here in japan, it's ab monday evening. welcome to "newsline." i'm james tengan. here are some of the stories we're following this hour. activists say they will occupy hong kong's financial district after lawmakers in beijing deny their demands for open elections. russian president vladimir putin calls for talks on statehood in eastern ukraine as separatists there gain momentum in the face of a government offensive. and the governor of fukushima has informed the japanese government that he

accepts the building of facilities in his prefecture that could store radioactive waste for decades. officials in china's parliament have effectively ruled out open elections in hong kong. they say voters will not be allowed to nominate their own candidates in the 2017 vote. effectively ruling out anyone who supports democracy. people in hong kong naturally are not happy. they say decision will not bring about fair elections. nhk world's naoki makata has more. >> reporter: pro-democracy supporters in hong kong protested the decision. organizers say more than 5,000 people took part. >> translator: if the chinese government nominates candidates, people would have no choice but to accept them. then nothing will change. >> we want democracy.

we want to -- a fair system. >> reporter: the decision by china's nationals people congress standing committee says people in hong kong will be able to directly choose their leader from the next election in 2017. but the decision stipulates that voters will only will able to choose from a list of two or three candidates selected by a nomination committee. hong kong's chief executive is currently chosen by a 1,200-member committee. it's made up of people from industrial and other organizations. they nominate several candidates and then vote to choose a leader from among them. in the last election, a candidate was selected. and the competition of the nomination committee and the way its members are selected will be the same as those and the

current election committee. that means a new system virtually shuts out democratic candidates. in july, crowds of people took to the streets to protest against the chinese government. organizers say more than 500,000 people took part. the largest ever such rally. more than 500 protesters were arrested. organizers of sunday's rally say they are preparing for a massive protest to occupy the territory's financial district. meanwhile, hong kong's pro-waging chief executive told reporters that china's decision represents major progress. he criticized the demonstrators. >> translator: protests will hurt the stabity and the prosperity of hong kong and will not get the support of many residents. >> reporter: the public backlash against china is increasing in

hong kong, especially among young people. china's influence over the territory is growing stronger economically. there are concerns the latest moves may lead to uncertainty. naoki makita, nhk world. people in china's other special administrative region have had their struggles with democracy. their chief executive has won a second term. he was the only candidate. every five years, 400 members of an election committee cast their ballots for the chief executive. choi received 95% of the votes. he said he wants to improve the lives of residents whoil promoting economic development. macau returned to economic development. the city was granted partial autonomy similar to that given to hong kong two years earlier. casino revenues account for most of their growing economy, but some residents have been upset

want issues, including the rising prices of real estate. russia's president has again shown where he stands on the separatist uprising in eastern ukraine. vladimir putin wants those concerned to hold talks on statehood. he spoke as european leaders prepared sanctions to further punish him for his involvement in this conflict. more from nhk world's craig dale. >> reporter: pro-russian separatists in eastern ukraine have been void by recent gains on the ground and support from across the border. russian president vladimir putin is calling for meaningful talks on statehood in southeastern ukraine. although, his spokesperson said he meant discussions on more autonomy and wasn't endorsing independence. the separatists call the pockets of territory they control new russia. they rose up in april, and they've been holding on in the

face of an offensive by ukrainian forces. putin has long denied he sent in soldiers and military equipment to help them, but evidence of his involvement is mounting. ukrainian commanders handed over a group of russian paratroopers they captured inside their border in exchange for some of their own soldiers. european union leaders say it's clear russian forces are active in ukraine. they're preparing a fresh pack only of economic sanctions as a result. >> we have to act quickly given the evolution on the ground and the tragic loss of life. >> reporter: ukrainian president petro poroshenko says the conflict is spiraling out of control. >> i think that we are very close to the point of no return. point of no return is full-scale war. >> reporter: for now, poroshenko was supporting more sanctions. these penalties by the eu and u.s. have hurt the russian economy. but russia's retaliatory ban on

a number of eu agricultural imports is also taking a toll. european farmers and wholesalers are losing money and protesting as a result. they say an eu offer of nearly $170 million in subsidies isn't enough. it all has some u.s. officials calling for a tougher response. senator john mccain says his country should give the ukrainians the weapons they need, give them the ability to fight, he says, and they will fight. what he calls an invasion. mccain argues this conflict requires u.s. participation, help, and leadership. right now some ukrainianss are trying to help themselves. residents of the eastern port of marupol have been digging trenches and putting up barricades to keep the separatists out. they also formed a human chain. this woman says they want to show the whole world, and in particular putin, that they will not give up their city.

