hello and welcome back to "newsline" i'm shery ahn. let's get started with the head lines. a separatist leader in eastern ukraine is rejecting the upcoming presidential election, and seeking closer ties with russia. prime minister shinzo abe and his israeli counterpart have agreed on a partnership that will create new opportunities for japanese businesses. and some japanese entrepreneurs are hoping to sell

clients around the world on one of the world's most coveted delicacies. a separatist leader in eastern ukraine says his group won't take part in the upcoming presidential election. pushylin says the people have chosen independence from kiev and says he'll seek formal ties with moscow. pro-russian activists staged a referendum on sunday in defiance of ukraine's interim leaders. pushylin says about 90% of the voters in the donetsk region and 90% in the luhansk region backed autonomy. >> translator: the people of the donetsk region have endorsed the establishment 6 the donetsk people's republic, which we declared on april 7th. >> pushylin said he will ask leaders in moscow to consider accepting donetsk into the

russian federation. and he said he will establish a military in the region. he says separatists will not hold any kind of dialogue with ukraine's interim government. after pushylin spoke about 200 supporters gathered around municipal buildings occupied by pro-russian separatists. >> translator: it's like a celebration day. we achieved victory. i've been waiting a long time for this moment. >> translator: i'm very happy. all i can think about is joining russia. >> u.s. state department spokesperson jen psaki says the referendum was illegal, and she says the voting process raised questions. >> the methodology was also highly suspect with reports of clerical voting, premarked ballots, children voting, voting for people who were absent and even voting in moscow and st.

petersburg. >> psaki says the presidential election on may 25th would give citizens across ukraine a voice. european union leaders have issued warning after warning about the crisis. now, eu foreign ministers have added more names to their list of sanctions. the ministers have already frozen the european assets of 48 officials in russia and ukraine. and have placed restrictions on their travel. they said 13 more people will be subject to those penalties. and they said they'll freeze the assets of two business entities in crimea. it's the first time the eu has imposed sanctions on companies for their involvement in russia's annexation of the region. the ministers said they strongly support a free and fair presidential election in ukraine, and they called for russia's support. eu officials have been preparing additional sanctions. they're targeting the energy industry and other sectors in the event russian officials try to disrupt the vote.

u.s. secretary of state john kerry has urged his counterpart in beijing to peacefully resolve a maritime standoff in the south china sea. ships from china and vietnam have been involved in a series of confrontations. kerry spoke with foreign minister wang yi by telephone on monday. u.s. officials say kerry criticized china for taking provocative actions, such as declaring plans to drill for oil and deploy ships near the disputed paracel islands. he urged chinese authorities to resolve the situation based on international law. global pressure is mounting on china to exercise restraint. on sunday leaders of the association of southeast asian nations adopted a declaration calling for a halt to actions that could escalate tension in the region. some japanese scholars are speaking out against what they see as the chinese government's suppression of history. they've expressed their support

for people who got arrested for trying to shed light on the tiananmen square incident. now, five chinese activists got detained earlier this month. they include the prominent lawyer pu singh congress, and xu youyu. they want to investigate what happened in 1989. a group of japanese scholars wrote an open letter expressing grave concern. they include a university professor who brought xu to japan in february to give a lecture. they say the people arrested were trying to heal scars the tiananmen square incident inflicted on chinese society. they say the group was attempting to ensure people in china can be proud of their country. more than 100 lawyers and others in china have protested the arrests online. japanese prime minister shinzo abe and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu have

agreed to build a new partnership between their countries. netanyahu is on a four-day visit to japan. this was the first summit meeting between the two leaders. they discussed the breakdown in the peace talks between israelis and the palestinians. they also agreed on the importance of achieving peace through a two-state solution. the leaders want to strengthen cooperation and security and defense. they said they'll aim to improve business relations, too, and will start looking for future negotiations on an investment agreement. >> translator: i want to broaden japan/israel ties. our nation has major potential working to the with prime minister netanyahu. >> i know that you are committed to bold reforms that are already moving the japanese economy forward. and i believe that israel can be your partner. >> netanyahu will meet with japanese business leaders and will visit the ancient capital

