glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." i'm rajo pradhan with the news from tokyo. officials from the world health organization say the ebola outbreak is the most severe health emergency in modern time. the virus is killing 70% of people infected and doctors in west african nations could see 10,000 new cases in the two weeks of the coming new month. >> 8,914 cases are the number today. we will go over 9,000 cases this week. this trend, as you can see, the number of reported deaths are 4,447, as of this morning.

>> they're calling for the strengthening medical systems to protect the medical workers from the virus. reports are that hospital staff in the u.s. and spain became infected while treating patients with ebola. he said health authorities in each country must find out how the infections occurred. and he says medical institutions will have difficulty insuring thorough preventive measures if they do not have enough personnel. u.s. health officials say it's still unclear how a health care worker contracted the virus at a hospital in dallas, texas. they say other employees at the facility are at risk, and say they're now monitoring staff while caring for a liberian man who died of the disease. thomas frieden, the center for centers for disease control and prevention announced the measure on tuesday at a news conference. >> there were at least 76 people who might have come into contact with him or his blood, and who are being monitored now.

>> frieden also said the cdc will be ready to respond to any new cases in the u.s. should they emerge. >> starting today, is establishing a cdc ebola response team. we will put a team on the ground within hours with some of the world's leading experts. >> and u.s. president barack obama says american hospitals are stepping up their readiness. >> we're going to make sure that all the lessons learned from dallas are then applied to hospitals and health centers around the country. as i've said before, we have the public health infrastructure and systems and support that make an epidemic here highly unlikely. >> obama also says the world as a whole isn't doing enough to contain the threat of ebola. and he's urging other leaders to do more to stop the outbreak. now, british government officials have started checking

passengers for ebola at london's heathrow airport. travelers arriving from guinea, liberia and sierra leone have to be checked out for their health. they're also asking for their contact information while in britain. no direct flights connect heathrow and the three countries in west africa, but officials say nearly 90% of air travelers from those nations use connecting flights that arrive at heathrow. they also plan to expand the screening programs to cover other airports and train stations in britain. here in japan, medical workers are stepping up their preparations to prevent secondary infection. 47 hospitals have been designated to treat patients if an ebola case is confirmed. one of the designated hospitals in tokyo held a training session for medical staff. nurses wore protective gear when collecting blood samples and changing sheets.

>> translator: it is very tough for nurses in protective suits to change a patient's clothing, sheets, and deal with their care. >> hospital officials decided to use disposable sheets. the nurses will work in pairs. a third nurse will monitor the procedures to prevent mistakes caused by fatigue. the hospital plans to draw up new manuals by next week. and business leaders and investors are also worried about what the outbreak could mean. we're joined from the business desk. ai, how are they reacting? >> the people with means to give money, they are giving millions and millions. bill gates and paul allen of microsoft fame, and now facebook's mark zuckerberg, they're donating a total of $80 million. zuckerberg said if ebola is not controlled, it could be the next

hiv or polio. as for investors, they're also worried. and they've been pulling their money out of stocks and moving into what they see as safer investments, like u.s. government bonds. for more let's go to ramin mellen guard. what do you have for us this morning? >> investors for japanese shares are also very concerned, not only about the ebola crisis, but also slowing global growth, as well as developments in the middle east. but let's have a look at how the nikkei and topix are kicking off this wednesday. let's not forget the nikkei was down 2.4% yesterday. we're seeing a little bit of a comeback right now. but we're still below the 15,000 level. we'll see how that develops throughout the morning, the broader topix slightly higher, up a third of a percent. analysts i've been speaking to are asking whether the sudden fall we've seen recently is merely a correction after many shares hit their year's high back in september. or whether it's a sign of worse to come.

