hello. welcome back to "newsline." i'm shery ahn. let's get started with the headlines. islamist militants are rapidly expanding their control in northern iraq and are preparing to head toward the capital, baghdad. experts are raising a red flag over a popular food. they're warning that the japanese eel population is rapidly declining. and brazilians waiting for the world cup kickoff are

grinding up their streets. but not everyone's happy. islamist militants linked to al qaeda are advancing deeper into iraq. they've captured the second largest city, mosul. and are about to keep pressing on farther south. nhk world's sochiko takeda has more. >> the militants belong to a group in the lavant. they attacked government offices, police stations and other buildings in mosul. about half a million people have reportedly fled. the militants over around the consulate general of turkey and they took about 50 people hostage including the consul general. >> translator: any harm to our citizens or staff would be met with the harshest retaliation. >> reporter: u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon and members of the security council have denounced the militants' actions. >> i'm condemning in the strongest of possible tones such terrorist attack against

diplomatic offices. >> reporter: the spokesperson for the u.s. state department says secretary of state john kerry discussed the situation with turkey's foreign minister. >> we are in touch with the governments of turkey and iraq and stand ready to provide any appropriate assistance. >> reporter: iraq's prime minister says military commanders will launch an operation to contain the insurgents. western diplomatic socialists say nuri al maliki has requested help from the u.s. they say he has asked white house officials to consider using drones for military air strikes. the militants have been fighting against government forces in syria. president bashar al assad issued a statement calling them terrorists. and he said his government is ready to cooperate with iraqi leaders to fight their common enemy. the militants are advancing into other iraqi cities. from mosul they swept south to baiji and forced iraq's largest oil refinery to shut down.

then they moved into tikrit, the birthplace of former president saddam hussein. the militants said in a statement they plan to escalate their fight further in baghdad. analysts say the militants appear to be preparing for a full-fledged assault on the iraqi capital. sachiko takeda. nhk world. u.s. defense secretary chuck hagel has defended a controversial prisoner exchange with the taliban. hagel said any delay in freeing sergeant bowe bergdahl could have endangered his life. bergdahl was released last month after five years of captivity in afghanistan. in exchange the united states freed five senior taliban members detained at the u.s. prison in guantanamo bay. u.s. lawmakers have criticized the administration of president barack obama for not notifying congress in advance as required by law. hagel testified about the deal before the house armed services committee. >> as the opportunity to obtain

sergeant bergdahl's release became clear, we grew increasingly concerned that any delay or any leaks could derail the deal and further endanger sergeant bergdahl. >> he said a leak could also have exposed u.s. military personnel conducting the handover to an ambush or other deadly scenarios in taliban controlled territory. he said president obama made the final decision to move forward. japan's chief government spokesman has outlined how leaders could ease their pressure on north korea. he says they may lift three sanctions at the same time. but he says they'll only do that if officials in pyongyang start investigating their abductions of japanese nationals. north korean officials promised last month to launch a few investigation. they said they tried to find out what happened to japanese people in the 1970s and '80s. leaders in tokyo said they'll lift three sanctions in return. those sanctions cover travel between japan and north korea,

humanitarian port calls by north korean ships, and transfers of money. >> translator: when we've determined that the north koreans have conducted a concrete investigation, we'll lift the announced three sanctions at the same time. >> suga also addressed regulation about the possibility of a visit to north korean ya by prime minister shinzo abe. he said it's too soon to even talk about it. many diners in japan count eel among their favorite food. but they're being warned by experts to conserve the fish. the popular dinner choice is now on the list of endangered species. nhk world's takafumi tadei reports. >> reporter: it's been a long japanese tradition to eat unagi

or eel. many people consider eel cuisine as one of the premium dishes for the summer. so the news that japanese eels are on the red list is causing concern with diners across japan. >> translator: it's so delicious. i'd be shocked if eels are banned. >> translator: for us japanese, eels are a familiar food on our tables. i am very surprised to hear the species is in such danger. >> reporter: biologist kenzo faiku is a member of the expert group that contributed to the international union for conservation of nature's decision to add japanese eel to the list. >> the decision to enlisting japanese eels as endangered species seems reasonable to me. in my opinion, they should have been on the red list perhaps ten

