this edition of "newsline." it's wednesday, september 10th. u.s. president barack obama has threatened to degrade and ultimately destroy the militant group islamic state. now some of the people who work with him are trying to build a coalition to do that. secretary of state john kerry set off for the middle east to court skeptical allies. >> almost every single country on earth has a role to play in eliminating the isil threat. >> kerry said for some, that will mean military assistance. he said for others, that will mean contributing to humanitarian relief efforts.

kerry is visiting jordan and saudi arabia. defense secretary chuck hagel is making similar efforts in turkey. white house officials say president obama spoke over the phone with u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon and australian prime minister abbott. officials from japan and russia have seen their relations grow uneasy in recent months over the conflict in ukraine. representatives of both governments have got together in moscow to discuss how to improve relations. more than 400 people attended the forum, including a number of business leaders. delegates from both countries got the chance to express their take on the state of relations. >> translator: i am disappointed that japan's imposing sanctions on russia over the crisis in ukraine. we all recognize that even a temporary halt in cooperation

would make it difficult to build a relationship of trust. >> translator: if japan/russia can't settle their territorial dispute in a manner that's acceptable to both countries, a true and stable friendship will be established. >> he was referring to four russian controlled islands claimed by japan. the japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of japan's territory, and said the islands were illegally occupied after world war ii. they exchanged opinions on energy and trade. they discussed the idea of se sending russian gas through a pipeline to japan. some said that would diversify japan's energy supplies. the foreign ministers of japan and germany want a peaceful solution to the crisis in ukraine. they've agreed to urge russia's leaders to take constructive

action. they met in berlin with the counterpart. >> translator: we agreed that all the parties involved should make efforts to bring peace to ukraine. >> he said japanese officials will monitor what's happening on the ground and he said they and their counterparts and other g-7 nations would consider further sanctions against russia. he said russian officials should be sincere in the efforts to resolve the conflict. the head of japan's maritime self-defense force said he's trying to arrange the first joint exercise with nato. the two forces are currently working together in an anti-piracy mission off the coast of somalia. it shows the two sides are cooperating well, despite the great distance. >> translator: i think it's significant to hold a joint exercise between japan and nato. we have common interests in the

field of maritime security. >> he also revealed he's trying to arrange a meeting with his chinese counterpart next week to discuss a variety of issues. the joint nato exercise was agreed by japan's prime minister shindso abe, and secretary-general musssan in may. people in countries around the world have seen more and more people in west africa die from ebola. over 2,200 have died in the worst outbreak in history. now leaders elsewhere are sending in more help. officials with the u.s. agency for international development said 25 doctors, 45 nurses, and other personnel will join those already working in the region. the facilities are trying to stop the disease from spreading. officials at the defense department will send equipment to liberia to set up a field hospital. >> if we don't make that effort

now, and this spreads, not just through africa, but other parts of the world, there's the prospect that the virus mutates, and becomes more easily transmittable, and then it could be a serious danger to the united states. >> leaders in tokyo are also lending a hand. officials with the metropolitan government will provide 100,000 sets of protective gear, including clothing, gloves and goggles for medical workers. next week, they'll ship the first batch of 20,000 to liberia and sierra leone. the united nations secretary-general ban ki-moon made an emergency appeal last week for medical workers and supplies. and he asked for $600 million in aid. japanese leaders will expand the nation's continental shelf. it's to gain better access to natural resources under the sea. the decision follows a u.n. ruling recognizing japan's expanded claims. the u.n. designates 200 nautical

miles from shore, or 370 kilometers the size of the nation's continental shelf. the u.n. convention on the law of the sea calls these areas exclusive economic zones, or eezs. the countries are allowed to expand their continental shelf if certain conditions are met. two years ago a u.n. commission recognized japan's claim over several areas. one area totals about 174,000 square kilometers, that is located north of okidaitojima island. on tuesday, japan's cabinet officially ordered the two sea areas incorporated into japan's continental shelf from october 1st. chief cabinet secretary suga said japan will exercise its sovereign rights in these waters, in accordance with the u.n. convention.

>> translator: i believe resource developments in the area will enhance japan's national interests. >> the u.n. commission shelved the decision on other areas because of opposition from china and south korea. the government will continue working to obtain full recognition for these claims. japanese leaders have been hoping people who run firms across the country will send more to support economic recovery. managers seem to be following through. good morning. >> good morning, catherine. managers tend to reinvest in themselves and their businesses when they're feeling optimistic about the economy. one of the ways they do that is they pie new equipment for thems. the latest data shows they're doing just that. machinery orders in july rose for a second straight month. officials at the cabinet office say major machinery makers received orders worth about $7.2 billion in july. that's an increase of 3.5% from sgrun. that figure is less than the

market expectations. the numbers do not include orders for ships and for power utilities, because they tend to be volatile. orders from manufacturers were up more than 20%. demand from non-manufacturers shrank 4.3%. apple has unveiled its next generation iphones, and its first wearable computer, the apple watch. >> it is the next chapter in apple's story. >> the apple watch will allow users to make phone calls, send messages and listen to music. it has health related features as well. it can measure heart rate, and record information on exercise and calories burned. the device also allows users to make payments at stores. the cheapest model will cost $349. apple also revealed its iphone

