hello there welcome to "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. first a look at the headlines. the president of ukraine says russian troops have entered his country and more russian arms have crossed the border. militants have detained dozens of u.n. peace keepers in the golan heights and they trapped dozens more. and india's new prime minister is heading to japan with both sides hoping for better ties.

the president of ukraine the russian soldiers. says russian soldiers are now on ukrainian soil. he cancelled a trip to turkey to take charge of the situation. poroshenko called an emergency meeting of his security council. he said the troops had invaded the eastern region of donetsk, council members say a joint brigade of russian troops and pro-russian militants have taken control of the black sea town and say the unit is moving toward the city of donetsk. a separatist leader there told russian state tv that 3 to 4,000 russian soldiers have joined the separatist fighters voluntarily. officers did not order them to go in and suggested some came while on vacation, a spoke he is person said. nato officials released satellite images taken last week. they say the pictures show more than 1,000 russian soldiers in an area 20 kilometers inside the border.

one photo shows more than ten military vehicles. another shows artillery units in firing position. the officials say the forces look well trained and they say it's highly unlikely they are separatist fighters. >> these latest images provide concrete examples of russian activity inside ukraine, but they are only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the overall scope of russian troop and weapons movements. >> the images provide more evidence that russian soldiers equipped with sophisticated heavy weaponry are operating inside ukraine. western leaders are ratcheting up the pressure on russian leaders. u.s. president barack obama says russia is responsible for the violence in eastern ukraine. >> this ongoing russian incursion into ukraine will only bring more costs and consequences for russia.

next week i'll be in europe to coordinate with our closest allies and partners. >> european union leaders will meet on saturday in brussels. angela merkel said she plans to discuss strengthening sanctions against russia. members of the u.n. security council gathered for an emergency meeting to discuss the situation. >> we cannot ignore the deemly alarming reports of mugs military involvement in this new wave of escalation. if confirmed, it will constitute a direct violation of international law and the u.n. charter. >> the mask is coming off. in these recents act we see russia's actions for what they are. a deliberate effort to support and now fight alongside left field separatists in another sovereign country. >> the russian ambassador did not deny the presence of russian fighters but he blamed ukraine for causing the current turmoil. he said kiev is waging war

against its own people. members of an armed group have detained dozens of united nations' peacekeepers in the golan heights and they have trapped other u.n. troops in the disputed territory. members of the u.n. security council are working to get the peacekeepers released. u.n. officials say the 43 peacekeepers who are being detained are from fiji. the 81 who have been trapped are from the philippines. the peacekeepers monitoring the demilitarized zone between israel and syria. israel controls the golan heights. syria claims it. u.n. officials say the peacekeepers were detained during a period of increased fighting between syrian government and opposition forces. >> the united nations is making every effort to secure the release of the detained peacekeepers and to restore full freedom of movement of the forces throughout this area of operation.

>> observers suggested the militants might be from al-nusra front, a group linked to al qaeda. but he said u.n. officials cannot confirm that. the capture came a day after opposition fighters overcame government troops to take control of the border crossing. israeli commanders say stray fire from the fighting prompted them to fire back. militants detained u.n. peacekeepers in the same area last year. officials with the world health organization say the ebowla epidemic is continuing. they said it could affect far more people in the next six months. >> 20,000 is a scale that has is something that hasn't been considered. >> tackling the epidemic will cost an estimated $490 million. he pointed to the need for specialized clinics and the need for more doctors and nurses. he appealed for more

international support. 369 people have been infected or believed to have been infected with the virus. about half the cases are fatal. 1552 people have died. and w.h.o. officials say the actual number of patients could be several times higher. a growing number of airline are suspending flights to and from west africa. that is behindering efforts to get health care workers and supplies into the region. time for the latest in business news. people who study japan are going through a slew of economic data. from the business edge, tell us what are analysts particularly looking at? >> they want to know how the sales tax hike back in april is the economy. a lot of them are looking at household spending. and it looks like consumers in jam are keeping their wallets in their pockets. they've spent less than they did last year for four months in a row. officials with the internal affairs ministry say in july, families of two or more spent an