of kyoto before he leaves on thursday. every year hundreds of start-up companies are created in israel. the country offers a wide variety of support to young entrepreneurs. now the doors are open for innovative business opportunities from japan. nhk world reports. >> reporter: israel's coastal city of tel aviv is the hub for start-ups. many are high-tech related. like this game development studio. this is software built by israeli start-up. the camera catches my motion and reflect into the computer games without having any controllers. their signature games utilize special technology that recognizes human gestures. the company was founded four years ago, and now successfully partners with world market

leaders. guy is one of the company's three founders. his two previous ventures went bankrupt within a year. but he says in israel, failure is seen as just a step towards success. >> it's okay to experience that process and take the knowledge into your next venture. >> reporter: there are many explanations why israelis innovate. with little oil and scarce water they've had to develop technologies in energy. because most people serve in the military, they are familiar with defense related technology, and many immigrants have brought in young brain power. the government initiated to support start-ups by giving funding assistance for those who invest in new companies.

this space at the public library is offered at minimum cost for entrepreneurs who can't afford an office. sal sing he co-authored the epic book "start-up nation" in 2009. >> the government got all its money back, and it also got -- succeeded in building a venture capital industry. so actually in many countries now are looking, are actually using this model right now. >> reporter: thousands of kilometers away, a leader in the japanese incubator industry is eyeing to open a hub in israel. kentaro is ceo organized an event this month to exchange ideas between israeli and japanese entrepreneurs. >> i was involved in start-ups. >> reporter: he started his

company six years ago, at a small share house in tokyo. he lived with, and supported people, who run five different start-ups. since then, he has invested in more than 80 projects. he now plans to move to tel aviv to set up a new samurai share house for entrepreneurs from japan who want to make it big there. >> translator: if i can link up japan and israel there will be great innovations. my final goal is to support and invest in israeli entrepreneurs. >> reporter: on this day, those looking to launch their business in israel gave presentations. sakabira thinks some of the ideas have worldwide potential. >> translator: about half of these companies could make it to the global market through israel. i'm happy. >> reporter: for misses minded young challengers, israel seems to be a land full of

opportunity. nhk world, tel aviv. and it's time now for the latest business stories with ron madison. >> all right. thanks, shery. investors around the world now watching for economic data out of china. the latest indicators show that the country's factory output and retail sales both slowed down in april. analysts say the data provide a fresh indication that the world's second biggest economy is losing some steam. officials at the national bureau of statistics say industrial production rose 8.7% last month from a year earlier. it edged down 0.1 percentage point from march, and really wasn't as good as many analysts had expected. officials said retail sales were up 11.9% from the same month last year. that does compare, though, with a 12.2% increase in march. sales of expensive goods like jewelry and other accessories plunged 30%. home appliances and cosmetics also showed slower growth. now following the release of the

data chain naes markets ended lower. a big surge on the previous day prompted many traders to cash in their profit. shanghai composite seeing a decline today of 0.1%, 2,050 at the close. that does come after that 2% gain that we had on monday. resource companies like coal mine operators came under a bit of pressure. now many other markets in asia finished higher. investors increased their appetite for risk taking following a record close on wall street. tokyo outperformed the rest of the region. also seoul and sydney showed a pretty robust gain of just about 1%. tokyo's nikkei average was up nearly 2% at 14,425. that did erase all of monday's losses. a weaker yen gave a boost to overall sentiment, pushing up shares of exporters as well as other bellwether firms. in hong kong, 22,352. property shares surged on speculation that the government will relax the city's stamp duty rules which relate to home sales.

japanese finance minister taro aso is calling for a restart of nuclear power plants in the country. once their safety is confirmed. he says the step is necessary to slash the huge fuel import costs that cut deep into the nation's current account surplus in fiscal 2013. >> translator: it's a fact that the higher utility costs have been affecting manufacturers, and as a result raising prices and hurting consumer spending in japan. >> aso noted that nuclear power will remain the cheapest source of energy, at least for the time being. all nuclear reactors in japan are offline after the fukushima daiichi accident in 2011. aso also said japan needs a growth strategy that will allow businesses to earn foreign currency, not only through exports, but also through overseas investment. he said such a strategy is needed to stop the current account surplus from shrinking further. the people at mitsubishi chemical holdings are planning a

