it's a monday evening here in japan i'm james tengan in tokyo, welcome to "newsline." japan's emperor akihito has given this year's order of culture to outstanding citizens. an award ceremony for the nation's highest honor was held at the imperial palace today on culture day, a national holiday. the recipients include two winners of this year's nobel prize in physics, nagoya university professor hiroshi amano and professor shuji nakamura of the university of

california santa barbara. amano created a high quality gallium nitride crystal, a material to make blue l.e.d.s. nakamura developed a very bright blue l.e.d. another recipient is university of tokyo professor emeritus takashi negishi. he's recognized for research on theoretical economics and economic history. the emperor said he's pleased that the recipients worked hard for many years to make great achievements and contribute to cultural advancement. a photo session was held in front of the imperial palace. candidates in the u.s. midterm elections are making their last pitches ahead of ties's vote. the focus is on whether the democrats can maintain their majority in the senate. the president made a final push to help struggling democrats. barack obama made campaign stops in connecticut, and pennsylvania. he told the crowds almost all the economic indicators are

positive. he said the fiscal deficit has been cut in half, and domestic energy production continues to rise. >> i need all of you to go grab your friends, grab your classmates, talk to your coworkers, knock on some doors, make some phone calls. >> the appeals come as support for obama has dwinsled to under 45%, the worst since he took office six years ago. even some democrats running in the elections are distancing themselves from the president. according to the latest polls, the republicans appear sure to maintain their majority in the house of representatives. and they also have a good chance of increasing their senate seats. authorities in beijing held a drill for a special security unit ahead of the asia pacific economic cooperation forum summit which opens on november 10th. summit participants include u.s.

president barack obama and japanese prime minister shinzo abe. the mock operation was conducted in beijing on the assumption that a gunman was holed up inside a hijacked bus with hostages. security authorities used an aerial drone to monitor the scene and try to persuade the gunmen to surrender. police squads then stormed the bus after tossing in a flash grenade and seized the suspect. the authorities are imposing around the clock security measures and are setting up about 1,000 high tech monitoring cameras. as many as a million volunteers will join street patrols. beijing is limiting the number of vehicles entering the city as part of efforts to improve air quality ahead of the apec summit. air pollution measured by pm 2.5 airborne particles remains serious in the chinese capital. vice premier zhang gaoli said ensuring air quality for the apec meetings is a top priority.

the beijing municipal government imposed vehicle restrictions on monday. it's the first time since the 2008 beijing olympics that such restrictions have been imposed. through wednesday of next week, vehicles with odd and even license plates are allowed to drive in the city. only on alternating days. >> translator: traffic jams are terrible. they're overwhelming. we need this kind of traffic regulation because environmental pollution is getting worse. >> translator: we should solve this problem fundamentally. having these restrictions just for the apec meeting is nonsense. >> the beijing municipal government also plans to suspend all construction projects, and some factory operations. government offices and schools will be closed starting on friday when apec ministerial talks are scheduled to start. the people in charge of a

popular taoist temple in taiwan have scrapped a key aspect of traditional worship. they say they're trying to improve air quality and reduce waste. but they've changed the way worshippers offer prayers, and the incomes of some local vendors. nhk world reports. >> reporter: people in taipei go to temples to pray for many things such as prosperity in work, safe childbirth, or success in examinations. and the prayers are always offered together with incense. >> translator: in taiwan, we burn incense sticks as an expression of our sincerity. >> reporter: but there's growing concern about all the incense smoke. it causes air pollution, and also poses a health risk to workers and volunteers, especially those who spend many hours inside.

recently, a temple in the downtown city decided to address this problem. it is one of the best-known taoist temples in all of taiwan. in august, it took a drastic step to improve its air quality. it halted the practice of burning incense, and removed the two large burners from its precincts. the temple also wants to reduce waste so it has also stopped worshippers from leaving offerings of fruit or flowers. >> translator: we made this change in order to go back to the founding principle of our temple. the important thing is not to burn incense, or to present offerings, but to offer your prayers from the bottom of your heart. >> translator: it has drawn mixed reactions from worshippers.

>> translator: i think it's good that there's not so much smoke now. but it does feel strange to join my hands in prayer without having even putting a tray of offerings in front of me. >> translator: there are fewer people now, and it feels a bit sad. >> reporter: the change has come as well to the vendors who used to sell incense and offerings. there used to be lines around the temple but the streets are rather empty now. >> translator: i used to sell incense sticks. but now all i do is help my daughter in her shop. the temple made the decision so there's nothing i can do about it. >> reporter: the sign of the temple's long time worshippers are positive about the change. the vendors at the nearby

market, she goes to the temple and has visited almost every day for the past 40 years. he says he will embrace this idea of worshipping, even without burning incense. on this day she brought some fruit as an offering, but she said she plans to take it home with her. >> translator: i brought some offerings today. these are to pray for good health. it is the will of the gods that we are thrifty. >> reporter: times change and so do traditions. but that seems to little impact on the religious devotion of people in taiwan. nhk world, taipei.

