hello there and welcome to "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. first a look at the headlines. >> authorities in nigeria taking steps to stop the spread of ebola, though some fear the epidemic is out of control. u.s. president barack obama authorized american forces to carry out targeted air strikes in iraq. if necessary. and aid workers in brazil are turning to modern tools and to the public to protect children from danger. the ebola virus spread to africa's most populous country and nigeria's health minister

declare add national emergency, many feared authorities won't be able to contain the spread. residents of guinea became the first victims of the outbreak in february. then the virus spread to sierra leo leone, liberia and now nigeria. more than 900 people have died in the worst outbreak of ebola in history. nigerian authorities announced a man who flew in to liberia from legos tied and a nurse that treated him died and health care worker whose are believed to have had direct contact with him are infected. the first patient was quarantined at legos airport but the man was not held in sec collusion. he was taken to a hospital in the city. medical staff treated him without wearing special protective gear. >> we have a crisis on our hands. for me, yes, it's a national

emergency. >> government officials are preparing to set up special tents nationwide to quarantine patients. liberia's vice president is calling for boarder control. he told african and u.s. leaders there needs to be restrictions on the movement of people across national boundaries. he was referring to the spread of the virus after many liberians returned from neighboring sierra leone to attend funerals. he said his country needs financial support to fight the outbreak. >> we need your support, which you have already demonstrated by coming together, by working with an ambassador to provide your support, financial support, as well as mobile wiize resources. >> u.s. president barack obama said the united states is working with the who to contain the epidemic quickly and said

the illness can be controlled if proper resources are provided. >> the ebola virus currently and in the past is controllable,f you have a strong public health infrastructure in place. >> obama said he wants more information on the new ebola drugs being developed. barack obama has watched sunni militants push across large parts of iraq with little resistance. now the u.s. president has authorized air strikes when the lives of americans and civilians are at risk. >> today i authorize two operations in iraq, targeted air strikes to protect our american personnel and a humanitarian effort to help save thousands of iraqi civilians trapped on a mountain without food and water and facing almost certain death. >> thousands of christians in iraq are on the run. they are fleeing from insurgent.

the militants have captured a number of cities and towns in northern and western iraq. in june, they seized iraq's second largest city mosul. they attacked three towns nearby and the christians who live in them. the militants drove kurtish forces out. they are forcing christians to convert to islam. so thousands of people have fled to the kurtish region. they attacked a northern town near the boarder with syria. about 200,000 people fled the nearby mountains and they say the militants are preventing them from delivering aid supplies. 40 children have died of dehydration and other conditions. israeli and palestinian negotiators are refusing to budge in negotiations over extending a seize fire in the gaza strip. egyptian mediators are brokering the talks in cairo but the two

sides won't meet face-to-face and the deadline for the 72-hour truce is looming. the seize fire is due to end friday at 8:00 a.m. local time. the negotiators are insisting that hamas fighters disarm. representatives of hamas want the israelis to lift the blockade of gaza and free about 100 palestinian prisoners. one hamas delegate said they will resume the fight if the israelis do not accept demands and a senior israeli official said if the talks fail, their forces will resume military action immediately. thousands of palestinians marched in gaza in support of hamas. >> translator: i want the palestinian delegation to negotiate properly to achieve results. >> one demonstrator held up a

banner saying the israelis won't gain through diplomacy what they couldn't obtain through the battle field. more than 1800 palestinians have been killed in the fighting and more than 60 israeli soldiers. russian leaders are moving ahead with plans to ban the import of a wide range of food items from western countries. prime minister says its retaliation for sanctions against his country over the crisis in ukraine. >> translator: taking counter measures are not so easy but we're obliged to do this. >> the ban covers imports of meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, milk and dairy products and targets producers in the u.s., canada, the european union, norway and australia. the ban is set to last for one year. they say government leaders are also considering barring u.s. and european aircraft from flying over russian air space. >> the european union regrets

the announcement by the russian federation of measures, which will target inports of food and agricultural products. the announcement is clearly politically motivated. >> members of the committee say the sanctions are linked to russia's annexation of crimea and the destabilization of ukraine. now russian president vladimir putin is turning to some old soviet allies for help. he's asked the leaders for corporation in enforcing the food embargo. separate conversations over the phone. the two former soviet republics have common customs policies with russia. they share boarders with several eu nations and he asked to prevent bad products from entering russia. some russians are concerned the

food embargo may lead to shortages of food. they are considering expanding imports of dairy and farm produc products. world trade organization officials have finalized a ruling that china's export restrictions on rare earth medals violate rules on trade. they represent earths to make high-tech items. the body published a report urging china to correct the export practices. it states that china has not demonstrated its export quotas and aimed at preserving the resources. the report upholds the ruling in march by a wto settlement panel on disputes. it expresses full support for japan, the united states and the european union and filed a complaint about china in 2012.