takeover deal in japan to fuel their operations abroad. they want to spend almost a billion dollars to buy a company that makes industrial gases. mitsubishi executives are preparing a tender offer for a majority stake in tao nippon sanso. they make nitrogen and other gases for use in chemical factories. the mitsubishi executives want to produce nitrogen for a chemical plant that they're planning to build in the united states. the man who runs the renault nissan alliance has been chosen to run the automakers in europe. carlo ghosn has been elected for a second time. he could play a main role in opening up more markets to japanese cars. ghosn previously served as president of the organization in 2009. japanese trade and auto industry officials have welcomed his reappointment. they hope ghosn will speed up talks on an economic partnership

agreement between japan and the european union. now this deal could make it easier for japanese automakers to sell cars in europe. lobbyists from the auto industry, though, are pretty wary. they've been struggling to lift their sales through an enenduring economic slump. > wearable computers are hot objects. now japanese have developed eyeglasses. they track your eye movements to determine how sleepy you are. they were developed jointly. small sensors attached to the eyeglasses catch changes in voltage that occur when the eye moves. the glasses are also able to transmit other data, like the number of times users blink and how rapidly. >> translator: they can help prevent car accidents. they can keep people from getting burned out from overwork. they're also useful for health management.

>> well, the level of drowsiness is shown in three levels. a driver can check them to decide when to take a break and avoid an accident. the degree of tat eeg is also numerically provided. jin's executives are helping to develop demand even among those who don't have to wear glasses. well, some people just don't understand it. some people actually pay a small fortune for fish eggs that are cured in salt. some of the most sought after caviar comes from russia. but the fish that traditionally produces it is in danger. catches of sturgeon have dropped to a fraction of what they were just 20 years ago. and the friday is now restrited by an international convention. some japanese producers are seizing an opportunity now. >> reporter: this event at a restaurant in tokyo is showcasing caviar from miyazaki prefecture. it was the first time most of the 70 people taking part had tasted domestic caviar. >> translator: it's delicious.

it tastes really natural. >> reporter: miyazaki prefecture started selling caviar last november. the area is the first in japan to harvest caviar from white sturgeons grown from eggs laid in a manmade environment. fish hatched at the prefecture's fisheries research center were raised at local fish farms for about eight years. the process made it possible to mass produce the delicacy. a new facility constructed this year is equipped with a sterile room where the caviar is prepared. imported caviar is heavily salted to help preserve it. scientists in miyazaki prefecture have tried to keep the salt content down to 3%. they experimented with the concentration of amino acids and other components to create the best taste. more than 2,000 tests were conducted to improve ways to

harvest and process the eggs. the result is 20 grams of caviar for between about 100 and $120. about the same as high-end imports. the prefecture is now hoping to export. >> translator: the harvest of natural caviar is plummeting. caviar farming could become a huge business. >> reporter: more companies are springing up across japan. this company breeds and supplies baby sturgeons. it's actually a precision valvemaker. the most difficult step comes in the two months after the sturgeon eggs hatch. the firm managed to raise the survival rate to 70%. baby sturgeons are now sold to more than 50 customers across the country, both public and private.

>> translator: inquiries are up 20% annually. since around 2010. >> reporter: one of the buyers is a construction company. it started harvesting caviar nine years ago, after orders for public works projects fell. >> translator: we used scrap materials to make the equipment and save money. >> reporter: the firm has been harvesting about 30 to 50 kilograms of caviar a year for the last four years. it sells caviar online, as well as to local hotels and stores in tokyo. >> translator: it looks like the business is finally starting to turn a profit. our sales network is expanding gradually. >> reporter: japan's caviar business is taking off. the question now is, can it

become a profitable export industry? okay. before we go on our story on smart eyeglasses, we titled the president of jin as hiroshi tanaka, his name is hit osh shi tanaka. we apologize for that mis-cite. that's going to do it for biz for now. we'll hand it over to shery. the u.n. secretary-general

says he's concerned about reports that a cease-fire in south sudan may have been breached. ban ki-moon says the leaders of the government and opposition forces must work together to end the fighting. president salva kiir and former vice president reek machar signed a peace accord on saturday. media reports say government and opposition forces in northern parts of south sudan have engaged in sporadic battles since then. ban visited the country last week. he says the fighting has forced more than 80,000 people to seek shelter at u.n. bases. >> if the country continues, half of south sudan's 10 million people will be run out of their homes starting by the end of this year. >> ban called on members of the security council to support efforts toward restoring stability. south sudan gained its independence from sudan three years ago.