residents of some areas of eastern ukraine controlled by pro-russian separatists voted on sunday to elect their own legislators and executive executives ukraine's government in kiev has denounced the elections. concern is mounting that the country will remain divided between the pro-european west, and the pro-russian east. voting took place in the luhansk and donest being regions. the separatists rejected the ukrainian government's proposal to hold local elections on december 7th based on a recent cease-fire agreement. the russian media reports that separatist leaders are certain to win. even before the elections, igor plotnitsky of luhansk had declared himself the region's leader. and alexander zakharchenko claims to be the prime minister of the self-proclaimed government of donetsk.

ukrainian president petro poroshenko has expressed his disapproval, calling the polls a farce carried out by terrorists. he said the polls do not reflect the will of the people. the russian foreign ministry said after the elections that moscow respects the will of the people of southeast ukraine. the pro-russian separatists claim to have received a public mandate. they appear to be set to press their case for independence from the central government. romanians voted on sunday to elect their next president. exit polls indicate that the incumbent prime minister's leading the field with no candidate has won an outright majority. a runoff election between the top two finishers will likely be held on november 16th. the polls suggest that center left prime minister victor ponta is leading with about 40% of the votes followed by the center right klaus iohannis with about 30%. during election campaigning, ponta pledged to rebuild

romania's economy, and called for increases in the minimum wage and pensions. romania is one of the eu members hardest hit by economic woes. public opinion polls before the election show that ponta is likely to have the upper hand in the second round of voting. and romania, the president is authorized to oversee diplomacy and defense. and to appoint a prime minister in charge of domestic administration. in the west african nation of burkina faso soldiers fired warning shots to clear thousands of demonstrators from the capital's streets. the demonstrators were protesting against the military's seizure of power. the military staged a virtual coup after president blaise compaore announced his resignation on friday. it is showing its intention to lead the transition of power. but opposition parties and the people are against this. thousands of protesters took to the streets on sunday in the heart of the nation's capital

city ouagadougou. the demonstrators were venting their anger at presidential guard leader lieutenant colonel isaac zida who was named interim leader by the military. the local media reported that soldiers cleared the streets by firing warning shots. tension remains high over how the nation should be ruled after the president's resignation. the intergovernmental panel on climate change has issued a report with a dire warning. it says global warming will lead to a high risk of severe and irreversible global impacts if nation's don't undertake additional mitigation efforts. the report was issued for the first time in seven years. it warns that if the density of greenhouse gases increases further, the average global surface temperature by the end of the 21st century is likely to rise by as much as 4.8 degrees

celsius. the paper also emphasizes that there are multiple ways to achieve an international goal of keeping global warming below 2 degrees celsius, the temperature before the start of the industrial revolution. it says that in order to achieve that goal, it's necessary to do gas emissions by 40% to 70% by 2050. compared to the level in 2010, reduce it to near zero by the end of the 21st century. u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon says the report is the most comprehensive appraisal of climate change ever made. >> we must act. time is not on our side. let's work together to make this world our own planet sustainable, economically, socially, environmentally. for our succeeding generation. >> the report refers to the use

of technology that can capture and store carbon dioxide underground. a japanese scientist who participated in writing the report says immediate action is needed. >> translator: as global warming increases, we have to find techniques or systems to overcome changes to the environment. >> u.n. members will try to adopt a new international climate change agreement next year to be implemented from 2020. this latest report is expected to affect the environmental policies of many countries. some owners of robotic pelts are trying to delay the inevitable. they're digging through old parts to give their beloved androids new life. and they've come together to remember happier times. nhk world has the story. >> reporter: modern technology

advances day by day. one rob at has been around since it first came on the market 15 years ago. it's a robotic pet. owners from all over the country gather at the annual event. they show interactions with its owner. the robot's change depending on how they're treated by their owners. same rise their eyebrows like it was a child. some people even take their

petro boughts on overseas trips. >> translator: it's really a part of our family. it gives us comfort. >> i like it because it says positive things. >> reporter: but there's trouble. the robotic dogs are no longer being produced, and in march the manufacturer stopped doing repairs or carrying replacement parts. until recently owners had sent their robots to the manufacturer for repairs. now, the owners are confused. >> translator: i didn't know that robots could die, so i was shocked. >> reporter: at the robot event their concern was justified. many dogs were unable to finish

the routine. this is long distance. eventually it couldn't move at all and has to be carried off the stage. he owns the robot. >> translator: it was probably too difficult. i wish it could have held up just a little longer. >> reporter: knackshima is trying to fix it by himself. 15 years ago he had a real dog and an i-bot. has year the dog died. now all he has left is his robot. he hopes to prolong his robot's life because the pets gave him

so many happy memories. after some research, nakishima carefully removed the dust. although his robot couldn't move at the dance competition. >> translator: it will last for awhile. it's worked for 15 years. i hope it will stay in good condition for a long time. >> reporter: one day, dog repairs will keep the robots going. but until that day arrives, their owners will cherish them. nhk world.