given the slow pace of growth in china. also, eurozone's economy, especially germany's is showing further weakness. here in japan many investors continue to wait and see when the government pension investment fund will begin to allocate more funds into stocks. now, today, japanese welfare minister is set to attend a advisory panel meeting of the gpif. a lot of investors really want to see what comes out of that. that's going to be a big focus. and the ebola outbreak already caused investors to slow expectations for global growth and sell shares in airlines as well. we did see that yesterday. i'll continue to monitor that today as well. crude oil prices also falling overnight to four-year lows. we need to keep an eye on oil-related shares. the focus is really on what opec, the organization of petroleum exporting countries, will do about the rise that we've seen in supply and

weakening demand. so oil also a concern there. ai? >> ramin, what is the effect having on currencies and other financial products? >> definitely. the dollar/yen, of course, i think the focus there, and investors are buying at really -- they tend to hold their value in times of uncertainty, which includes the yen, the swiss franc, gold, as well as government bonds. so let's have a first look at the dollar/yen there at the top of the screen there. 107.21-26. investors intent on buying the so-called safe haven currencies, which is really the yen, which has risen against the dollar, euro and british pound. the yield on the u.s. ten-year note fell to the lowest level since june of 2013. and german equivalent fell to a record low for germany, pushing investors to what they see as a safety of bonds, which, of course, pay a fixed rate of return. i'll continue to monitor how stocks are trading throughout

the morning session and have an update in a few hours. >> we'll talk to you then, ramin. german government officials say external factors like the situation in ukraine and uncertainty in the middle east are making them less bullish about the country's economy. they've lowered their economic growth forecast for this year and next. the officials lowered their forecast for germany's gdp growth for this year from 1.8% to 1.2%. and they slashed their projection for next year from 2% to 1.3%. the officials say a drop in germany's exports due to slowing emerging economies is another reason for the lower growth estimates. they say the domestic economy is still strong enough to sustain growth, but they point out that business people are less confident. political leaders in berlin are reluctant to use fiscal spending to prime the economic pump. they say sound public finances are crucial to long-term growth. but the lower growth projections

will likely fuel domestic and international calls for the government to boost spending. russia's state-backed energy giant say it may withdraw from a joint project with japanese companies. the plan was to build a liquefied gas plant in east siberia. most of the lng produced at the plant would likely have been exported to japan. miller reportedly said the company is ready to consider supplying pipeline gas to china as an alternative to the vladivostok project. his intention is to give china priority from exports from east siberia. russia began building a pipeline in may to supply china with natural gas for 30 years. nhk's correspondent in vladivostok said russia's withdraw from the project could affect energy cooperation between japan and russia.

business leaders from japan and australia have set their sights on promising new markets. they want to do more work together in asia. about 300 business leaders from the two countries took part in the annual meeting of the australia/japan joint business conference. people at the conference say firms from the two countries should jointly set up businesses in asia in areas such as agriculture and infrastructure. the head of the japanese delegation say it's time to turn talk into action. >> translator: our job is to make a reality of what we've discussed at this conference. >> the business leaders issued a joint statement calling for quick parliamentary approval of the economic partnership agreement the two countries signed in july. more for you next hour. here's another check on markets.

every morning investors turn their attention to asia. the tokyo market leads the way. markets around the world follow. >> from the decisions that could change the course of an economy. >> to the companies with change. >> up-to-the-minute market reports. >> and analysis by specialists from around the world. >> get all the latest business news and insight every day, here on "newsline." islamic state militants intensified their offensive in iraq despite continued air

attacks by u.s. forces. they conducted a series of bomb attacks and seized a military complex in the country. islamic state members and a related group carried out the attacks on monday in the suburbs of baghdad. the bombs exploded in a predominantly shia residential district. a.p. news agency said at least 30 people were killed and 70 were injured. islamic state insurgents took control of a training center for iraqi forces in the western province of anbar. local authorities say iraqi troops had abandoned the facility. islamic state fighters are now poised to take full control of the province. taliban militants are trying to weaken the government in afghanistan ahead of the withdrawal of most foreign troops by the year end. another attack has reportedly killed six police officers there. the a.p. said the police at the post in logar province fought back in the attack on tuesday but the militants were heavily armed. the taliban has since claimed responsibility.

