throughout the ages. matsuri emerged in every community in every corner of japan and they laid the foundation for the cultural development of many japanese arts and crafts. you're watching "newsline," i'm ross mihara in tokyo. japan's prime minister has named replacements for two scandal hit ministers. but opposition parties are poised to crank up the pressure on him in the diet. officials a it the world health organization have declared nigeria ebola free but it continues in neighboring countries.

and soccer supporters in brazil are scoring points off the pitch by cleaning up trash after matches, an idea they picked up from japanese fans. japan's prime minister has signaled he wants to move forward. shinzo abe has named two new cabinet ministers hours after two stepped aside. abe appointed yuko obuchi and midori matsushima last month when he reshuffled his cabinet. they were among five women he appointed. but the ministers quit amid questions over their political activities. the prime minister said he is responsible for appointing them and would quickly choose replacements to avoid slowing down the government. abe is hoping to refocus attention on work related to his policy goals.

he wants to pass bills aimed at revitalizing local economies and women's advancement. he regards them as the top priorities of his administration. but the head of the opposition party says that abe should take responsibility for the quick departures. executives of seven opposition parties are going to question abe about the issue and pushing for a diet debate about the scandals that led to the resignations. officials at the world health organization have declared nigeria free of the ebola virus. they described it as a spectacular success story. officials say there have been no new cases reported in 42 days. that's twice the maximum incubation period. an infected man brought the virus to nigeria from liberia in july. it spread to 20 people and eight have died. official says health authorities kept track of who came in contact with the infected

people. when day confirmed someone had the virus they isolated them and treated them. authorities say they are screening people at ports and airports. w.h.o. officials declared senegal free of ebola last friday but health workers are still battling outbreaks in guinea, liberia and sierra leone. experts say there could be more than 10,000 people infected by the end of this week. indonesia's new president has pledged to narrow the economic gap in between living in urban and rural areas. joko widodo is now leading southeast asia's biggest economy with a population of 250 million. and he promised to extend welfare programs. joko spoke to thousands of people gathered in jakarta following his inauguration ceremony. >> translator: indonesia is a great nation. but it has to be run well.

>> joko suggested rampant corruption is preventing the country from growing and he said he wants to unify the people regardless of where they live. joko is known as a man of the people. he has public support as indonesia's first leader from outside the military and political elite. but a majority of seats in parliament are held by opposition lawmakers who are against the new president. the russian government is looking for investment in special economic zones planned for its far east. and it's calling on japanese businesses. >> translator: the earlier companies invest, the greater the benefits they will receive. >> russian officials have briefed japanese companies on the details. they say businesses operating in the economic zones will enjoy preferential taxation schemes and eased regulations.

a representative of a japanese trading house said cooperation with russian businesses will be a key factor for japanese companies to advance into the zones. russian president vladimir putin has proposed legislation that would establish the zones by early next year. government officials are now considering 14 locations, including coastal areas and the city of kabarosk. german airline lufthansa has been forced to cancel more than 1,400 flights. their pilots have staged a walkout over plans to change their retirement options. airline executives grounded about 1,450 flights, that's nearly 70% of their short- and mid-length services. officials say the strikes will affect more than 200,000 passengers. pilots for long-haul flights linking europe with asia and the united states will join the strike on tuesday. they've called an 18-hour walkout. the pilots union is protesting plans to revise the early retirement system.

major european airlines are under pressure to cut costs to compete with budget carriers. unions around europe are fighting the attempts. last month, pilots with air france went on strike for two weeks. . government officials in china have issued economic data and investors around the world are taking a close look. ai uchida has the details. >> analysts are saying that china is slowing down and the numbers this morning underscore that view. officials say growth in the past telemonths fell short of a government target. officials a it the national bureau of statistics released the figures for china's gdp. the kbhi grew 7.3% in the july to september quarter compared to the same period last year. that is down from 7.5%. the pace of expansion was the slowest in five and a half years.

officials had set a growth target this year of around 7.5%. dr. peter morgan joins us in the studio. thank you for your time. you are senior consultant for research at the asia development bank institute in the chinese economy. >> the kmooin economy has been weak this year. you have seen sluggish growth in europe and you have had the weakness in the real estate market with housing prices declining. also there's been the effects of trying to slow down the growth of credit in the shadow banking sector. and chilling effects on investment from the anti-corruption campaign. there were some stimulus measurings but i think overall the government was trying to keep them fairly limited.