average before $2,700. that is down nearly 6% in yen terms from the same month a year earlier. consumers went on a spending spree before the consumption tax went up in april from 5% to 8%. since then, they've tightened their purse strings. government officials say people are spending less on air conditioners and other household goods. officials also released data for july showing prices for many everyday items went up. the consumer price index has been steadily increasing for 14 months. the officials say prices rose by 3.3% compared with the same month last year. the rate of increase was the same as in june. the index doesn't factor in the cost of fresh food which tends to jump around and skew the numbers. the officials say some insurance firms raise their fees for cars and they say hotel managers ramped up their prices in time for the summer holiday season.

policy makers at the bank of jam say the increase in the consumption tax is partly responsible for the latest figures. they say without the tax rise, the consumer price index in july would have gone up 1.3%. government officials expect prigss to keep rising at a moderate pace in the months ahead. managers at plants across japan are seeing activity pick up on their factory floors. they reported a turn-around in industrial production in july after experiencing a sharp slowdown the previous month. government officials released data showing factory output rose 0.2% from june. it was the first increase in two months. now in june, industrial production experienced the biggest fall since the earthquake and tsunami that struck jam more than three years ago. they expect output to rise by 1.3% in august. then by 3.5% in september. governmentles also released

job numbers for july and they show that the labor market was relatively stable. official at the internal affairs ministry stay unemployment rate rose by 0.1 point to 3.8%. the number of people with jobs rose by 460,000 from a year earlier to more than 63 million. that figure has been climbing for 19 months in a row. the number of people without jobs fell by 70,000 to about 2.5 million. it has been falling for 50 consecutive months. labor ministry officials say the job -- say the ratio of job offers to seekers was unchanged at 1.1. this means there were 110 positions available for everyone hundred job seekers. there have been more jobs than job seekers for nine straight months. the officials say there were more positions in the education, medical care, public welfare and manufacturing sectors.

now let's check on markets. investors seem to be focusing more on the latest developments in ukraine rather than the japanese economic data. the nikkei data is lower by a .66%. optimism over the u.s. economic outlook is limiting the downside and some investors are placing buy orders. let's look at currencies. the euro remains under selling pressure against the yen on those same worries over ukraine. investors are buying the yen which they see as a safer asset. the dollar has little changed against the yen. it is trading still below that 104 level. some are buying the dollar following the upward revision in the second quarter u.s. gdp. and looking at other asian markets, south korean's kospi, and in shanghai, lower by 10%. in hong kong in negative

territory as well. that's down a little more than a third percent. japanese government officials are their case to the people who control the budget. they're expected to ask them for a record of more than 101 trillion yen. that's more than $970 billion for the next financial year. officials in the finance ministry are taking budget submissions until the end of today. they say they'll allocate nearly $40 billion to projects that drive growth in the economy. officials at the health and welfare ministry will ask for about $305 billion to fun their programs. that's up 3% in yen terms from the current fiscal year, at this time biggest request ever. the officials say they need the money to cover pension and medical costs for japan's aging population. people at the infrastructure ministry will request more than $64 billion to improve roads. they want to make it easier for people to get around tokyo

before the 2020 olympics. they also want money to strengthen preparation for disasters. officials from all parts of the government are expected to ask for about $730 billion to cover spending on policies. finance ministry officials want to put aside $250 billion for debt servicing costs. the people in charge of the budget will need to balance growth plans while keeping japan's debt under control. executives at japan's big banks are preparing to cut fixed interest rates for home loans to their lowest levels ever. they're trying to attract more borrowers and revive sales. executives at tokyo mitsubishi ufj and mizuho say they'll lower their rates from 1.3% to 1.2%. those at sumitomo mitsui trust