now, a glimpse of a place we rarely get to see. tides alone the coast of the sea of japan have created remote caverns. few images of the formations existed until now. nhk underwater cameraman shares what he saw when he took the plunge. >> reporter: the island lies 500 meters from the west coast. no human lives there but according to legend it's the home of a god. accompanied by local guides our team explored the island's caves. iroc sits in front of the island. there's an opening at the bottom. the waves have carved out a sea cave. i dived in, and beheld a magical

sight. erosion has created a vision of serene beauty. light enters the cave through cracks. blue is the only color of the spectrum not absorbed by the water. the blue is reflected by the ocean floor and the rocky walls. small fish swim here. this space protects them from predators. the western side of the island faces the open sea. waves pound the rocky surface forming more sea caves than on other parts of the island.

>> translator: we can almost see the caves now. over there. >> reporter: this is one of the island's biggest caves. the water here is about five meters deep. our team finds a tunnel. ten meters from the entrance we spot a yellow growth. this coral called mutsu-sango grows in places where sunlight can't reach. it looks like dandelion that grows in the dark. the team advances toward the center of the cave.

further in, the water became shallow. the ocean floor begins to appear. we reach an area above water where we can walk. we discovered a large colony of bats on the ceiling. >> translator: it was more than expected. this island is so inspiring, because there are so many more parts that have yet to be explored. >> reporter: humans have stayed away. so the caves are the domain of many small creatures. they, as well as the blue light, make the caves seem like a magical vision. nhk world, wakasa.

>> amazing images. thanks for that report. weatherwise, a historic weather event took place in portions of the u.s. deep south this weekend. our meteorologist jonathan oh joins us with the details. jonathan, what was special about this weekend's weather. >> james, usually we don't even talk about snow in the far deep south of the united states, but not only did we see snow down into portions of south carolina, it is the earliest reported snow ever in the mountains of south carolina. i wanted to show you some pictures. these are some of the viewers sending these in. it wasn't just a little dusting. we're looking up to eight centimeters of snow fall in some places, enough to make various creatures out of them. and so definitely a big event for this area. and we are expecting the cold conditions that helped enhance the snowfall this weekend to be in place at least going throughout monday. high pressure now moving in. driving in the northerly winds,

and that is actually creating cold chill all the way as far as the northern tip of florida, where freeze warnings were in place for monday morning. now, we're going to see the temperatures slowly moderate going through the next couple of days, as a southerly flow comes in when the high pressure moves east. meanwhile back toward the west we have a low in southern canada. that's where it will drive even colder air into the rocky mountains. so we'll only see some rain in portions of the midwest, but also possibly some snow into places like denver. and so we'll be keeping an eye out on this system as it pushes toward the east. eventually it will bring some rainfall for the deep south going later this week. we're also keeping an eye out on some more moisture moving into the pacific northwest. you have been stuck under this wet pattern for awhile. you'll be still seeing some more wet weather as we go through the next few days. a quick look in mexico, because we have a hurricane named vance, a category 2 storm expected to become a category 3 storm which is a major hurricane coming onshore but weakening rapidly as it does. and so we are expecting it to be

a little bit of a wet rainmaker for the western coast of mexico going through the middle to latter part of this week. so here's a look at the forecast again. a little bit cool, dry, d.c. down to atlanta, highs in the teens. snow possibly for denver. rain into oklahoma city. high of 18 degrees coming up on monday. here's a look at the forecast for europe. we're keeping an eye on two low pressure systems. one located in the upper portions of europe. and another one you can actually see the swirl with this one coming toward the british isles. both of these are going to be wet weathermakers. rain expected as we go throughout monday. you can see here from stockholm all the way into london as far south as the iberian peninsula where usually you see sunny conditions. you'll see rain coming up on monday. back toward the east where high pressure is controlling the weather, driving those northerly winds we will see high of around zero for moscow with a chance of some snow flurries and a high of 5 in kiev on monday. wrapping things up with a look at east asia. you can see this big swirl of clouds, yes, this is a typhoon

named nuri. it is a large and a violent typhoon. the highest category for the storm. and it is expected to move toward the north an then toward the east. now, it looks like when it comes to the actual center of circulation it is going to move south of the kanto region as we go throughout the middle of the weak. it will also weaken as it approaches japan. the outer bands will bring wet weather by thursday and into friday. meanwhile some chilly temperatures up into hokkaido with gusty conditions. winds up to 126 kilometers per hour possible as you go through tuesday. high of 18 in tokyo. high of 18 in tokyo and also in seoul. and also seeing some dry conditions into china, as we go through tuesday. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

i'll be back at the top of the hour. in the mean time, stay with us here on nhk world. ññú==çóçñ

the army is holding talks with the opposition. last week, protests wrote out over the president's plan to change the constitution to extend his 27-year rule. on friday, he resigned. that prompted the army to step in. it insists it is not interested in seizing power. the army leader promised a