years ago, even before. >> reporter: fishermen are catching fewer eels every year. four decades ago, they hauled in over 3,000 tons annually. now the number has gone down to less than one-tenth of that amount. kaifu has been chasing the migrant fish for years. adult eels are caught in rivers and lakes. but nobody ever really knew where they were born until recently. in 2009, researchers discovered spawns of japanese eels here in an area around the west mariana ridge in the pacific ocean. baby eels are carried westwards by ocean currents to waters around taiwan, china, the korean peninsula and japan. kaifu says one main reason for the rapid eel population decline could be global warming.

he points out river banks covered in concrete may be another factor. and he suspects overfishing is also to blame. eels are a highly profitable fish. they are caught young and sold to farms in east asian countries. >> japanese eels caught not just in japan, but china, south korea and taiwan. in these countries, eel farming and fishing started growing dramatically since the 1970s. >> reporter: the red list does not automatically regulate or ban fishing. but kaifu believes that now is the time for nations in the region to cooperate on conservation and sustainable use of the endangered fish. >> the serious decline of such a largely important fish species may cause conflict among state quarters such as fishermen, fish

farmers, dealers, restaurant owners, conservationists and scientists. conflicts may not occur not only among the country here but also the country in east asia. in order to solve the conflicts among quarters, information sharing is needed. the international -- is there but not enough. >> reporter: next month an information sharing workshop will be held for the stakeholders in japan. kaifu hopes that it'll be the first step towards conserving a fish that's been on japanese tables for centuries. takahahmis the terui, nhk world. japanese firms will be taking part in building a new boeing plane. ron madison has the details from the business desk. >> five japanese firms will build 21% of the fuselage for

its new passenger plane. the 777x. the japanese alliances are key to the aircraft maker's future. >> all of our partners here in japan, from across the industry play a critical role in our success. and we are both honored and proud to achieve the many accomplishments together with you all. >> boeing says that mitsubishi heavy industries and kawasaki heavy industries will build the fuselage sections of the latest jetliner. fuji heavy industries will bring center wing section. sheenmawa industries and nipi corporation will build some portions. the 777 x have 350 to 400 seats and will be designed to be highly fuel efficient and offer extended flight range. the involvement of the japanese firms will be about the same as the current 777. the people at general

electric have their sights set on frej energy saturday night alstom. some of their rivals are trying to spoil their plans. executives at mitsubishi heavy industries and germany's siemens are hoping to counter the weight of ge. they say they could submit an offer as early as monday. people at mitsubishi are expanding overseas and they have their eyes on alstom's network in europe, the middle east and south america. executives at ge have already made a bid of $17 billion. let's get a check of the markets now. investors across asia appear to be less willing to take risks. most asian boards finished lower today tracking overnight declines in the u.s. and europe. market players took a step back amid the recent stock rallies. tokyo dropped to a level not seen since the beginning of this month. the nikkei average, in fact, down more than .6%. 14,973. a stronger yen dampened overall sentiment. market players avoided making

aggressive moves ahead of the outcome of the bank of japan's policy meeting. in sydney the s&p asx200 index also seeing declines of nearly half a percent. 5, 428. the number of people employed in australia fell unexpectedly in may. in seoul the kospi losing more than .1%. the central bank expressed some caution about sluggish domestic consumption. the people who run firms in japan have been pulling back from oerds new equipment. but economists are confident managers will keep reinvesting in their businesses. managers placed machinery oerds in april worth about $3 billion. that's down 9.1% from the previous month. the numbers don't include orders from ships and electric power companies because they tend to