meanwhile, reuters says a roadside bomb wounded at least two civilians in the capital kabul on the same day. that attack has so far gone unclaimed. >> translator: it was a really powerful blast. there was smoke and dust in the area. i saw a car damaged on the street. >> last month the afghan government said it will allow some u.s. troops to stay on after the year end pullout. the americans will train the afghan security forces. the u.s. aims to completely withdraw by the end of 2016, but frequent outbreaks of violence across afghanistan have raised doubts about that pledge. scientists at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant say they've recorded the highest levels of radioactive cesium ever. they say water taken from a well

contained 190,000 becquerels of cesium 137 and 61,000 becquerels of cesium 134 per liter. they say that's more than three times the level of the sample taken from the same well four days earlier. the well for observing groundwater is located on the coastal side of the number two reactor building. highly contaminated water that flowed into an underground tunnel in the 2011 accident tainted the soil in the area. officials say the heavy rainfall from a typhoon last week likely caused radioactive substances in the soil to flow into the groundwater. they're planning to increase the frequency of water sample tests to monitor the effects of the heavy rainfall. and they say it will be difficult to take drastic steps because they don't know how far contaminated water seeped into the ground after the accident. results of an nhk poll suggests that support for prime minister shinzo abe's cabinet has decreased. nhk surveyed 1,516 people aged

20 or older over the weekend by phone. 68% of them responded. last month approval of abe's cabinet stood at 58%. that figure has dropped to 52%. disapproval rose to 34%. the poll also covered japan/china relations. 9% of respondents believed ties will improve and 19% said they'll worsen. 65% of respondents believe ties will remain unchanged. prime minister abe hopes to hold talks with chinese president xi jinping in beijing. 46% of respondents said the talks are necessary while 7% said they are not. japan's government has adopted standards for implementing a state secrecy law. the law will be put into effect in two months. it gives the government

authority to have security information. the leakers of the information would face a maximum prison term of ten years. the cabinet approved the law's operational standards on tuesday. they say state secrets can be designated only by the heads of 19 government entities, including the foreign and defense ministries. 55 types of information will qualify as special secrets. they include classified information provided by foreign governments, and details of surveillance activity by the self-defense forces. the government will perform background checks of public servants and other handlers, with access to state secrets. the standards say protection of their privacy must be considered. their religion, creed or ideology will not be subject to screening, but their criminal and debt records can be vetted. the government will appoint a cabinet office entity and other bodies which will be authorized to check the designation of secrets and ask for the decision to be nullified if necessary.

the standards also say the public's right to know must be given full respect and special kay is needed for media rights. the standards are to be reviewed after five years. nhk world has been following developments on the new state secrecy law. she explains the background and some of the challenges that they pose. >> reporter: lawmakers in japan passed a state secrecy law despite struggles from the opposition parties. the ruling coalition wants to protect national security amid growing international tensions. the democratic party tried to prevent the bill from passing. its members said the law could infringe on the public's right to know. details of the new law remained on target for months, including the definition of state secrets and who designates or removes them. in july, members of the human

rights committee released a report on japan. it said the new law contains a vague and broad definition of what can be classified as secret. the report also said no one should be punished for sharing the information. that does not harm national security. japanese government officials compiled the standards. they gathered comments from the public. about 24,000 people responded. some said it is not clear what sort of information may be designated as secret. there should be an independent agency in charge of screenings separate from the government. on tuesday, government officials promised to consider the public's right to know. they decided to reexamine the standards in five years. >> translator: we have set up

institutions to ensure that what is designated as state secret is proper. and to prevent any concealment of information. we will thoroughly explain these to the japanese people to eliminate their concerns. >> reporter: but the institutions will be created inside the government. protesters, including lawyers and citizens, gathered outside the prime minister's official residence. they claimed the institutions may not be able to combat independent and objective examinations. and they urged the government to have public opinion reflected in the standards. >> translator: i don't want them to pass the bill that would create problems. >> translator: i'm angry because they're forcing through the bill by pretending that they've listened to the public. >> reporter: the state secrecy

law would come into effect in december. nhk world, tokyo. japanese weather officials have a new eye in the sky. they successfully launched a satellite into space last week, and it's expected to significantly enhance the way weather is observed and predicted. jonathan tells us more about the latest satellite. >> reporter: with the sound of rockets firing off into space, the next chapter of meet yo logical study was written. the satellite made its way to space last tuesday. the name means sunflower in the japanese language.