some have accused the separatists of trying to link their strongholds until the east with crimea. putin annexed the ukrainian republic in march. the president, though, makes it seem as if ukrainian forces are committing a crime by defending their territory. russia cannot stand aside while people are being shot at almost point-blank, he says. putin has long said he'll defend ethnic russians outside his borders. the question is, how far will he go and how far leaders in the ukraine and the west will go as they try to stop him. craig dale, nhk world. german leaders have decided to provide weapons to kurds fighting islamic militants in northern iraq. germany's government calls the move exceptional. opposition parties say it's a turn around from the country's long-standing diplomatic policies. chancellor angela merkel and her ministers say military support is vital to stop extremists'

atrocities against christians and other groups. the weapons are include 30 anti-tank rocket launchers, 500 missiles and 16 automatic rifles. shipments will likely start by late september. germany has refrained from sending weapons to conflict air yas sense tince the end of worl ii. the governor of fukushima has given notice of his decision to the central government to store radioactive waste in the prefectu prefecture. the government will build interimmediate yameediate facil towns. the towns near the power plant will house the contaminated soil and other radioactive waste. fukushima governor met with environment minister and

reconstruction minister on monday. sato informed the ministers of his decision. >> translator: it was a difficult decision to have to make the community bear the burden of hosting these facilities, but i decided that it was the quickest way to clean up the local environment. >> the governor urged the central government to quickly pass legislation that ensures the stored waste is moved out of the prefecture within 30 years. the mayors said they respect the governor's decision. they urge the central government to explain its plan thoroughly to landowners to gain their support. four employees of the plant are suing is tokyo electric power company for higher wages. they say their pay should

reflect the risky work. this will be the first court hearing on tepco's treatment of workers. the four men are doing plumbing work on tanks storing radioactive water. they say their wages are too low relative to their risk of exposure to radiation. they're asking that tepco pay each of them about $96,000 in additional compensation. they say tepco raised subcontractors' wages last year by about $96 per day, but their own wages have not changed. one of the plaintiffs says he's worried about his health. >> translator: we've been reluctant to complain for fear of losing our jobs. i hope this lawsuit makes it easier for everyone to speak up and receive fair payment. >> a lawyer representing the plaintiff says he hopes the case sheds light on working conditions at the plant. tepco faces a daily challenge of securing 3,000 to 6,000 workers for decommissioning the plant. japan's health authorities

have confirmed 19 more cases of dengue fever contract the inside the country. this brings the total number of patients in the nation to 22. tests carried out by the national institute of infectious diseases confirmed 19 people had contracted the virus. authorities reported the first case of dengue in japan in 70 years on wednesday. health ministry officials say none of those infected have suffered serious symptoms and are all recovering. the officials say all 22 patients visited yoyogi park in central tokyo or its vicinity last month. they're likely to have been infected by mosquitos in the area. none of the sufferers has traveled abroad in the past month. the officials say mosquitos do not travel far, and there's no fear of a widespread outbreak. dengue fever is transmitted by mosquitos and not from person to person. outbreaks are common in tropical

and subtropical areas of asia and latin america. time now to look at the world through the eyes of our business expert, ron madison. ron? >> thank you, james. japanese companies invested more in equipment and machinery in the april to june period, marking the fifth straight quarterly rise, but the april consumption tax hike slowed the pace of growth. finance ministry officials surveyed more than 32,000 companies capitalized at at least $100,000. these companies invested a total of $82 billion in the second quarter. the spending mostly on commercial facilities and office buildings, is 3% up from the same period last year in yen terms. even so, the growth rate was down 4.4 percentage points from the january to march period. the consumption tax hike was one factor. now, another was the end of support for windows xp in april. companies had to upgrade by making bulk replacement purchases. the survey also showed that the company's sales rose 1.1%,