>> imf economists have raised concerns about real estate. tell us more about that, please. >> there is quite a bit of excess capacity because of previous high rates of housing construction in pretty much most of the major cities with the possible exceptions of shanghai and beijing. this is now being reflected in declining housing prices and of course once the buyers stop buying, then the construction companies have less incentive to build more units. and they're also concerned about not being able to sell the existing units which could lead to rising nonperforming loans. so given the importance of the construction sector for overall investment in china, that is a worrying factor. >> how do you rate premier li keqiang's policies?

dubbed li-konomics? >> i think it could have a negative growth short term but it's they are aimed at providing a better base for long term. but they are necessary and important. and i think one of the key aspects of li-konomics is they want to have a -- i think it's going to be important for increasing economic efficiency and productivity. so of course his policies have a broad range, aiming at reforms of fiscal and tax policy of the land transaction system of the household registration system, the state-own enterprises and the financial sector reforms. it's a very broad plate. can they implement that

effectively. >> as you know, the officials have set a target for growth in 2014 of 7.5%. given the third quarter results that we just saw what kind of stimulus do you think we could expect? >> they said they won't take major stimulus measures or massive stimulus measures we will see easing of monetary and fiscal policy to have an effect on fourth quarter numbers. so we could see decline in the reserve ratio by the -- people's bank of china. and easing of the regulations on housing. and some increase in infrastructure spending. but i think it's going to be limited. it won't be massive easing. >> and what do you think leaders will announce for their growth target in 2015? >> well they'll probably stick with around 7.5%. but it could be lowered

slightly. given the fact it's not exactly 7.5%, it's about 7.5%, that does give them some leeway on the downside. >> doctor, thank you for your insight we look forward to having you back next hour. thanks. let's see how markets are reacting to the numbers. the gdp numbers were slightly higher than economists had forecast. looking at markets in china first, the hang seng is trading higher, up .4%. shanghai stocks are up slightly. in tokyo, investors are selling stocks to lock in the previous session's 4% gain. the nikkei currently down .6%. the broader topix also down .4%. traders are selling the dollar and buying the yen seek cover ahead of the numbers. with the data out, the dollar/yen is at $106.

the chinese authorities set the value of the yuan within a tight band against the u.s. dollar. executives at apple couldn't be happier with the number of phones they're selling. they say in the july to september quarter sales of their iphones helped drive revenue and profit up more than the 12% from last year. they said that revenue was $42.1 billion. the executives released the i phone 6 in the u.s. and other countries in mid september and sold more than 10 million of them in the first three days alone. they said across the quarter they sold more than 39 million of all their models. executives last week unveiled a thinner ipad they hope will

appeal to holiday shoppers. chief executive tim cook has called the new range of products the strongest line-up ever. it is different for ibm. executives say their sales and net profit both fell and they said they'll offload their semiconductor to a u.s. chip maker and pay them to take it off their hands. they will give global foundries $1.5 billion and include patents and intellectual property rights as part of the deal. the executives want to focus on more lucrative fields such as internet based storage systems, cloud computing and big data analysis. people in israel are getting a chance to sample a japanese drink that has been brewed just for them. they are sipping sake that is kosher made to satisfy jewish dietary rules. visitors to the inaugural japan culture week in jerusalem took part in sake tasting.

they also tried a range of japanese foods, watched a drum performance and enjoyed pop culture programs. rabbis are required to certify that food meets strict rules about ingredients and procedures. >> it's absolutely fantastic. this is one of the better ones i've tasted. >> every time we go to a supermarket or restaurant we look for this little sign that says it is kosher. so we came here and saw it is kosher and we drink. >> other people are appreciating kosher foods too. producers say sales are expanding in markets around the world. i'll have more headlines for you in business next hour, for now i'll leave you with a check on markets.

a nuclear plant operator in western japan is taking steps to put its reactors back online. officials of kansai electric power company say they have completed revising safety measures. they recalculated their estimate of maximum tsunami heights that could hit takahama plant. the nuclear regulation authority, or nra, told the utility it underestimated the height in its first assessment. utility officials had to carry out tsunami simulations on two reactors at the plant. structural resilience and other measures have already been cleared. if nra officials approve the revised measures, they'll draft

a preliminary regulation plan for the plant to resume operations. takahama will be the second plant to receive a safety plan from the nuclear regulator. the sendai plant in southern japan was the first. all of japan's nuclear reactors are currently offline. student leaders and government officials in hong kong are preparing to hold their first meeting but scuffles over the weekend suggest there's still a wide gulf between them. representatives of the government and the protesters are scheduled to sit down tuesday evening at a school on hong kong island. student leaders say the talks will last about two hours. they say they'll focus on political reforms and other issues, and it will be broadcast live. the people are divided over the protests. some are still occupying the streets. others say they just want the disruptions to end. >> translator: the two sides should hold talks as soon as possible so that the people can get back to a normal life.