will cut from 1.05% to 1.0. japanese bankers look at yields on long term government bonds before setting their mortgage rates. they've seen yields drop below 0.5%. the executives want to spur more investment in housing. home sales have been stagnant since the government raised the consumption tax. officials at south korea's central bank have released the latest data for the current account. it provides the broadest measure of trade and investment for their economy. the balance in july was 7.9 billion. it has been in surplus for 29 months. the officials point to strong exports of cell phones and cars. economists study these numbers to gauge the relationship with the rest of the world. now to provide his insights, he is professor in seoul.

thank you for your time today. it has been in surplus for nearly 2.5 years. what are the pros and cons of such a prolonged surplus? >> well, the pros is that the korea is experiencing currently an economic slowdown and a surplus hems mitigate some of that slowdown effect. second, the surplus allows to us build up foreign exchange reserves which helps us avoid financial crisis. third, having a surplus gives korea a certain type of confidence in the korean economy. things that it is going well. the cons of it, first, because we have a surplus for a long time. trading partners may accuse us of an exchange rate manipulation. also, the sir plus may be a recession type surplus.

where you have a low export but even lower import which cause the surplus. but this current surplus doesn't seem to be the recession type. >> going back to currency, the one is rising, what is your reaction? how concerned are you that it will hurt supporters? >> well, i don't think it will hurt exporters too much. it will definitely have an effect but i think compared to 10, 20 years ago the exchange rate is less important in derrelling how much exports korea has. the able makers are complaining but things like smart phone do not seem to be affecting them. as far as the manipulation is concerned, i think right now, the one is appreciating so it is not that big a problem. i think it reflects the fundamentals. >> exports have been rising. they've been strong.

imports, too, they've increased. when do you think we'll be able to say that domestic demand in south korea is recovering? >> well, if you look at the current figures and the trade surplus figures korea's imports for domestic consumption has risen by 20% which is quite a lot compared to june and may. so i think this can signal the beginning of a recovery. i don't think the recovery is going to be that strong for the second half but they will definitely be a sort of a recovery. >> then professor, what are your expectations for the rest of the year? >> okay. as i said, i think for the second last year, there will be a recovery. it will be slow but steady. also, i think the exports may not rise as quickly as a lot of people desire but we will have a

fairly good surplus, current account surplus for the rest of the year. even though the size of it may be falling in the second half of the year. >> okay, professor, thank you for your insights. with that i will leave you with a check on market figures. india's new prime minister is trying to shore up ties with japan.

he is scheduled to arrive on saturday for his first visit since taking office in may. he would like to see more investment in his country. japan's ambassador is hoping indian officials will make things easier for jam knees businesses. >> reporter: when he led his party to a land slide victory in parliamentary elections in may, it was the first change of power in a decade. japan will host him as an official guest. he chose japan as the destination of his first bilateral visit outside south asia. he last visited two years ago when he was the chief minister. he sees japan as a key business partner. he said his top priority is reversing i understand i can't's economic downturn from a ten-year low and he is calling

on japan to invest more. the japanese ambassador says india needs to earn that investment. >> the mainstay of bilateral relations is of course trade investment and economic cooperation. so we hope that there will be more positive developments for the improvement of the business environment for japanese companies in india. >> india is planning to build high speed railway lines across the country as a stimulus measure. last month, the administration announced the first line will link the commercial hub of mum bye and the strip city. both cities are in western india where japan and france are

conducting surveys for the project. competition to win contracts has been intensifying. >> we are really proud of the number one track record of japanese, in terms of speed, safety and punk tuliality. i really hope that it will be duty taken into account when decisions are taken in india. >> india is increasingly concern over china exerting greater influence in sri lanka and other nearby countries. china's increased presence comes as it is locked in territorial disputes with india. the administration released a draft budget in july which includes an increase of more

