hello and welcome back to "newsline." i'm shery ahn. let's get started with the headlines. iraqi troops are using air strikes to fight back advancing insurgents but they're struggling as the militants move toward the syrian border. negotiators from iran and six world powers have restarted talks aimed at reaching a final deal on tehran's nuclear program. and japanese police are using a new tool to get a view of car accidents from the air.

the president of the united states and his advisers have been weighing all the options in iraq. the situation on the ground is changing by the day as islamic militants battle to gain the upper hand. iraq's leaders have struck back but the militants appear determined to press on. >> reporter: the militants have been waging offensives on multiple fronts. now they've moved into the northern town of tal afar, close to the border with syria. fighters had already taken control of key cities, including the second largest, mosul. and they've been pushing south toward the capital, baghdad. further west, government troops used helicopters to launch air strikes on militants outside falluj fallujah. >> translator: the strikes are very accurate. we use missiles capable of

hitting the targets precisely. our mission is proceeding well. >> reporter: u.s. president barack obama met with his security advisers on monday in washington to discuss their response. defense secretary chuck hagel has issued an order for an amphibious transport dock ship to be sent to the persian gulf. a pentagon spokesman says the ship will give u.s. forces more options in iraq. obama told members of congress in a report that up to 275 military personnel will be deployed. they'll provide support to american personnel in iraq and the embassy in baghdad. secretary of state john kerry says air strikes with drones are a possible course of action. >> they may well be one of the options that are important to be able to stem the tide and stop the movement of people who are moving around in open convoys

and trucks and terrorizing people. >> reporter: but the president has ruled out sending combat troops back into iraq. more than 4,400 u.s. soldiers died there in nearly a decade of fighting. obama and his aides are carefully weighing all the options. any form of military intervention could pull the u.s. back into a long and difficult fight. delegates from iran and six world powers have restarted negotiations on tehran's nuclear program. they're in vienna trying to hammer out a final agreement before the july 20th deadline. on monday, iranian foreign minister mohammad zarif met with eu foreign policy chief

catherine ashton and u.s. deputy secretary of state william burns. experts believe burns is also leading secret negotiations between the u.s. and iran. negotiators made little progress in talks held last month. now they're still far apart on several key issues. they can't agree on how many centrifuges should be allowed for iran's two uranium enrichment facilities. they need to decide whether to allow iran to continue building a heavy water reactor in iraq in the western part of the country. the two sides are also divided over the lifting of economic sanctions against iran. now on tuesday, negotiators will be returning to the bargaining table. for more on what's needed to achieve a deal we spoke with the institute of energy of economics, japan, an expert in middle east politics. >> well, it's quite difficult to consider what's going to happen in vienna this time. both sides have made their positions clear. but the problem is that the lack of trust still remains. and it's quite deep.

the united states cannot trust iran simply because they've seen iran, as they consider, that they've seen iran hiding nuclear activities for 20 years. and the center -- the central figure for that is the centrifuge problems. iran wants to hold like 50,000 centrifuges for nuclear development. while the united states can't allow that to happen and they want to reduce the numbers to like 3,000. which iran is not ready to accept. the iranians certainly consider that the sanctions relieved are so far not in their favor. it hasn't worked in that way that they expect it to. so the negotiating team is under pressure. talking about the negotiating team, the eu representative catherine ashton is going to leave by the end of october. u.s. negotiator wendy sherman may leave her position by the summer. and there are so many uncertainties about the negotiating team.

and if they are capable or if they're able to do so, they might want to seal a deal by july. that's for certain. but the mistrust or the distrust against each other is so great that it's very difficult to solve these at one moment. well, certainly the americans and the iranians are on the same side, considering that they would want to see the maliki government in position or not fall. based on the conditions on the ground the iranians would consider that they have a bargaining chip against the americans with regards to the nuclear front. but the americans would consider that they would not want iranians to have the upper hand during negotiations. they would simply disregard that. so it may have an impact on the iranians on how to proceed with the negotiations. but eventually the americans would not allow that to happen. >> now fears of a debt crisis in argentina are growing. ron madison has the latest from the business desk. >> that's right, the u.s.

