us. thank you. >> reporter: fujita's condition worsens every day, but he says he will continue his fight to end als for as long as he's able. misako oshie, nhk world, tokyo.

executives at google have unveiled a prototype of a drone used to deliver goods. the move comes amid growing competition to develop technology for high-tech parcel delivery services around the globe. the prototype aircraft is 80 centimeters high and 1.5 meters across. it's equipped with four propellers. the company says it aims to put the technology into practical use in a few years. the commercial use of unmanned aircraft is banned in the u.s. for safety reasons, but expectations are running high that the ban will be lifted. amazon leads the developmental delivery aircraft. sony has launched a drone project as well. now here are the latest market figures.

and let's check out the world weather.

and that's going to do it for "newsline" this hour. i'm hiro morita in tokyo. thanks for watching nhk world. x

company, going home with maya angelou. >> is that all the size of the bridge? we lived with our grandmother and uncle in the rear of the store. these little white kids would come in and call her annie. it was terrifying that this great powerful woman, who was my protection, couldn't protect herself. >> announcer: funding is provided by -- anne gumowitz, encouraging the renewal of democracy. carnegie corporation of new york, supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security at carnegie.org. the ford foundation, working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide. the herb alpert foundation,