hello there, welcome back to "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. first a look at the headlines. militants in algeria have carried through with their threat to kill a frenchman they were holding hostage. world leaders at the u.n. express outrage over the killing and vowed to stop their citizens from fighting with militants. and more and more people are using their smartphones to play games. but now japanese video game

makers are trying to win them back. a militant group in -- has released a beheading of a frenchman. they complain claim to be affiliated with the islamic state and they demanded the air strikes be stopped. the footage released on monday shows the man being forced to kneel in front of four masked men and then held down and murdered. group members warned they would kill the man unless french forces stopped attacking islamic state militants. the country's president, francois hollande says he acknowledges the murder. >> translator: a french citizen was unfairly killed by a militant group that is allied with the islamic state. the international community must come together and must fight against terrorism. >> hollande has condemned the algerian group and pledged to continue fighting extremists including carrying out air strikes in iraq.

world leaders at the u.n. general assembly in new york have turned their attention to islamic state in iraq and syria. u.s. president barack obama led a major debate at the security council and he's rallying support for the coalition against islamic state. >> each speaker has 15 minutes to tell the world about his or her country's most pressing diplomatic issues. u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon opened the debate. he set the tone by condemning extremist groups like islamic state. >> there is nothing islamic about the terrorist organizations wreaking havoc in the region. these extremist groups are a clear threat to international peace and security. that requires a multifaceted international response.

>> reporter: u.s. president barack obama explained why the u.s. resorted to military power to counter islamic state militants in iraq and syria. >> the terrorist group known as isil must be degraded and ultimately destroyed. this group has terrorized all who they come across in iraq and syria. there can be no reasoning, no negotiation with this brand of evil. the only language understood by killers like this is the language of force. so the united states of america will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of death. >> reporter: the hard line islamic state has seized a third of iraq and a large part of the territory in syria. its spokesman used social media to call on muslims to attack citizens of all nations in the

u.s.-led coalition. the u.s. received permission from officials in baghdad to launch air attacks in iraq. but in syria, the u.s. military has struck without talking to bashar al-assad. critics say obama lacks a legal justification for the attack in syria. britain and france have ruled out air strikes against syria. president obama chaired the security council on wednesday afternoon. he managed to the get the council to adopt a resolution unanimously. by the 15 members, including russia and china. it calls for a global crackdown on so-called foreign fighters who leave their homes to join extremist groups. this is the resolution. what could be a problem is that this resolution condemns violent extremism is not limited to the islamic state. so who are considered terrorists in one country can be different in another.

in debate following the vote, russian foreign minister sergey lavrov blamed foreign fighters who oppose the syrian regime that include all anti-government groups. and the chinese foreign minister described terrorist incidents in his own country. he stressed that china would strengthen counterterrorism measures especially on the information control on the internet. so by adopting the resolution, the security council may have appeared to forge a united front against extremism. but the reality is that sharp divisions remain within powerful nations on how to counter threats posed by islamic state in syria. >> that was nhk world's -- in new york. the u.n. is also discussing the global economy. one issue is argentina's debt problem. ai uchida joins us with more on that. >> you might remember, argentina

defaulted on its debt after a legal dispute with u.s. hedge funds. the supreme court ruled the country cannot pay any creditors until it reaches an agreement with the hedge funds first. now argentine president christina fernandez took the podium at the general assembly. she says the world needs a frame work for solving sovereign debt problems. fernandez denounced the u.s. calling the court ruling unacceptable and a violation of argentina's sovereignty. she says the restructuring of a nation's debt should not be influenced solely by opinions from a few powerful countries. the general assembly adopted a resolution to tackle debt problems in developing countries but the u.s. and other industrialized nations object to the proposal. relations between japan and china have been strained for a couple of years. but the head of a japanese business delegation to china says he's seeing some encouraging signs. he says he believes beijing

wants to take a step toward better ties. sadayuki sakaibara met with vice premier wang yang and other senior officials. sakaibara is heading the delegation from the china japan economic association and he's the chair of japan's largest business organization --. wang mentioned that high level economic dialogues have been suspended for four years. he cressed his hope that the talks will be resumed at an early occasion. >> translator: i would like to see wang's comment as a message from china that the country wants to make a first step toward improving ties between the two nations. >> sakaibara says that wang had another message. he expects the japan to show -- over tearorial and historic

issues before a summit takes place between prime minister shinzo abe and chinese president xi jinping. let's check in on the markets now. tokyo stocks popped higher at the open following a strong session on wall street. the stronger dollar against the yen is bringing investors back to the tokyo markets. the nikkei is higher by 1.2%. so let's see where major currency pairs are trading. the dollar rose above 109 yen in early asia trading. currently at 109.15-18. strong u.s. home sales are make investors confident that the american economy is recovering. but weak german business confidence is keeping the euro under selling pressure. currently against the dollar, the euro will get you 1.2780-81. and that is at 14-month lows.