these nations will be allowed to raise tariffs on goods from china. japan's economy minister said the final ruling is very significant to maintain a balance between supply and demand of rare earths. he urged chinese leaders to act swiftly. officials at china's ministry of come mermerce issue the a state and say they will evaluate the ruling and adopt measures in accordance with the rules and enhance management and resources, protect fair competition and ensure sustainable development. a weaker yen has taken its toll on japan's trade. the country posted a current account deficit in the six months through june as imports became more expensive. the account figures saw the broadest measure of trade and investment with the rest of the world. finance ministry officials say the deficit came to almost $5 billion. that's the first deficit in a

january to june period since 1985 when cam parable data were available. they posted a deficit of almost $60 billion in the first half of 2014. they site higher costs of natural gas and crude oil imports as a major factor. the primary income account, which reflects how much japan earns from overseas investments posted a surplus of more than $81 billion. but the secondary income account was more than $11 billion in the red. that category includes workers remittances and development assistance. computers and other modern tools made some businesses on solute but was a clerks still exchange business cards. the traditional cards are getting a digital facelift.

>> reporter: he is music promoter. he exchanges name cards with clients every day. >> translator: look, with this card i can do this. >> reporter: when he holds his business card, it activates reality images, a promotional video appears on the screen. >> translator: if your business card has an impact, you will be immediately remembered. the page for the promotion video rises sharply. this certainly helps my business a lot. >> reporter: to use it, all you have to do is download the special app and register the url address of whatever you wish the to show. you can display anything from a restaurant menu to a company mascot. the service costs $20 a month. these high-tech business cards are spreading into various

fields. more and more people are using business cards as presentation tools. this seminar is offering tips to entrepreneurs. a lecturer says to put their passion for their jobs or even hobbies. he says this can serve as a condition ver stati conversation starter with potential clients. >> you can't win business deals unless youpromote yourself as an individual, rather than as a member of a company. this is a growing trend in business. >> reporter: it's not only the business cards you handout that are undergoing a change but the cards you receive, too. club based management services for corporate clients are expanding rapidly. this recruitment agency is using such services. after its employees come back from a day's work, they scan the

business cards they received and the information is stored on the central database. this enables all the companies employees to share the information of whom met whom and when. >> translator: look here, one of us contacted the same client. >> reporter: with this in mind, he speaks with his colleague and exchanges details about his talks with the client. this makes it easier to prepare for the next strategy. a company official says every since it started making use of the biness card management system, its sales have risen. >> translator: this system makes it possible for us to see what each salesperson is doing and what kind of strategy he or she is taking. >> reporter: the name card management system was developed by a company led by a man that

says demand for such services around the world is growing. in may, it began offering the product in the u.s. >> translator: people are beg beginning to be aware of the merits of opening up personal ties and connections. >> reporter: his business card itself is a promotion tool it comes in the shape of a cooky. people who receive one can scan and store the data and then eat it. people have long used business cards. the new high-tech versions will only add to the effectiveness and make them a more powerful business tool. millions of chinese turn to social media to express themselves in ways they could not do otherwise.

but now authorities are tightening control over instant messages services. users of messages apps will have to register their real names. they will have to sign an agreement promising to uphold the law, the socialist system and national interest. and they won't be able to share political news without approval. providers of some services will have to assign staff to deal with messages government officials view as inappropriate. they target apps like we chat, more than 300 million people use the service. authorities have also limited online access to information on some people and some incidents. they want to crack down on user whose post criticisms about one party communist rule for example or the treatment of minorities. >> foreign ministers for southeast asian nations gathered to talk about regional security. they hope japanese and north korean dip hats can resolve a

long-standing dispute. the chairman issued a draft statement saying the group welcomes efforts to learn the fate of japanese citizens abducted decades ago but north korean agents. last month, japanese and north korean officials held talks over the abductions. the draft statement also expresses concern over missile tests the north koreans have consid carried out. the ministers will discuss on going tensions in the south china sea. they are concerned about a stand off between chinese and vietnamese vessels in disputed waters. foreign ministers from china, japan and the u.s. and north korea will join in on sunday for the regional forum, but chinese delegates are said to be opposed to putting territorial disputes on the agenda. thailand has inaugurated an assembly. the military government has been the main authority since a coup in may. the national assembly will fill in for parliament until a general election scheduled for

next year. crown prince joined the inauguration and said members of the assembly are all assuming important rules. the national legislative assembly has 200 members, over half are retired military officers. political analysts expect the assembly to nominate military chief has the new prime minister. the commander led the coup in may. brazil is now the world's seventh wealthiest economy but many children remain vulnerable, some are homeless and others fall victim to abuse. staff members of the united nations children's fund or unisf are using modern tools to protect children from danger. >> reporter: brazil is a young country, about 1/3rd of the

