welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. the long-time prime minister of iraq is refusing to make way for a successor, creating a political showdown in a country already at war. residents caught up in the fighting in ukraine could soon get aid from russia, although some fear president putin is looking for an excuse to launch an invasion. and the spirit of kabuki. children in tokyo learn the

skills of the stage from a leading classical actor. iraqi leaders are caught in a struggle for power. the president has named a new prime minister but the man who held the job eight years is refusing to go. president fouad masoum asked haider al abadi to form a new cabinet within 30 days. abadi has served as deputy speaker in parliament and as an adviser to the incumbent prime minister, nuri al maliki, and they belong to the same party. maliki went on television to criticize the decision. he said it was a dangerous violation of the constitution and he said he would rectify the error. that set the stage for a showdown in a country already dealing with an islamist insurgency. over the past two months, sunni militants have swept across northern iraq and taken control of a number of towns and cities. many iraqis blame maliki for favoring other shia muslims and driving the insurgency and

they've been calling for him to step aside. the crisis comes days after u.s. forces staged their first military action in iraq since pulling out in 2011. they've launched a series of airstrikes on the militants. u.s. and european leaders have been urging iraqis to form a government representing different ethnic and sectarian groups. they hope a unity government would bring about some calm. abadi is expected to try to form a new cabinet with support from sunnis and kurds. u.s. president barack obama has welcomed the changes and he said he'd already got on the phone to offer his support. >> under the iraqi constitution this is an important step to forming a new government that can unite iraq's different communities. >> obama said he urged abadi to form a cabinet that represents all iraqis as quickly as possible. a senior commander at the pentagon says the u.s. airstrikes have slowed the militants' operations but he

believes their impact is likely to be limited. >> the strikes are unlikely to affect isil's overall capabilities or operations in other areas of iraq and syria. >> mayville says the attacks have temporarily impacted the militants' advances. he says the operation is aimed at protecting u.s. citizens and facilities as well as helping religious minorities. he says commanders have no plans to expand the campaign. western leaders are warning vladimir putin to keep his troops out of eastern ukraine. they fear the russian president is planning to launch a military operation to help separatists who have lost ground there. nhk world's craig dale is following the developments. >> there are a couple of things at play here. first, the russians say they want to send humanitarian aid to people in parts of eastern ukraine. residents of liuhansk and dons yetting are running out of food,

water and fuel. ukrainian forces are closing in on pro-russian separatists there. civilians have been caught in the middle. some are hopping on trains and fleeing the area. putin has come up with a generally accepted plan to send in aid with the international red cross. but western leaders remain skeptical. >> we see the russians developing the narrative and the pretext for such an operation under the guise of a humanitarian operation. >> ukrainian army commanders say about 45,000 russian troops have massed on the border. a sizable number of soldiers moved there following the start of this pro-russian uprising in april. members of the putin administration say they are conducting military exercises. ukrainian president petro poroshenko spoke about the situation with u.s. president barack obama. they agreed that any russian intervention in ukraine without the formal express consent and authorization of the ukraine government would be unacceptable and a violation of international

law. they're threatening more economic sanctions should putin not heed the warning. some leaders believe the president is planning to he wanted separatists because they're on the ropes. ukrainian forces have been gaining ground and cut off supply lines. commanders say they are planning for the final stage of an operation to take back donetsk. but separatist leaders say they are managing to get financial and technical help and planning a counter offensive to hold on to the territory they claimed as independent months ago. u.n. officials say the conflict have left more than 1100 people dead. outcomen ukrainian soldiers, residents and civilians. bombing, shelling and gunfire have scarred towns and cities in the east.civilians. bombing, shelling and gunfire have scarred towns and cities in the east. the fighting has also had unintended consequences. rockets hit a prison for dangerous criminals in donetsk. one inmate died and 100 escaped although some have returned. then there is the downing of malaysia airlines flight 17 last month which killed nearly 300