let's look at other asian markets. the kospi is trading higher by 1/5%. in china, shanghai's key index is higher. and the hang seng is up by .3%. ministers from japan and the u.s. could not narrow their differences for a free trade deal under the transpacific partnership. akira amari is the japanese minister in charge of the talks. he was meeting with u.s. trade representative michael froman in washington. they met for four hours on tuesday but only one on wednesday. the two officials talked about agriculturalal products. the japanese for example want to be able to temporarily restore tariffs if imports of beef and pork surge. they also discussed vehicle safety standards. amari spoke to reporters after the meeting. >> translator: japan made some

flexible proposals this time and the u.s. side praised them somewhat. but that did not lead to further progress. >> he said concessions are needed on both sides in order to reach an agreement. he added they haven't decided on their next steps. add iters have discovered that several facilities in pacific island nations financed with japanese aid are not being used. the money was supposed to help the country's fishery industries. japan's board of add it inspected 118 projects managed by the overseas fishery cooperation foundation, a non-profit public service corporation. the government gave the corporation more than $40 million in subsidies to build or repair equipment, mainly in the pacific island countries. officials provided the funds over a seven-year period to 2012. the add iters found that

equipment for seven of the projects in three countries remains idle. in the marshall islands the corporation spent $230,000 to repair refrigeration equipment but the fishermen can't afford the fuel because the price as surged. in -- ice making equipment lies idle because managers failed to pay their electricity bill. the corporation checked beforehand whether locals were able to continue operating the equipment but unaware of the payment default. the add iters are urging the fisheries agency to make its assistance more effective. in the highly competitive game market titles for smartphones are gaining ground. that's putting the squeeze on titles for traditional consoles and japanese companies are plotting a comeback. nhk world's akiko kokomoto tells us more.

>> reporter: video game makers unveiled their wares at the tokyo game show. this year sony computer entertainment showcased the latest installment of a popular franchise. i'm going to play fifa 15. the ps 4 boasts quality graphics. the company hopes the console and franchises will attract regular users. at this year's expo, the company promoted indie games along the main stream titles for the first time. indie games are developed by small companies. this game is about an octopus that enters the human world and it's ideas like that and low cost that make indie games attractive to large companies.

>> translator: promoting indie games is something new for us but allows us more variety. it reminds us how entertaining the games can be. >> reporter: ps 4 hit the shelves in february. but sales are below company targets at 660,000 units. the reason? smartphone games are rapidly gaining ground. the video console market has shrunk six years in a row. experts forecast the mobile game market in japan will be worth more than $7 billion by 2016. the processing power and touch screen response of smartphones are improving. analysts say that in a few years, the quality of the mobile games will be near that offered by consoles. that's pushing video game companies to come up with new ideas to promote their titles,

line when nintendo decided to tie up with automaker mercedes benz. they released the mercedes version of mario kart. nintendo's operating profits have been in the red for the last four years. with the new release, the firm is reaching out to car-loving fathers with kids who play games. the game and the car were both released in may and the two companies produced a tv commercial to market their products to different generations. >> translator: the engine noise of the mercedes version sounds real and is so cool. it's different than the original game. >> translator: this is an easy car racing video game for kids. my daughter and i play with it all the time. >> reporter: with the holiday

season a few months away competition between console games and smartphone titles are heating up and veterans in the field are hoping to make a big comeback. akiko okamoto, nhk world, tokyo. >> that's a look at the business news for this hour. i'll leave you with a check on markets.

government officials from japan and north korea will meet to discuss the progress into finding out what happened to abductees. >> translator: we will hear what the north has to say on the current status of the probe. then we will assess the situation. >> the head of the japanese foreign ministries asian and foreign affairs bureau is expected to attend the meeting. is also likely to take part. leaders in tokyo say at least 17 japanese were kidnapped in the 1970s and 80s. five were returned in 2002. their investigation is still in the early stages and is expected to take a year. they said they can provide no further information.

japanese government officials have announced new sanctions on russia over the unrest in ukraine. the new measures include restrictions on arms exports. there's also a ban on russian banks from issuing securities in japan. chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga said the government made the decision to show its cooperation with other g-7 countries. suga explained japan won't tolerate any attempt to change the stat kus quo by force. russian's foreign ministry says it was disappointed with the news. it says japan is unable to carry out its own foreign policies and is moving in a hostile direction. nato officials say they have observed a significant withdrawl of russian forces from eastern ukraine. a spokesperson welcomed what the organization calls positive signs. nato says there is a reduction in artillery fire between ukrainian forces and pro-russian

separatists. last month nato released satellite images showing a number of russian troops had crossed the border into ukraine. this prompted the united states and the european union to criticize the russian government. russia has not admitted to sending troops into ukraine. nato officials say russian special forces continue to operate in the country and thousands of troops remain deployed near the border. the spokesperson said nato will continue to monitor the situation. a plan to remove radioactive water from tunnels at fukushima daiichi is facing new difficulties. officials are hoping to use ice to stop the flow of contaminated water. but they've been told they may have to switch to cement. tokyo electric power officials believe highly radioactive water

flowing into tunnels is mixing with groundwater and leaking into the ocean. they are attempting to block the tunnels with ice barriers and workers would remove the contaminated water. but the acting chief of the nuclear regulation authority says the efforts have been ineffective. he says they will now have to solidify the contaminated water with concrete. he says that's not the most desirable option because radioactive substances would remain. but fuketa said that would be better than tainted water leaking into the ocean. >> translator: we should at least solidify the contaminated water considering the risk of leakage in the event of a huge a tsunami or other disaster. >> crews have been working since april installing pines under the facility. they're trying to build a massive ice wall around the buildings. but fuketa says if workers fail to stop the flow of contaminated water it would prevent the water from going ahead.