fighting broke out in december between government troops and those loyal to machar. several thousands of people have died and more than 1 million have fled their homes. members of amnesty international have tallied up a grim set of figures. they say people in 141 countries are at risk of torture or other types of harsh treatment when taken into custody. now the finding is included in amnesty's latest report on torture. it says the practice still continues three decades after united nations convention against torture was adopted. the report is based on a survey of more than 21,000 people in 21 countries. 44% of respondents said they feared being tortured if taken into custody into their home country. the figure was 80% among respondents in brazil and 64% in mexico. more than a third of people surveyed said torture is sometimes justified. they supported it for collecting information to maintain security.

74% were in favor in both china, and india. amnesty is urging government es worldwide to outlaw torture. let's now bring in our meteorologist jonathan oh for a check of the weather. a strong storm hit residents in east india. how bad was the damage? >> hello, shery. the damage was pretty extensive. we have some video to show you right now out of east india where the squalls are being felt across the area this week, as the southwest monsoon starts to become more apparent heading into the south asia's wet season. now reports indicate dozens of homes were destroyed due to intense winds monday. the storm also dropped heavy rainfall, causing major rivers in west bengal to flood, at least 15 injuries have also been reported in this early season storm. let me show you what's happening on the map right now. you can see the cloud cover that was moving through the area. that was part of the responsible system that brought the

rainfall. the good news is, though, it looks like the rain will be tapering off as we look forward into the next 72 hours. yes, there still will be rain, but really this is before the monsoon takes place in india. current weather, very hot for a good portion of the country. but starting on may 20th, we will see the monsoon shifting and moving in to india, and so as we go through june and in to july, the wind shift will usher in a very wet season, so you have to wait for a couple of warm weeks before we start seeing the transition take place. now, talking about area where rainy season has already begun, east asia. particularly over japan and also into portions of south china, dealing with a lot of heavy rainfall. and you can see the stationary front indicating the area where the persistent rainfall is taking place. meanwhile, looks like there's a front responsible for the rain in tokyo on tuesday, has now shifted further toward the east, now high pressure is coming in,

bringing in a little bit of an improvement when it comes to sunshine as we head into wednesday. here's a look at the forecast. on wednesday, 27 for tokyo, 25 in seoul. a little bit wetter over shanghai with a high of 23. hong kong, you're going to yet again see another day of wet conditions, and manila, you'll also see a very warm day. highs in the mid 30s, with a chance of rain and thunderstorms. let's take a look at the americas. we told you about a system that was responsible for bringing snow in the rockies. and some strong thunderstorms in the central plains. and also into the midwest. you can see the clouds associated with this front is continuing to persist. we're going to see the system sliding toward the east, and that's going to bring another chance for some rain and thunderstorms. i think in terms of the severity, not quite so much. but there may be some isolated strong storms, particularly for the southern portions of this front. ahead of it, very warm conditions. 30 degrees in atlanta, 31 in

d.c., with a chance of rain thunderstorms. denver, after highs in the single digits, you will see highs of around 11 degrees coming up on tuesday. let's wrap things up with a look at europe. we have been talking about a couple of systems that have been persistent. one down towards italy. another cold front that is now clearing the eastern portions of the continent. it looks like that will fin to slide toward the east. but rain will persist, particularly because we had this low in northern italy that will continue to bring some rainfall. so it looks like places like paris, you'll see a chance of -- you'll see a chance of rain and thunderstorms. highs in the mid teens. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's a look at your extended forecast.

and that's all for this hour on "newsline." i'm shery ahn. thank you for watching.

>> thanks for watching "france 24." here are the headlines this hour. pro-russian separatist asked to join russia after claiming victory in the referendum. former israeli prime minister to 6olmert is sentenced years in prison for taking bribes and a massive real estate deal. the judge compares his crimes to treason. and as france gets set to announce its team for the world cup, we will take