the latest technology that will significantly change the way meteorologists and the general public will see the weather. >> translator: it provides a lot more data than current satellites. and it's a world first, so it could be called a world leading satellite. >> reporter: one of the biggest features is the highly detailed observations. the satellite will see as small as a half kilometer invisible imagery, showing rapidly developing clouds. the full colored pictures will allow meteorologists to tell the difference between clouds in the sky, snowfall on the ground, and even plumes of yellow sand. an important asset in weather forecasting. another significant improvement is the ability to provide a full-size picture of the earth in just ten minutes. until now, the previous weather satellite was only to take images every half hour. it was very difficult to follow quickly developing storms that caused heavy downpours, much

like the ones leading to flooding and landslides. the new generation weather satellite makes 3-d observations and can calculate the amount of precipitation. >> translator: grasping how atmospheric vapor is distributed is crucial to predicting where heavy rain falls. >> reporter: in addition to this data, it will also allow meteorologists to detect highly detailed sea surface temperatures. knowing the ocean temperature will help forecasters best determine the development of powerful typhoons. people will be able to access many of the tools and images online when the satellite comes into full operation, which they expect to be sometime next summer. jonathan oh, nhk world, tokyo. people in northern and central parts of italy are still facing severe weather, after they saw floods caused by heavy rainfall. let's get more in the world

weather report. >> good morning, raja. yes, you're right, a series of storm systems are battering northern parts of italy, which one has caused severe flooding in and around parma. let me show you the situation there. the benganza river overflowed, cutting off access to parts of the city. more rain is unfortunately forecast for wednesday, with a few storms possibly becoming severe in the similar locations, and then descending down towards the south. this is due to the upper cold-level air and clash of the humid air in here. this is why the chances of hail, strong gusts and precipitation still lie across much of italy and the adriatics. we have a monster storm heading to the british isles. the bulk of the torrents of rainfall will be around

portugal. especially in the northern locations. so please watch out for that. you can see right here, we're likely to see a lot of rain in this continent on our wednesday. in the caribbean, we have a category 3 hurricane heading towards bermuda. again, it is well east of the bahamas and turks and cacos islands. this is the country we actually saw hurricane fay last weekend. through this area causing a lot of damage. we really don't want more storm systems to hit this island over this really open water. but it could hit the island wednesday, after about 185 kilometers per hour. it's not going to be affecting the eastern coast. but this is going to be affecting, and it is a potent system that caused two people to be killed from it. it's likely to pull into the eastern half. the high pressure system keeps it very slow moving. so we still have the potential for large hail, damaging winds,

and even tornadoes on your tuesday night and into the wednesday early hours. we're likely to see it move into washington, d.c. as well as new york. so please do check your flights if you're traveling in those vints. for the pacific northwest, we may see some snowfall, up to about 5 centimeters in the higher elevations. we're actually seeing a lot of snow on this continent as well, especially southwest of china. we're likely to see about 3 centimeters of snowfall in north korea. but south korea, as well as eastern china are seeing a high pressure system predominant. we're actually seeing temperatures quite low today here in tokyo. 19 degrees, a fall from 27 yesterday. hokkaido is actually seeing wintry precipitation already, because the morning low was about minus 4.5 degrees. the calm and clear conditions are strengthening the radiation al cooling out there. talking about snowfall, actually, in and around sydney, saw snow. blue mountain saw up to 20

centimeters of snowfall. this is due to the jet stream all the way towards the north, pulling a lot of the cold air from the antarctic. this low pressure system has caused flooding around sydney and also sydney airport was closed wednesday night. heavy snowfall in the blue mountains. over 30,000 homes were without power. as for the next few days, we're likely to see it clear up a little bit on our thursday. but back again on friday, heavy rain will be on and off. so please watch out for this. i'll leave you now for our extended forecast.

and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. we'll be back with the latest in about half an hour. so do stay with us on nhk world. xxxx

>> hello and welcome to "global 3000." education is the key to tackling poverty. the un's world literacy day has been spreading awareness for half a century. today we see how education is transforming people's lives. here's what's coming up. a vision for bangladesh -- we meet a man committed to alleviating poverty. mali's speed school -- how those who missed out are given a chance to catch up. and endangered delicacy -- how pacific island countries want to save the bluefin tuna. sir fazle hasan abed received his knighthood for helping those with no status at all. the poor of bangladesh. his "rural advancement committee" started out more than 40 years ago by offeri