japan's athletes are raking in the medals at the asian games in incheon, south korea. hagino has won his fourth gold in the pool. he took the top spot in the 400-meter individual medley. the 22-year-old led the race in the butterfly stroke. but hagino could not keep his speed with his favorite blackstroke and dropped into second place. his chances appeared to slip when he fell into fourth place in the breaststroke. but he opened up a big lead in freestyle. [ speaking foreign language ]. some athletes competing in

badminton say air disturbances have been a problem and they are struggling with wind dwuss in the stadium. 17-year-old -- appeared in the first game and faced off against a malaysian player. yamaguchi scored points with her strong smashes and won in straight sets. one organizer of the badminton competition tells nhk that he is sorry for the air gusts and says it is impossible to build a badminton venue for the games due to the high cost. in gymnastic -- won gold in the men's pommel horse. -- earned silver in the men's rings and -- picked up a bronze in the men's floor exercise. in fencing, japan's women's squad lost to the south korean team in the semifinals of the

foil team event. but they earned a bronze medal in the event. in cycling -- won gold and -- won a silver in the men's sprint. finally in rowing -- and -- continued japan's winning ways. they took the top spot in the men's lightweight double skuls. the qatar women's basketball team forfeited a match after being refused permission to wear the hijab. the qatari players were asked in accordance with international federation rules to remove their islamic head scarves in order to play. organizers will meet with the team to discuss how to deal with the situation. the qatari team is back on the court to face off against nepal on thursday. china is the current medal

leader with 118. japan is in second with 76. and the host nation, south korea, is in third with 74. it's time now for a check of the weather. people in tokyo are dealing with rainy and windy weather conditions this morning. meteorologist robert speta tells us how it's looking elsewhere. >> we have been seeing out here is the remnants of fong wang. it is definitely no longer a tropical system by any means but a lot of cloud cover here and seeing these gusty winds, take a look at the wind reports. even one area about 98 millimeters in a one-hour period. and the other problem is the precipitation in nagoya. let's show you this video here. this was shot during the early

morning hours is severe flooding taking place. some firefighters out there trying to pump out the water. but definitely commuters going through the city having a hard time. heard a report of a woman having to be rescued in the city because of rising flood waters out of her car. some areas could see 200 millimeters off to the west due to that flow of southerly moisture with the storm system. and areas north of tokyo expecting more rainfall. an ongoing threat for those of you on thursday. have an umbrella at the very least ready. the good news is by friday most of this will taper off. let's look at eastern india. two weeks ago we were talking about flooding in kashmir and pakistan. this is a separate event. in the past week alone some areas have seen 500 to 600 millimeters.

i want to show you video from where that flooding is taking place. a very serious event. upwards of 43 casualties have been reported at this time. many more people are still missing and the waters are very slowly receding. the rescue efforts are under way. about 80 evacuation shelters have been put in place for the people who have been displaced. and you will see more rainfall through the next 72 hours some areas could see an additional 100 to 120 millimeters. but it will be tapering off into the weekend and next week. and clearing conditions across the rest of india. new delhi sunny skies. and mumbai, right now you have partly cloudy skies but the end of the weekend prescription will work in. nothing too serious. let's take a look at europe now. what we have been seeing out here is unsettled weather in the mediterranean. the low pressure area is pushing

through here and even over towards sicily you have thunderstorm warnings in effect at this time. idly as well. and that's going to be the issue as we look ahead through your friday. and working over to the balkans. the low pressure dominating to the low country and northern portions of the british isles. precipitation could push through and it could be blustery in scotland. let's wrap things up into the americas. two big things going on. we have a low off here to the west bringing first solve rough weather and then into the east, precipitation around the washington, d.c. over through the new york city area but smack in the middle if you like summer and you are in winnipeg or rapid city you are going to love this forecast. into the 30s on your thursday. i'll leave you now with your extended outlook.

and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for staying with us.

good evening from los angeles. i'm tavis smiley. tonight, with the partners bahrain, united states, qatar, and others launching strikes in syria, and president obama set to chair a meeting at the u.n. security council, we'll get an assessment of this country's response to extremist militant groups from sandy berger, the former national security adviser to president bill clinton. and then we'll turn to a conversation with best-selling author james ellroy, whose latest, "perfidia," takes a look at los angeles on the eve of pearl harbor and law enforcement in the time of crisis and the internment of japanese americans. those conversations are coming up right now. ♪