people. president obama says it's highly likely that the separatists blew up the plane using weapons supplied by russia. the ongoing conflict has stopped international investigators from going through the debris and collecting some remains of the victims. complicating things perhaps is that president putin remains quite popular at home where he's stoked nationalist sentiments. hundreds of people lined up in moscow to buy t-shirts bearing his image. some of the t-shirts mention crimea, the autonomous region that putin annexed in march following a separatist uprising. now the fear remains putin has designs on other parts of eastern ukraine. he has the soldiers and fire power to launch an invasion but the question is he willing to risk more economic sanctions or worse, willing to risk a possible military intervention by the u.s. and its nato allies. >> that was nhk world's craig dale. authorities across west africa are bringing in more and more measures to stop the spread

of ebola. but the outbreak shows little sign of receding. officials at the world health organization say that more than 1,000 people have died. military personnel in liberia have set up checkpoints to control who goes in and out of three areas. people in those zones are having difficulty getting food and other supplies. two americans who worked in liberia were brought home. doctors treated them with an experimental medicine. both are said to be showing signs of improvement. liberian government officials expect samples of the drug to arrive from the u.s. later this week. they plan to test it on doctors infected with the disease to see whether they can provide it to other patients. authorities in neighboring sierra leone have declared a state of emergency. they sealed off the area where the disease is spreading and they're struggling with shortages of staff after some foreign workers returned home. officials at the japan international cooperation agency have ordered about 20 melt and agricultural experts to evacuate. and

agricultural experts to evacuate. and agricultural experts to evacuate.d and agricultural experts to evacuate.i and agricultural experts to evacuate.c and agricultural experts to evacuate.a and agricultural experts to evacuate.l and agricultural experts to evacuate. negotiators for israel and hamas are trying again to find a way to end the conflict in gaza. they've rejoined talks in cairo a day after agreeing to another 72-hour truce. but they're not meeting face to face. egyptian mediators are brokering the talks. the last round broke down on friday and the two sides started fighting again immediately. the hamas delegates say this time will be the last. they want the israelis to lift their economic blockade. the israelis are demanding hamas fighters disarm. the latest cease-fire appears to be holding. streets in gaza are busy again and shops have reopened. some people have been clearing the rubble of buildings destroyed by israeli attacks. many have lost their homes. others have had their electricity and water cut off. about 210,000 palestinians are living in united nations shelters. the shooting death of a

black teenager in the u.s. state of missouri led to protests against police. but peaceful demonstrations escalated into rioting and looting over the weekend. a police officer shot dead an 18-year-old in a suburb of st. louis on saturday. the police department says the teenager tried to steal the officer's gun, that led to a scuffle, and the officer opened fire. local media report an eyewitness account that the teenager did not resist the officer. that has sparked accusations that his race was a factor in the shooting. about 1,000 people took to the streets in protest on sunday. some turned violent at night, vandalizing and looting stores. they clashed with police who detained dozens of people. the case echoes one from last year. people across the u.s. protested the acquittal of a defendant in the shooting death of a black teenager in florida. they called the verdict discriminatory and called for justice.

consumers in japan could soon be shelling out more for some of the things they rely on. they're likely to bear the cost of higher prices for goods traded among companies. officials at the bank of japan say the corporate goods index rose 4.3% in july from a year earlier. they say the rise in the consumption tax pushed up prices on a range of products and they pointed to higher costs for electricity, gasoline and diesel. the fighting in iraq has driven up the price of crude oil. the officials looked at what would have happened without the increase in the consumption tax and they found prices would still have risen by 1.5%. the consumption tax hike is also cutting demand for condos. the number of new condominiums put on sale in the tokyo metropolitan area dropped for the sixth straight month in july compared to the same time last

yes, sir. year. 4,200 newly built condos went on the market in tokyo and its three neighboring prefectures last month. that number marked a 20% decline from july 2013. the drop was attributed to a slow-down in purchases after a buying spree ahead of the consumption tax hike in april. higher construction costs also weighed on supply. the researchers predict the decline will continue for a while. as for the year, they say 10,0010,000 fewer units will be put on the market this year than in 2013. let's check out the markets. many investors in asia are buying stocks in the belief geopolitical risks arei seeding somewhat in gaza and ukraine. even so, some jitters remain. tokyo's nikkei average closed at 15,161 following sharp lots last