than 10% for defense. with an eye on china, he appears ready to modernize the military. india held a joint naval exercise for japan at the u.s. in late july. security will likely be high on the agenda when he meets japanese prime minister shinzo abe. >> on the political and security front, we have already had consultations and dialogues at various levels including ministerial level and japan's maritime civilian force and the indian navy have had bilateral and joint exercises so far. so we would like to strengthen cooperation in those areas. >> as china increases maritime

activities, japan regards the building of a cooperative ties with india as vital to stabilizing the asia pacific region. japan hopes the visit will be an opportunity to further develop the strategic global partnership. nhk world. it's time now for a check of the weather. many residents along the u.s., east and west coasts are staying away from their coastlines. the meteorologist tells us more in world weather. >> for people just off the, just right along the coastlines, you will be seeing these very rough waves out here. the good news is that these stormy conditions are remaining out over the open ocean. what we have is the remnants of hurricane marie. it is now a tropical storm off the west. and cristobal off the coastline. they are doing their part to bring the waves cascading on shore and here in kavlg one

death has been reported because of these very dangerous rip kurnlts. the same thing toward the eastern coastlines. several deaths have been reported because people are starting to get out into the high waves to go swimming and surfing. and that may be an experience, and then getting caught up in very dangerous rip currents. so stay out of the water. the good news, both those storm systems, they departing the forecast as we look ahead through the next 24 to 48 hours. still if in the central u.s., we're heading into a long weekend and there's a lot of you that will be seeing some rough weather. what i'm expectly talking about is right here. we do have a storm system moving out. the good news, that is not bringing, the bad news, it is not bringing any wet weather farther toward the west where you really need it. to the southwest it has been significantly dry. coming out of california, where you are still dealing with this drought. ongoing.

a five-alarm fire occurred here in vallejo, california. moderate winds blowing across the area, fueling this inferno and making it very difficult to contain. that's a very dangerous situation. this is smaller than previous wildfires we had talk about. it is very close to some homes. still very dry. as i mentioned, we have this low. that's pulling away from that area, pushing off toward the northeast. that will bring in some severe weather. into the northeast and the great lakes region as we go through friday and safrturday. the severe stuff is coming in by sunday into monday. you can see it right here. it starts to push across the dakotas and fires up into the western portions of the midwest. that could bring some damaging winds, hail, i don't think tornadoes will be a big threat. it will be something that may push your outdoor plans well back inside.

let's look at the temperatures. houston with i-33, some flash flooding reported around this area. a tropical disturbance continuing on spin up there. atlanta, 33. washington, d.c., up to 28 here on your friday. let's move over toward europe. we are still watching several areas. we have one low starting to depart toward the east will still bringing some rough weather for parts of western russia. the big topic is this low. psych the big spin on the satellite picture. this is bringing high winds across much of the british isles. that will work ahead on friday and then move into parts of germany and poland as we head through saturday and sun, bringing that threat of severe thunderstorms. farther toward the south, things are remaining. hot across the mediterranean. afternoon thunderstorms still possible there. do want to wrap up with what's going on across japan. we have a front that's continuing to trigger up some thunderstorms. even that threat of some well,

localized heavy rain showers. temperatures will be cooling down. i'll leave you with the three-day forecast across japan. it is staying into the mid 20s. gradually warming up with a high of 28 in tokyo. here's the extended forecast.

>> that's all for this edition of "newsline." thanks for joining us.

good evening from los angeles. i'm tavis smiley. first a conversation with ed o'neill who stars in the abc series "modern family." his role is a major reason why the series is among the top rated shows on the air. "modern family" begins its sixth season this fall. we'll turn to a conversation with grammy and tony winner singer jennifer holliday. she's been absent from the recording studio too long. she released her first cd in 23 years titled "the song is you." she'll close the show tonight with a performance called "the one you used to be." we are glad you joined us. those conversations and a performance from jennifer holliday coming up right now.