supreme court in fact has kline declined to hear argentina's appeal in a dispute with u.s. investment funds. these funds are demanding full repayment of argentina's debts from its 2001 default. the argentine government had appealed lower u.s. court rulings that ordered it to pay $1.3 billion to the funds. but the supreme court refused to hear the appeal without giving a reason why. the top u.s. court also upheld the claim of the investment funds and ordered the argentine government to disclose the location of its assets overseas. now if argentina fails to pay off its debts it could face a new default, dealing a blow to the country's credibility in financial markets. people running general motors are telling more people to return their cars to the dealers. they've issued a recall for more than 3 million vehicles because of faulty ignition switches are that brings the number recalled this year to more than 20 million. executives say the affected vehicles include flagship sedans sold mainly in north america.

investors have been looking into problems with ignition switches. dweks have been linked to the deaths of at least 13 people. in february allegations emerged that the automaker had covered up the policemen for more than a decade. gm officials have announced more than 30 recalls since the beginning of the year. chief executive mary barap this month fired 15 employees ran internal investigation found the work carries new the switches were defective but didn't report it. barap is scheduled to brief members of a congressional hearing this week on the investigation. she is expected to come under criticism from lawmakers about gm's handling of the problem. many analysts predict u.s. central bankers will start raising interest rates in the middle of next year but the head of the international monetary fund says she has a different view. christine lagarde says she doesn't expect the federal reserve to start raising key rates so soon. stimulus program by the end of the year and analysts expect them to hold interest rates near zero until the middle of next

year. lagarde said she's not certain policymakers will begin raising rates at that time. she said historically u.s. growth has averaged at around 3% per year. but she says growth will be just about 2% over the next few years. as she doesn't expect full recovery in employment until about 2017. lagarde said a shift in the fed's policy could change global money flows and trigger instability in the financial markets so she said policymakers must give plenty of explanation before they start raising interest rates. toyota motors top executive has told shareholders the company will boost research and development and promote human resources development to try to achieve continued growth. the carmaker reported a record operating profit for the last fiscal year. president akio toyoda announced the plan at an annual shareholders meeting. more than 4,000 shareholders were present. toy denoted they marked a major turning point last year when they sold more than 10 million vehicles around the world.

they said the company can now allocate more resources to plant seeds for future growth. toyota executives said they'd try to further improve not only hybrid but conventional engines and promote fuel cell vehicles. investors in asia staying cautious amid rising tensions in iraq and ukraine. gains in tokyo and seoul were pretty limited. also investors are looking ahead to the federal reserve's two-day policy meeting which ends on wednesday. toke toe's nikkei average managing gains of .3%. it finished at 14,975. investors bought back shares as they see the key 15,000 level as a support line. but the lack of fresh buying cues fell to invite more buying. the shanghai composite seeing declines. just over .9%, 2066. now, that is after reaching a two-month high on monday. recent advancers like financial shares face some profit-taking. in sydney the s&p asx 200 index

losing nearly a quarter of a percent, 5,400. more and more company managers are seeing health services as a key to maintaining a healthy business. apple is expanding in that area later this year with a new software package. japanese firms are also developing products aimed at making life easier and more comfortable for the country's ageing population. >> reporter: this may look like a typical home. but there's a difference. it can also manage your health. >> translator: this is a wearable sensor. >> reporter: a leading japanese housingmaker is developing a system that can measure an individual's vital signs, such as heartbeat and breathing, in realtime. the demand for new homes is expected to fall as the population drops. officials hope the new service will help the company survive.