fluctuate. orders for manufacturers were down more than 9%. people in the transportation and financial sectors ended up investing more. orders from nonmanufacturers grew .9%. analysts at the cabinet office maintained their assessment saying machinery orders are on a rising trend. members of a government panel say japanese companies need to increase their transparency. they recommended a series of structural reforms that will help businesses attract foreign investment. the head of the panel submitted a report to financial services minister taro aso. it recommends government officials create a code of corporate governance. these guidelines would encourage companies to bring in external board members and to speed up their decision making. the reports say financial institutions should set up 24 hour fund settlement systems. interbank settlements are now only available during business hours on weekdays. government officials plan to use the panel's recommendations to compile new strategies for

economic growth. people walking into japanese businesses are seeing more and more signs of something missing in the economy. and the signs read "help wanted." managers can't seem to find enough workers to fill open positions. so many of them are turning to foreign students to do the jobs. nhk world's komiko seiko tells us more. >> reporter: international students read aloud the company motto at the morning meeting in chinese. 70% of the workers at this chain restaurant come from abroad. most of them students from china. they make about $10 an hour. the same as their japanese colleagues. more than 100,000 international students have taken part-time

jobs. that's up 50% over the past five years. some managers have changed their training programs to attract new employees. she started here as a part-timer. now she works full time and leads training. >> translator: here you go. >> translator: you made a noise. please do it more slowly. if you serve like that, you might spill some stew. >> reporter: japanese law prohibits international students from working more than 28 hours a week. so managers keep track of everyone's schedule so employees don't go over the limit. >> translator: we'll listen to what the foreign workers have to

say. and create a better work environment for them. >> reporter: one school has taken on a new role. about 1,200 students from 40 countries are studying at this school. and the people who run it have launched a job placement company to attract even more. school officials want to support africans who want to study and earn their living at the same time. the company received more than 500 calls from managers looking to hire at restaurants, hotels and distribution farms. >> translator: our challenge is

to figure out how we can find good matches between the students and businesses looking to fill openings. >> reporter: and the phones keep on ringing. managers looking for the right people to get the job done. kumiko seko, nhk world, tokyo. all right. toy makers from japan and abroad are showcasing their new products in tokyo. they're focusing on digital play things and other high-tech giz mos. the international tokyo toy show opened on thursday. a record 157 companies are taking part. about 35,000 products. many toy makers are trying to appeal to kids who are surrounded by digital technology in their daily lives. a major japanese company has developed a self-driving miniature car. it has a sensor mounted on the front that can detect obstacles ahead and automatically steer away from them. they can even drive backwards just like full-sized cars with automatic driving systems.

the toy show is scheduled to run through sunday. okay. that is going to do it for business hour. here's a check of the markets. every morning investors turn their attention to asia. the tokyo market leads the way. and markets around the world follow. >> from the decisions that could change the course of an economy. >> to the companies at the forefront of 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." soccer fans are counting down the last few hours to the world cup kickoff. usually host nations put on a colorful show for the world's biggest sporting event. but this time brazilians are taking a different approach. nhk world's takahashi reports from rio de janeiro. >> reporter: these decorations are the national mark of brazil. and the tournament mascot huleko. and people are putting up green, blue and yellow tape between their houses. brazilians will have special color when the world cup hits town. >> translator: kids are excited about the colorful decorations. and we can get closer to our neighbors.

>> reporter: there are big shows on the road in this residential street. brazil's bid to win the world cup a sixth time. but this one says in portuguese [ speaking in foreign language ] . which means for a fair country. tao takes a lead in organizing the street's decorations. as usual, he asks locals to join in. this time, however, he has seen little progress ahead of the tournament. so he decided to reduce the amount of materials. used about a quarter of what went up south africa 2010. >> translator: we decorated the street much farther down there during the last tournament.