marking the fourth consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth. pretax profits rose for the tenth straight quarter by 4. 5%. finance ministry officials insist that corporate performance remains brisk following the tax hike, and the economy continues to recover at a moderate pace. on to the markets now. tokyo stocks broke a two-day losing streak, partly helped by the weaking yen. volume was light, though, with investors waiting for a series of big events this week, including the release of nonfarm payroll figures on friday out of the u.s. the nikkei index finished higher by more than 0.25%. it moved at a pretty narrow range. shares of construction firms outperformed other sectors. taking a look now at other markets. in asia, chinese markets were lifted by hopes of more stimulus measures from beijing. the shanghai composite climbed more than 0.8%. it finished at 2,235.

the country's factory activity in august fell from the previous month. and this gave a boost to investor expectations that the government may roll out additional measures to support the economy. in jakarta, the key benchmark there has finished out its session 0.8% higher. indonesia's inflation in august eased further from a month earlier. prices are rising there at their slowest pace in more than two years. well, japan's new car sales fell for the second straight month in august. auto officials say it's the biggest year-on-year drop in the five months since the april consumption tax hike. industry officials say more than 330,000 new vehicles were sold last month. that is down 9.1% from a year earlier and worse than the 5.5% fall marked in april. japanese consumers rushed to order the new cars before that tax hike. dealers finished handing over most of them by july, which led to fewer sales in august. sales of mini vehicles tumbled

more than 15% from a year earlier when sales set a record for the month. industry officials say they hoped summer bonuses might help to boost sales, but the results were below expectations. they say new orders remain sluggish, but they expect car makers to rev up sales by releasing some new models. well, car sales are down because of the april tax hike. automakers have been forced to get a bit creative to try to keep their customers interested. nhk world's akiko tells us out. >> reporter: executives at fuji heavy industries have good news for car lovers. they unveiled a new version of their subaru wrx model. it's the first major overhaul of the car in seven years. motor sports fans know wrx as a championship rally racer. the car's most popular with auto sluz yass who put a premium on

performance. >> translator: the wrx was developed for motor sports, so we'd like to carry on that heritage, but we also want a wider range of people to enjoy the car. so we've designed it to be safer and more comfortable. >> reporter: executives at major automakers worried that young people in japan are losing interest in buying cars. so they're starting to focus more on family friendly vehicles. the tax hike has hit foreign automakers especially hard. before april, consumers rushed to make last-minute purchases. car sales increased 26% compared to the year before. but they've been declining every month since then. officials at german carmaker volkswagon are having a tough time. sales in july dropped more than 16% compared to last year.

they decided to revamp their compact polo model for the first time in five years. polos are popular because of their low cost. but the new model features an automatic braking system, which is usually found on higher end cars. >> translator: we underestimated the impact of the buying spree before the tax rise. i'd like to think the launch of this new car has put us back in the market. >> reporter: executives at some foreign automakers rrs coming up with original marketing campaigns. here in the center of downtown tokyo, audi dealers have put together a test driving course. the road has bumps and curves so potential buyers can get a feel for how the new four-wheel drive performs. company officials call the new test ground quattro park.

visitors can go for a 30-minute drive with an instructor for free. the range even has a seesaw ramp. sol now i'm going to go up the seesaw, go up and then go down. okay. i'm going to go forward. okay, going down. okay. audi dealers have been promoting the course through the internet and direct mail campaigns. they're hoping 1,000 potential buyers will visit each month. >> translator: it's rare to have this type of test driving range in the middle of a city. we'd like to use the space so that many people can learn abouts technology audi offers. >> reporter: automakers in japan

have been going down a rough road. but they're hoping innovative cars and marketing strategies will help them pull through. akiko okamoto, nhk world, tokyo. well, officials from japan, china, and south korea are in beijing now to discuss a free trade deal. it's the fifth round of the three-way talks. the latest round will likely focus on deciding the framework for tariff negotiations. japan previously proposed cutting tariffs on automobiles and electronic appliances, but china wants to protect its domestic industries and opposes that move. the three countries also disagree on which agricultural items to exempt. officials will also discuss protecting intellectual property rights and easing investment regulations. china and south korea have already agreed to conclude a bilateral free-trade pact by the end of the year. analysts are watching how this move could affect japan's position in the trilateral