week. many participants stayed on the sidelines ahead of japanese gdp data due out on wednesday. sydney's benchmark index climbed to 5530 according to a survey by national australia bank the country's business confidence in july hit its highest level since last september and that boosted investor sentiment. in china players locked in profits from solid gains on monday. the shanghai composition 0.14% at 2221. investors are awaiting the release of a series of economic data from the world's second largest economy. this includes retail sales and industrial output to be released on wednesday. the people at a japanese game developer are branching out in a different direction. managers at dna are giving customers a chance to check their risk of getting life-threatening illnesses. developers at the firm worked with researchers at the

university of tokyo to create a genetic testing kit. they called my code. and they started selling it through a website. users provide saliva samples they send back for analysis. the managers say their service can detect nearly 300 genetic traits and conditions. they say it flags a person's vulnerability to cancer, diabetes and weight gain. the president of dna's health care division, masatoshi fukasawa, says genetic testing has big potential but he expects people who have questions and concerns. >> translator: we'll be transparent about the scientific basis of our analysis and we'll work with our clients to keep improving the service. >> about 700 firms across japan are already offering similar services. some have come under criticism for lacking scientific validity. here's more of the latest market figures.

japan's foreign pin administer says he wants to strengthen economic and security ties with indonesia so he's gone to see the country's next president. fume i don'tic she'd desaid japan and indonesia share the basic values of freedom and democracy. he said he hopes under joka's leadership ties will continue to grow. develop quiche as a maritime nation. he said he hopes japan will help

develop its ocean patrol capabilities and the infrastructure in its ports. kishida handed joko a letter from prime minister shinzo abe inviting him to visit japan as soon as possible. three chinese coast guard vessels were spotted in japan's territorial waters in the east china sea. the ships were near the senkaku islands. officials with the japan coast guard say the patrol ships were off minami-kojima. the crews navigated the area about four hours before leaving. chinese government ships have violated japanese waters on 19 days this year. the islands are controlled by japan. china and taiwan claim them. the head of the foreign ministry's asian and oceanian affairs bureau lodged a complaint with a did chinese official. he said the intrusion into japanese waters is extremely regrettable. police in thailand have one more piece of a puzzle involving

nine surrogate babies. they say the infants found inside a japanese businessman's apartment are likely from the same father but they're still trying to figure out who that is. the babies were discovered last tuesday near bangkok. they range in age from a few months to about 2 years. police placed them in protective custody and conducted dna tests. now they want to meet the man who owns the apartment where the babies were living. he is 24 years old and claims to be their father. police are asking him to return from macao so they can run a paternity test. the man's lawyer said his client sees no problem because the children were all born through surrogate mothers. police say the man has taken at least two other babies out of the country and they found a few more in bangkok hospitals. they want to investigate. they're possibly born to surrogate mothers at the request of the man. the police officers are also investigating hospitals that were involved in the surrogate births.

the people in charge of the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant have decided to scrap a decontamination system that's been marred by problems. they haven't been able to use it for nearly three years. officials at french nuclear energy firm areva designed the system to treat radioactive water. engineers with tokyo electric power company installed it shortly after the nuclear accident in march 2011. workers used it for three months and treat 76,000 tons of water but they found it broke down too often. and tepco officials say the equipment poses a risk to the workers. they say after processing all that water it becomes too radioactive. they say they'll apply to the nuclear regulation authority for permission to scrap it. but won't reveal how much it cost. tepco officials are testing out their latest strategy to deal with the buildup of contaminated water.

they want to treat it then release it into the pacific ocean. engineers are starting a trial operation to pump up groundwater from wells from near the reactor buildings. they're looking at a new treatment system to see how effective it is in removing radioactive material. tepco officials plan to build an iron barrier along an embankment close to the shore. when it's done they'll pump up the water that builds up inside, treat it, then release it. tepco officials allow untainted groundwater to be discharged but this is the first time they've tried this approach. they say they'll only go ahead if residents agree but many in the fishing community are concerned the plan may trigger unwelcome rumors about the safety of seafood.

producers of classical japanese theater are worried about the future of the craft. they say the number of young people interested in kabuki drama is much lower than before. they're teaching children the basics of the performance in hopes it will lure them to the stage. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: these children are trying to learn the spirit of kabuki. they took part in a workshop started this april at the kabuki tokyo theater dedicated to kabuki performances. about 50 children attend three times a month to learn the basics of kabuki. many japanese believe that to become a kabuki actor, you have to be born into a kabuki performer's family. in fact, in ka bubky's 400-year

history, many stars have appeared out of the blue with no kabuki dna. ainosuke was today's featured teacher. he's extremely popular on both stage and tv. ainosuke is not from a kabuki family. he encouraged the young people to step into the world of the stage just as he himself did. he demonstrated to the children a form called mie. a set of poses an actor uses to make himself appear bigger on stage. he told the children they must constantly repeat the lines and dance steps until they learn them by heart. but the most important thing is to enjoy performing.