people always enjoyed the tournament in the past. we all came together to support the team. that's the real brazilian soccer spirit. but this time there's just no excitement. >> reporter: in this picture, the mascot huleko is holding a wad of cash. it's designed to send a message critical of the government's expenditure of public money on the tournament. they feel the concept reflects brazil's mixed feelings about the fact people cannot simply enjoy the tournament as a host nation. naoya takahashi, nhk world, rio de janeiro. >> now, soccer fans are trying to guess which country's going to win the opening match. some put that question to an oracle from the ocean. now, this turtle lives in a brazilian conservation center. keepers hung up the flags of brazil and croatia and let the

animal make its prediction. it's a snap decision for the home team. >> translator: this is a true sign that brazil is going to win the world cup. >> the turtle is not the first animal to make world cup forecasts. and octopus in germany picked winners during the last tournament. soccer fans in other countries are looking for clues this year from an elephant, a panda and a penguin. recovery efforts continue in germany after deadly storms wreaked havoc there. our meteorologist jonathan oh joins me now. jonathan, what's the forecast for people in the affected areas? >> hello, shery. it does look like that the weather will be improving to help out in those recovery efforts because of the dry conditions that are moving through germany. and you can see here the clearing skies. but that doesn't tell the entire story of what happened during the past couple of days. let me show you some video.

these pictures really do tell the story where residents continue to clean up a day after severe storms slammed germany with large hail and strong winds. six were killed earlier this week when winds tore through the country, knocking over structures and toppling hundreds of trees. as of thursday, some public spots and parks and swimming pools continue to remain closed. furthermore, train delays continue to impact travelers at authorities continue to clear tracks of downed trees. we are seeing an improvement in the forecast, but the cold front that is associated that was responsible for producing seven to eight centimeter size hail in terms of the diameter is continuing to move toward the south and east. and as it does so, it will continue to create stormy weather for the southern portions of europe and into parts of the balkan peninsula. so we need to be aware of the possibility of seeing that activity stretching from spain all the way into the eastern portions of europe. but like i mentioned, as the cold front sweeps through, we

have warm air surging in. and that's allowing temperatures to move into the mid-20s for places like paris up to the low 30s for madrid, under partly cloudy skies. but we do see the rain and thunderstorms stretching to the eastern portions of the continent. we're also talking about a lot of rain in east asia. you can see the cloud cover extending from japan all the way down into places like the philippines and the indochina peninsula. in the tochiki prefecture up to 126 millimeters of rain fell over a 24 hour period. it looks like as this system continues to move toward the north and east the tropical storm that was in effect has now merged with the system. it has just become a low pressure system. but the remnants is bringing a lot of moisture into japan. so be prepared to see some more rain coming up for the next couple of days. we're also looking out for this low pressure system west of the philippines. that may become tropical as we go throughout the next couple of days. even if it doesn't become a tropical system, it ha z a lot of moisture with it.

it will interact with the monsoonal front. so expecting anywhere from 250 to 300 millimeters of rain for taiwan and also parts of luzon. luzon already saw 60 to 90 millimeters of rainfall during the past 24 hours, so it looks like that the rain will still be a problem when it comes to flooding and landslide pa ten shl. manila will see a high of 30 degrees with a chance for rain. a little bit drier in hong kong, a high of 31. seoul and tokyo, you'll be dealing with some rain. warmer conditions for the eastern portions of china. we now look at the americas. we are watching out for this low pressure system near texas that is expected to develop and create some possible severe storms with winds gusting up to 100 kilometers per hour. possibly quarter-sized hail. you need to look out for that as this system pushes toward the east. the eastern half of the united states and also into canada. dealing with some rain and some instability. so expect to have that umbrella handy for you. toronto at 24. 22 in new york. that rain and thunderstorm activity stretches all the way down into miami. we wrap things up, the world cup

is about to kick off. here's a look at the forecast for brazil. brazil and croatia, the first game. it looks like sao paulo temperatures up to 25 degrees, starting off with some fog but then seeing a mix of sun and clouds with beautiful conditions. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

and that's all for this hour on "newsline." i'm shery ahn. thank you for watching. gg99ññwc

>> welcome to the "france 24" newsroom. the headlines -- the battle will rage on baghdad. the militant group of vowing to take the capital. stope government fails to the quick offensive, reports are coming in that the parliament has been unable to reach a quorum for an emergency session. dozens of turkish activists go on trial for their role in last squares taksim demonstrations. it's the day football fans have been waiting for. strikes in são paulo have