talks. fisheries officials of pacific rim countries have gathered in japan. they're discussing how to save dwindling stocks of blue fin tuna. the key issue is japan's proposal to cut by half catches of young tuna. the population of blue fin tuna in the pacific ocean has plummeted to less than one-third from 20 years ago. overfishing of young tuna is blamed. the four-day international conference will address it the issue. officials from japan, south korea, the united states, and taiwan will attend along with other countries and territories with fishing interests in the northwestern pacific. japan's proposal goes a step further than an agreement reached at last year's conference. that decision then was to cut catches of young blue fin tuna by at least 15% from the average annual haul during the three years from 2002. okay. that's going to do it for biz this hour. let's see how things are looking on the markets.

it's labor day for canada and the united states, but those living in the midwest and central plains will have to look out for severe weather. our meteorologist jonathan oh is

here with a look at the forecast. jonathan, many americans consider labor day the unofficial end to summer, but how will severe weather impact some of their plans? >> hello, james. je y yes, a lot of people enjoy going outdoors or going to the beach or grilling outdoors to enjoy summer weather. we are going to be dealing with some thunderstorms that are going to cause some problems as we go throughout labor day for the united states. you can see here the cloud cover that's really bright in the central portions of the u.s. any time you see on the satellite perspective this particular view where there are a lot of white, bright clouds, that means very tall clouds and very cold clouds leading to the possibility of some thunderstorms. i want to show you this picture from wisconsin on sunday. you can see here the very threatening looking clouds here and also into iowa. also seeing those threatening clouds moving through. and by the way, not only did these two areas see the threatening clouds, but also down toward the central plains. many areas saw damaging winds

and also some hail, and it looks like that's going to be the possibility again for monday. what's happening is we have low pressure that's being forced in with some cooler air back toward the north and west. also, a little piece of energy that's higher up in the atmosphere is forcing the system to become a little more intense. so as we go throughout monday, looking out for possibility of large hail. that's the primary concern. then also damaging winds. we might see an isolated tornado. that may be a possibility, but the smallest one out of the major ones here. then flash flooding also a possibility from the great lakes all the way back into portions of kansas, nebraska, and into missouri. so please make sure that you take precautions. you likely will have to bring those plans indoors if you're located in those areas. down toward the deep south, we're talking about temperatures in the low to mid-30s. heat index values close to the upper 30s as we see a lot of moisture and humidity in the area. a good spot for you if you're heading for labor day, los

angeles. 30 degrees under mostly sunny conditions. maybe a little bit of a morning haze. high pressure bringing very dry conditions for monday. here's a look at the forecast for europe. we have this low-pressure system located in the central portions of the continent. that actually caused some severe weather in austria with some two centimeter diameter hail and a tornado reported. this low is dropping to the south into italy. it's going to spread its influence over towards the east into the balkan peninsula. looking out for the possibility of rain and thunderstorms throughout monday. back over toward the west, we have another frontal system that will push through. that's going to force colder air into london. only 19 degrees for the high on monday with a chance for some rain. down in sunny spain, look at this. 35 degrees for the high on monday for madrid. we wrap things up with a look at east asia. i want to direct your attention down toward the philippines. you can see here the cluster of cloud cover. this is a low-pressure system, but there's just enough juice down here to where this may become more of a tropical

development. we'll be keeping an eye out on that. toward the north into japan, we have a stationary front that's formed. we had a very nice day on sunday. now we're switching over into that rainy situation. it's going to stay like this as we go to tuesday. i think we'll start to dry out gradually by wednesday. back toward the west into china, we have a couple low-pressure systems bringing a lot of rainfall. look out for some downpour possibilities. eventually that will spread toward the east, bringing some rain yet get to japan later on in the week. temperatures anywhere from 28 in seoul to 27 in tokyo. shanghai, you'll be dealing with some rain on tuesday. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

visit our website for feature stories and special reports. for all of us here on "newsline," thanks for watching. t

>> violent demonstration pushed deeper into the capital of pakistan. forcingrs storm briefly it off the air. they're trying to get the -- to the prime minister's residence to get him out of the office. >> the ukrainian president has opened -- as president starts talking about stated. -- statehood. violence in a rock left 1400 dead with