>> translator: we're targeting elderly people because they tend to invest more in their health. >> reporter: a major electronicsmaker is toning up its health care business. company officials hope it will become a new pillar to replace a slumping home appliance sector. engineers are developing equipment to analyze gas. they've adapted the same technologies used to produce semiconductor chips. >> translator: hold this in your mouth and breathe out. >> reporter: the device measures the density of gases in human breath. in about 30 seconds it detects chemicals that could cause diabetes or unusual activity in the intestines. >> translator: we hope this device will be used as part of preventive health care, to help reduce medical costs by

detecting problems at an early stage. >> reporter: managers at some companies have started approaching regional government in japan where the cost of caring for seniors is skyrocketing. akio murikawa is 77 years old. he's concerned about high blood pressure. he records his vital signs using an application on his tablet computer. this app is being developed for seniors by another electron electronicsmaker. it's aimed at preventing illnesses and symptoms related to dementia. data are shown on charts. >> translator: with the charts i can tell if my blood pressure has been lower or higher at a glance. >> reporter: the firm is testing the application in nara prefecture, western japan. about 200 seniors have signed up for the project.

the company incorporated brain teasers in the app to encourage the participants to use it more often. nara's population is aging faster than the national average. the prefecture faces a potential health care crisis. >> translator: we are hoping that the app helps seniors stay healthy and reduces the costs of nursing and medical care. >> translator: aging societies will be a global issue in the near future. if we develop services to address this issue now, we'll have advantages in this field. >> reporter: the demographic shift in japan is providing tremendous opportunities in health care management. businesspeople are planting seeds that they hope one day will bloom at home and abroad.

>> that is going to do it for "business hour." here's the markets. japanese officials say they're fine-tuning arrangements with north korea. they're waiting for more details about an investigation into the fate of abductees. the japanese government says at least 17 citizens were abducted in the 1970s and '80s by north korean agents.

five of them returned in 2002. north korean authorities have promised to fully investigate what happened to them. in response, japanese officials said they would consider lifting sanctions. they expect pyongyang to provide an outline as early as this week including a list of the investigative body. >> translator: we're in the process of arranging with north korean officials how we can receive information about the investigative body. >> kishida told reporters officials will use the information to judge the panel's viability. he said they will then consider whether to lift sanctions. japan's government has decided to provide about $80 million to help evacuees return to their hometowns near the fukushima daiichi power plant. officials at the reconstruction agency have announced a fund

will be given to fukushima prefecture and its 16 municipalities. it will be used for designing public rental housing for returning residents, building infrastructure for farming and industrial activities, and other rebuilding projects. >> translator: we expect the fund to help speed up rebuilding efforts in evacuation areas. >> the central government has earmarked about $1.6 billion to help municipalities prepare for the return of residents after evacuation orders are lifted. in april, the government lifted an evacuation order on a district near the plant for the first time after the nuclear accident in march 2011. it had decome tntaminated the a to bring down radiation levels. decontamination has produced a large amount of contaminated debris. environmental ministerishi hara

upset residents on monday speaking president plan. he said money would be the deciding factor on what happens to the waste. ishihara clarified his comments the next day. he said the key issue is compensation for land and aid to rebuild lives and local economies. >> translator: i'm sincerely sorry for causing any misunderstanding. >> the minister says he hasn't changed his approach of supporting residents and making sure they understand the current plan. but fukushima governor sato has expressed displeasure over ishihara's remarks. >> translator: i wonder whether the minister truly understands how much the people have suffered. they have been kept from their homes for over three years. i don't think he understands their love for fukushima.