population is under 18 years old and nearly 40% of them live in poverty. they are the most affected by social inequalities. authorities say every hour 14 cases of child abuse are reported. they say many children simply disappear. some of the lucky ones are brought to hospitals. many have been abandoned and others have been neglected by their parents. >> translator: in most cases, abuse happens within the family and the abuser is someone close to children. >> reporter: this mother and her two daughters were separated from their father. she says she's too poor and too depressed to raise her children. so now, a child welfare institution has stepped in to help them. >> translator: i did not have

any strength. i knew i had obligations for my kids, but i could not do anything. >> reporter: officials with unicef brazil launched an initiative to protect children. they are using a mobile phone app to try and reach 60 million mobile users across the country. to address theish show of chi i they created the app. when somebody sees a child in danger, this app helps identify the child abuse like child labor or discrimination and makes them simple to find the nearest child protection facility or to make a direct call. >> so far we have more than 3,000 calls to the child protection institution in brazil. so people took action. they did something during the

campaign so in a way, so far, we're proud of the results. >> reporter: they are also working with children in the many urban slums here. many live in substandard housing and poor sanitary conditions. now unicef is helping with the children in this area with these kites. kite flying is popular with local children. unicef staff and children attach a digital camera on to a kite and then fly it. they get a bird's eye view of the area. they can then compos a map using the images they capture. they identify which areas need improvement. and their findings are reported to local authorities.

they have helped to turn an area once full of trash and debris into a playground. >> translator: it's my legacy that the community is better today. it's much cleaner. >> if we invite young people to use their energy, their ability to make changes, they do, and they want to do and they want and need this kind of opportunity. >> reporter: unicef officials are using innovative thinking in their latest push to help children grow up safer. widad franco, nhk world. japanese prime minister is pushing for more women in manager positions. it rate is now one of the lowest

among developed countries. a panel of experts is discussing how to achieve the goal. the panel includes representatives from corporate management and labor sectors. they will discuss needed legislation and submit strategy recommendations to the labor and welfare ministry in two months. officials plan to submit a bill later this year. companies will be likely encouraged to set new mtargets women in manager positions and training programs will be recommended. tran. >> translator: it's important that the law does not put a heavy burden on each company. the law should improve competition among businesses. these concerns should be considered when the bill is written up. >> the government surveyed about 4,000 firms nationwide in 2011 and found the proportion of women in management was 6.8%. time for a check of the

weather. people in eastern india are dealing with severe floods after bouts of heavy rain. we have the details. >> people in india are experiencing staggering amounts of rainfall in the western coast, a deadly landslide occurred recently, eastern india is experiencing severe floods. look at a video from here. at least 23 died following days of heavy rainfall recently. 60,000 people have been displaced due to rising flood waters. as seen, wide swaths of countryside due to the rains which is quite vital to india's economy but when it's too much, in a short period of time that can result in a catastrophic scene. there are open shielders and free kitchens for those displaced. the situation could get worse in the past seven days, about 500 millimeters of rainfall occurred and western locations of the china peninsula looking heavy

rains for the next few days, looks like the situation could get worse. we're looking at more rain fall and the monsoonal flow will continue into september so the conditions could get worse. now let's head over to eastern continental asia. we have a typhoon coming our way. could make landfall possibly overnight and into saturday morning and looks like it's going to be making landfall here moving into the region affecting these locations possibly sunday by monday and topping. very bad news with rainfall because some of these locations have seen about a 1,400 millimeters in total and we're likely to the the see 300 millimeters on top of that. will that will heighten the risk of flooding. about 230 millimeters of rainfall fell over the past 24 hours, so these numbers of showers really not welcomed and

due to the moist air flowing in to this stationary boundary, it's looking very messy up in the northern locations of japan, as well. possibly see about 100 millimeters of rainfall where we don't usually see that much rainfall in the month of august and the prefollowing the accident tour, a record-breaking 150 millimeters have fallenver the past 24 hours. lots of things happening due to this typhoon and we're likely to see these kind of very bad weather for the start of the holiday week, usually a lot of people, japanese people travel to their hometowns starting this weekend and into next week but very bad start here, maybe you might want to change your plans, especially in and around kochi where heavy rain will target you. southern half of china looking messy, scattered thunderstorms. heat advisories, fire weather is critical at 39 degrees. two stars moving towards hawaii,

looks like it will be making a direct hit in the big island. a hurricane warning but it will become a tropical storm by the time it reaches the island and making it's way by saturday morning. julio won't make a direct impact but rip currents and heavy rain that could continue will heighten the risk of flooding. here across europe, messy picture across the central locations and incoming system will bring very wet weather to the british isles and france. likely to see temperatures soaring into the 30s again in kiev at 30 degrees. i'll leave you now for extended forecast.

and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.

good evening from los angeles. i'm tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with mel brooks, film director, lyricist, actor producer, on the 40g9 anniversary release of the film many consider to be one of the funniest ever made, "blazing saddles." we're glad you joined us. the conversation with a true legend, mel brooks, coming up right now. ♪