>> translator: i was so happy that ainosuke taught me. i think i performed well. >> translator: i want to be a cool actor. >> the organizers say fewer and fewer children are coming to the theater and even fewer want to be kabuki actors. they hope to find a new star among the young participants that follow ainosuke and also cultivate new fans that love the art. people in western portions of europe are dealing with fierce winds and heavy rainfall.

our meteorologist sayaka mori has the details. >> a massive storm system is affecting much of the northwestern portions of europe. this is what was once a hurricane named bertha. bertha affected the caribbean islands the other day. it is still packing a lot of energy, enough to cause more stormy conditions over the similar locations. as you can see the lines, isobars are very close to each other, still bringing fierce winds in most of the british isles, the scandinavian peninsula, and northern areas of central europe. 145 kilometer gusts were reported. much rain is falling across this location as well. meanwhile an intense severe weathermaker is flying from finland through central europe toward the alpine region. this is strong enough to cause large hail, probably 2 to 5 centimeters in diameter and damaging winds, strong enough to

cause structural damages. back behind it cooler air is filtering in lowering temperatures. only 19 for the high in london. it's more september-like conditions. paris at 22 degrees. 24 in berlin. however, ahead of the system, much higher than average, 30 in war shaw. 32 in kiev on tuesday. now across the americas, a stark temperature contrast can be found in north america as well. because we have a warm air coming in from the south over the west and cooler air from the northern areas moving into the northeastern parts of the u.s., lowering temperatures. this cooler air is brought by this low pressure system and cold front and this is bringing severe weather in and around the great lakes region that will be moving into quebec and the new england states on tuesday. rain is on the men ow for the southeast as well where flooding is already occurring. temperatures at 31 degrees in atlanta, 26 in washington, d.c. across the west, quite hot, 36 in las vegas. thundershowers on the menu in seattle with a high of 28

degrees. now across asia, hurricane, excuse me, typhoon halwan bringing wet and windy conditions and lots of rain is falling over the southern parts of china and more heavy rain is falling across most of taiwan. in fact, 320 millimeters of rain has fallen in tainan, that's 75% of monthly rainfall for august. 250 millimeters of rain in the past 24 hours. and unfortunately heavy rain will likely continue into tomorrow and light rainfall into the weekend. that will raise the potential for flooding and landslides even further. temperatures in taipei at 32 degrees. 29 degrees in hong kong. but the northern half of china, sunny weather. beijing at 29 degrees. yesterday the sky was clear and people there enjoyed a sky show. the super moon was visible in various parts of the world

during the overnight period, including china early monday morning. the moon looked much larger and 30% brighter because it was at its closest point to the earth this year at about 360,000 kilometers. the super moon will be taking place on september 28th next year. all right, that's it for me now. here's your extended forecast.

an actor and comedian known for his manic energy has died. police believe robin williams committed suicide.

williams was found dead at his home near san francisco. police are looking into the cause of death. u.s. media quoted williams' publicist as saying he had been suffering from severe depression. williams began his career as a comedian. he starred in his hit 1970s tv show "mork and mindy." then he made the jump to movies. he won three golden globes awards including one for the comedy "mrs. doubtfire." >> surprise. >> he won an academy award for his supporting role as a therapist in the 1997 film "good will hunting." robin williams was 63 years old. that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo. from all of us here at nhk world, thanks very much for joining us. until next time, good-bye. a7guc

>> a very warm welcome. you're watching live from paris, "france 24 geico unconstitutional as nouri al-maliki reacts to the appointment of a new prime minister. comparing it to the massacre, human rights publishers are accusing egypt of carrying out a systematic killing of protesters in last year's demonstrations. tributes pour in for robin , remembering him as kind and funny with a huge and generous heart. the academy award-winning actor was found dead in his he