6, and 6-plus. they will come in bigger screen sizes. 4.7 inches, and 5.5 inches. they begin at $199. the company's apparently trying to compete with samsung and its large-screen smartphones. markets have just opened. the dollar strengthened against other major currencies. in fact, it's been trading this week at above 106 yen, a six-year high. let's see how this morning's announcements and data are affecting the pair. good morning, ramin, what can you tell us? >> yes, indeed, the machinery orders as you said did come out a little bit below market expectations. but a lot of investors watching the currency markets closely, as you also mentioned there. the correlation between the weaker yen against the dollar and rising nikkei does remain strong. and the dollar's not only up against the yen, 106.14-16 right

now, but the euro is now at 14-month highs. they expect the interest rates to rise in the united states, as opposed to low yielding yen assets, such as japanese government bonds. analysts say many are expecting further additional easing measures from the bank of japan. perhaps in the coming months. that's going to be watched very closely. a weaker yen, of course, boosts exporters here in japan, and also makes importing dollar denominated energy products and raw materials a little bit more expensive as well for japanese buyers. so there's two sides to the story there. ai? >> ramin, how is the apple announcement affecting the market? >> we just covered all the key products that you just mentioned there. but apple shares rallied ahead of a new product launch. and then sold off a touch. same thing happened on tuesday. now, apple shares fell 0.38% taking the nasdaq down with it. it's heavily weight on the

nasdaq. the dow also fell. given the release of the new lineup, we should also keep an eye on key suppliers here. but let's have a look at how shares are reacting, looking at the nikkei and the topix. the nikkei has been climbing gradually. the weakening yen against the dollar has highlighted the contrast in the monitoring policy between the u.s. and the bank of japan. the bank of japan is committed to keeping rates low to boost growth further for japan's economy. and speculation of further easing measures is helping to support stock prices here. we're seeing a little bit of a dip today, however. most asian indexes will be back from public holiday. so we'll see if that influences japanese shares related to sales in china, as well as emerging

economies. i'll keep track of all of those. we'll see how the nikkei and topix progress. now, a little bit negative open for share prices here in japan. back to you, ai. >> ramin, thanks a lot for that update. now, i'll have more headlines for you in business next hour. for now, i'll leave you with a check on some other market figures. workers in south korea are taking on one of the world's largest electronics companies. former employees of samsung claim chemicals they used at

their factory jobs have made them sick. now they're suing for compensation. here's the report. >> reporter: samsung it turns out a range of products from high-quality tvs to world dominating smartphones, and semiconductors. and now, its company heads are reeling. in august, recognized health problems of workers at the company's factories. this is what samsung electronics had been denying. the seoul high court ruled that employee developed leukemia that led to her death.

her father is representing his daughter. she died seven years ago. she was 22. >> translator: my daughter told me that her job was to dip semiconductor parts in liquid containing chemicals. and then to take them out. >> reporter: the court recognized the claims. it said yumi was possibly exposed to benzine, a chemical known to cause leukemia. the court did not specify the cause of her illness, but it did say it is rational to conclude that some chemicals in the factory were to blame. >> translator: it was a fair ruling for yumi. but there are more workers who deserve compensation. >> reporter: the court recognized the cases of two

plaintiffs as work related. but not for the other three. workers and their families rallied in front of samsung headquarters. they demanded more information from the company. among them was kim unjong. she worked on a memory chip production line for five years in the '90s. she developed leukemia ten years after quitting the job. and she's now receiving chemotherapy and volunteering in the charge. she says she was exposed to multiple chemicals. but the court said there's no evidence to support her claim. kim laments the lack of information of what prevented her from making a strong case.

>> translator: i didn't even know what i was using was chemical substances. there was no explanation about chemicals in the factory at that time. >> reporter: samsung electronics provided a response to nhk about our story. >> translator: we are deeply saddened by the loss of the former members of the samsung family and are working with the concerned parties to understand how we can best help these members of our family. samsung closely abides by regulations on the use of chemicals and materials for industrial purposes. >> reporter: here is a doctor helping workers file personal injury claims. she said the case is a tip of the iceberg.

>> those people are now more than 200. i hope samsung can change their attitude to understand better, to communicate better. what they should do now is to listen what the victims want. >> reporter: now, about 40 former workers at samsung electronics are preparing to go to court to seek work related compensation. they are calling on samsung for full disclosure of information. nhk world, seoul. a japanese ba luga whale is learning a new way to communicate with the crowds at an aquarium near tokyo. the popular mammal is finding his voice. and he's being helped by a

scientist who wants to become a real-life dr. doolittle. this is a beluga whale. he has a knack for copying the sound of human speech. knack is showing off his talent at an aquarium. >> translator: it was amazing. >> translator: i doubt he could really speak, so i was very surprised. >> reporter: beluga whales use their blow holes to breathe. and to make sounds that let them communicate with other whales. knack came to the aquarium about 25 years ago. over the years, he has learned to copy human speech. knack is believed to have the intelligence of a 3 or 4-year-old human child.