>> the environment minister is being sharply criticized by fukushima residents as well as opposition party members. japanese police are taking to the skies to investigate car crashes. they're drawing on the know-how of one officer and he's giving them a view from above. >> reporter: this radio-controlled helicopter is a new addition to the force at nagano prefecture police headquarters here in central japan. it's equipped with a camera designed to take photographs of traffic accident sites from above. and it's a creation of shogo

anuma, a local police officer. officers draw up investigation reports on serious accidents. it can take a day to create a layout sketch of the scene of the accident. pondering how to speed up the process, anuma turned to his long-standing passion three years ago. >> everybody had an idea making a layout sketch would be easier if aerial photos were available. my hobby was developing radio-controlled helicopters so i thought of using one of those. >> reporter: such a helicopter can cost more than $10,000. so aonuma decided to build one from scratch. his first efforts couldn't

balance itself in the air and rapidly crashed. couldn't balance itself in the air and rapidly crashed. this latest model is lighter and can fly for up to ten minutes. the camera is able to remain steady even if the helicopter is moving around. last month an accident involving seven cars happened in the northern part of the prefecture. aonuma's helicopter was mobilized. it was the largest site it had ever tackled. it went as high as 150 meters above the scene. and it was able to take pictures of the whole 50-meter-wide site

in just five minutes. >> translator: if we measure the distances by ourselves, it can take hours and the road needs to be closed. by taking photos from the air, we can really reduce that time. >> reporter: the layout sketch for this accident was completed in just two hours. with the help of software that can calculate distances from aerial photographs. next up for aonuma's helicopter, research to see if it can play a role in mountain rescues and at disaster sites. nhk world, nagano. we're seeing severe weather in the central united states. tornados have destroyed a town in nebraska.

let's now bring in our meteorologist robert sped de. how common are tornados in that region? >> this time of year, shery, quite common. we are in the peak of tornado season and these most recent storms are very devastating. what we did see specifically in this event is not all that common. let's roll this video. this is out of pilger, nebraska. what you can see here this is dual vortex. you have two tornados side by side. and body of these devastating in themselves and they caused absolute destruction. one death has been reported, 14 severe injuries coming out of this area. and it does look like as far as the forecast is concerned, that threat of severe weather is still in the forecast. now we have the recovery efforts going on out here. but a lot of these storms are starting to push off farther toward the north. that low pressure system that brought these storms and this isolated supercell that developed into this very severe weather event is potentially going to be occurring still across midwestern states and

over here through the great lakes. now like i mentioned, this is that time of year where we do see this. it's in the middle of the transition season. so may and into june specifically across the united states, we get these tornados. now, as it starts to taper off we get that transition season tapering off, we get into summer, tornados will start to go away as well. it's still possible but less likely as we see here in the spring months. now it's not just the tornados. we have been seeing some reports of hail up to tennis ball size and heavy rainfall. flooding is very well potentially going to be in the mix here across much of illinois over towards minnesota, wisconsin, and extending across southern ontario and into the northeast as we head through the next several days. what's fueling this up as well is that big difference in the temperatures. look how hot and humid it is here into the southeast. washington, d.c. 34 there for your high. atlanta up to 33. but north of the storm system staying relatively cool with a high of 23 there on your tuesday

in winnipeg. let's move over towards eastern asia now. the big topic this past week has been a tropical storm that made landfall sunday afternoon in southern china. the storm system went away, downgraded to a tropical depression, expected to be over by then. but take a look here, it is back to a tropical storm, reintensified here on your tuesday morning. winds now up to 65 to 90 kilometers per hour. actually saw some wind reports, about 72 kilometers per hour. gusty winds, high waves. the biggest threat is going to be rainfall. in the southern portions of kyushu, you could see as much as 200 millimeters of rain. that's toward the west. still northern parts of japan, yesterday we saw even rough weather there, that's going to be occurring during the afternoon hours. if you have daytime heating combined with cold air aloft that could spark off some strong thunderstorms. towards europe, i want to talk about this storm. staying on the topic of severe weather, we actually had a

tornado in bulgaria. large hail and gusty winds over 100 kilometers per hour reported in italy. that threat is still here as we head through your monday, tuesday, even into wednesday. i do want to wrap up though on a lighter note. let's talk about the world cup. the forecast does look like some decent weather as we head through tuesday off towards the north. cloudy skies but clearing up down towards the south. here's your extended outlook.

and that's all for this hour on "newsline." i'm shery ahn. thank you for watching. a7guc