>> translator: knack responds correctly to our words. but it's more than that. when someone in the audience sneezes, knack mimics sneezing. when they laugh, knack mimics laughter. >> reporter: a scientist is studying knack's talents for mimicry. this professor is an expert on whales and dolphins. he got a lot of attention recently when he published a paper summarizing his findings. this graph compares the wave length of a word spoken by knack's keepers to the wave length of his imitation. the wave patterns match almost exactly.

he achieved similar results with seven other words. that shows knack's ability to copy a variety of sounds. his studies suggest knack's talents don't end there. >> translator: if i show knack a fin, he says the correct word. >> reporter: knack uses different sounds to identify objects. >> translator: using sounds to identify objects is historic. we'd like to combine this with knack's ability to copy speech. we want to teach knack the meanings of the words he imitates. maybe some day we can talk with knack. >> reporter: aquarium staffers can't wait to have a chat with knack. >> translator: if we're ever able to speak with knack,

there's one thing i really want to ask. that's whether he's happy living here among people. >> reporter: he said he'll keep working until humans can speak with whales. dr. doolittle would have been proud. floods caused by heavy rainfall have been sweeping through parts of india and pakistan. at least 400 people have died. and thousands more are stranded and waiting for help. authorities say disruptions to phone and road networks in some areas are hindering rescue efforts. associated press reports the death toll in india has reached 200. they say large parts of a city of 1.2 million people are under water. troops are using helicopters to drop food and carry residents to safety. some people have spoken of their devastation at losing land and livestock.

>> translator: we lost all our land. we are poor people who have children to support. nothing is here for us now. just water. >> the people in charge of the rescue operations say there are many obstacles blocking their way. they say communication lines are down. and landslides have wiped out some roads. that's making it hard for them to know exactly what's going on, and where they should concentrate their efforts. authorities in pakistan say water levels are rising. local government officials are warning people living nearby to take extra care. rescue teams need the weather to cooperate. meteorologist robert speta joins us now with the details. >> what we're seeing is the weather forecast, it is cooperating. the rainfall has tapered off. especially farther towards the north where you're seeing a lot of the images of the severe

flooding in northern india. unfortunately, all the rain that has come down, it has to go somewhere. abundance did come down. we saw 500 to 600 millimeters out here in the past week alone. now, where that goes, it goes downstream. and that is the problem. the forecast, the bulk of the showers still to the south. you're not seeing much of the rain across pakistan. but the valley right in here where you're seeing the reports of flooding, that's upstream. the high river levels, that has to flow downstream. and that's going to be impacting a lot of these other communities. so the problem is, that all this water is going to be moving somewhere. and this is where we're going to be seeing the next reports of flooding. a lot of the rescue efforts will have to be concentrated farther to the south despite the problems off to the north. still an ongoing problem out here. rescue efforts still under way. but the good news, the rain has stopped at the very least. let's look over here toward the east. i also want to talk about the tropics, just off the coast of

japan. this was severe tropical storm are moving off. it's moving out to sea. the bad news, it has wrapped in some cooler air from the north. so what we are seeing is this upper-level air into the quarter levels. that's going to be interacting with the warm, moist, low-jet coming in from the south. when they start colliding, we'll see strong to severe thunderstorms possibly into northern honshu. some of those could be producing heavy rainfall. and the possibility of frequent lightning. something you should watch out for. even the tokyo area could see strong thunderstorms wednesday afternoon, and expect this to taper off towards thursday. back towards the west, though, we are seeing also showers in the southern portions of chin aflt the thing with this, it is bringing the warm southerly winds associated with it. we'll be looking at the rain showers accompanied by temperatures pushing into the mid to high 30s. it will feel like summer out here for some of you.

temperatures push up to around 32 all the way up to 35 degrees. over toward the americas, let's talk about the heat in china, opposite going on here. let's talk about canada. calgary, you have been seeing the snowfall. we have the cold front which has been pushing down towards the south. cold is definitely a good word to use with this. look at this, about 10 to 15 centimeters fell on your monday. definitely makes for slick driving conditions. very early winter storm out here for you. farther towards the south and towards the east, into the americas, i don't expect snowfall out here. but it is going to be cooling off. we are going to be seeing the snow across montana, about 15 to 20 centimeters could fall in the higher elevations. you're still looking at strong to severe thunderstorms for some of you, even around the chicago area, across the great lakes into the midwest, possibility of tornadoes and damaging winds, even hail. the other big topic, though, if

you would like autumn-like temperatures, you'll love this forecast. toronto dropping down to 18 degrees. chicago at 16. even cincinnati going into low 20s here by your weekend. here's the extended forecast.

that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for staying with us.

>> hello and welcome to "global 3000." now, let's imagine for one moment a world without plastic. if you, too, are struggling to do that, that's because within only a few decades plastic has replaced many other materials, making our lives easier and more convenient, but also creating new problems. and that's what we're focusing on today. here's what's coming up. back to paper -- we meet a ugandan who is building his future on the comeback of the paper bag. we hear from the singaporean mp who wants to share her country's fortunes with its neighbors. and, saving the source of the blue nile -- e