>> a bank in the busy kowloon district resumed operation monday for the first time in three weeks. but other businesses remained closed. the u.s. military says it has air dropped arms own other supplies to help kurdish forces fighting islamic state militants in northern syria. the kurds are defending ayn al arab, a town in northern syria on the border with turkey. also known as kobani. against the advancing sunni militants. the u.s. says islamic state could capture the strategic city. u.s. forces have carried out 135 air strikes on the group. the air drop is seen as another measure to help kurds fighting on the ground. the u.s. central command said american aircraft delivered weapons, ammunition, and medical supplies provided by kurdish forces in iraq. it did not give more details. leaders in turkey have been watching islamic state militants threaten to take a town just across the border in syria.

and they say they're ready to let iraqi kurds cross their territory to join the defense of ayn al arab. foreign minister mevlut cavusoglu announced the decision. it's a change of heart for an administration that's viewed kurdish separatists as a threat. cavusoglu didn't say how many fighters will be allowed to pass through or which routes they'll use. kurds in turkey have been criticizing the government for not giving enough military assistance to kurdish fighters in syria. some brazilian soccer supporters are scoring points off the pitch. they picked up a habit from japanese fans at the fifa world cup and they're now shooting to keep their stadium clean. nhk world's gabriela yussa explains. >> reporter: brazilian soccer

fans go pretty wild supporting their favorite teams. and those here in the southern city of curitiba are no exception. they cheer loud and proud. but it's what they do after the game that's getting the most attention. they come together to collect the trash left behind in stands. japanese soccer fans made international headlines when they were spotted cleaning up after themselves at this year's world cup. and their after the match manners really caught the attention of the people in this community. >> translator: we wanted to do the same as the japanese supporters.

we thought, wow, they are doing a great thing, so we decided to follow their example. >> reporter: curitiba is the capital of the state of parana, home of the second largest population of japanese brazilians, following sao paulo. garbage is a serious issue here, so both government officials and locals have joined in force to tackle the problem. this is garbage truck, and the other side we have fruits and vegetables truck. what could happen here? this woman brings a bag filled with garbage. she gives to crews on the first truck. and then she gets another bag from the second one. full of fresh bananas. people receive one kilogram of fruit for every four kilos of

trash. [ speaking foreign language ]. cassio taniguchi, a second-generation japanese brazilian came up with this project when he was city official. >> translator: the respect the japanese have for nature and for their neighbors is great. i want to let people in brazil follow their example. >> reporter: so when locals saw japanese collecting trash at the games, taniguchi says it was easy for curitiba citizens to do the same.

>> translator: the spectators can drop their rubbish, but they can also pick it up afterwards so the stadium is cleaner. >> translator: if people in other parts of brazil also follow this example and do the same sort of thing, it would be wonderful. >> reporter: residents have something to be proud of. they were working hard to keep their community clean and they hope that people in other parts of brazil will also start to stash their trash. gabriela yussa, nhk world. a wet day here in tokyo and much of japan. robert speta joins us with details on how long the rain will last. >> yes, through the next 48 hours the precipitation is going to continue to linger through much of tokyo. look at the satellite imagery. the cloud cover is pushing across japan but right on its tail a new low pressure area has developed. and that's not only going to

bring rainfall for japan but also through the korean peninsula and eastern portions of china. of the korean peninsula could see 100 to 120 millimeters of rainfall. and as that low continues to work its way to the east, a lot of the heavy rain will be falling in the tokyo area into wednesday afternoon in the evening hours. even could see a few thunderstorms come out of this. definitely in the rest of tuesday and wednesday, i would suggest having an umbrella nearby if you are in japan. farther to the north going into wednesday morning you may see a few flurries if you are in the sapporo area. could be the first snowfall of the year there for you. and then all that's going to continue to push off here to the east and behind it we have the high pressure setting in. that's going to usher in cooler temperatures. beijing, just with a high of 17 on your tuesday. seoul up to 17 as well. tokyo at 22 and going into your overnight hours on thursday, actually, this could be dropping into the single digits. you might want a jacket and

heaters by that time. let's talk about what is going on over here in europe. you can see this is ex-hurricane gonzalo. we were talking about it last week. let's show you a video. a quick clip of satellite imagery. that's a storm system that pushed over bermuda saturday morning. you can see it moving off the eastern coast. it moved over newfoundland and race aid cross the east. let's go back to the satellite imagery. what we have is that last frame, this is what is happening now. this has travelled a long way and it is already bringing some high winds. we could see hurricane-strength winds out of this. it is no longer a hurricane by any means but you see all this pressure gradient, right here, these tight lines. that is indicating strong wind's specially across parts of ireland and scotland and it's going to kick up and continue to work off to the east and into

the low countries, bringing precipitation to parts of france, the netherlands and germany. also temperatures are going to cool down. once this pushes overhead. 16 there for your high in london. it will warm back up for you. but berlin dropping down to 11 by your thursday. look at the temperatures outside of the areas off to the north though, it will be staying relatively warm. let's talk about what is going on in the eastern u.s. now though. and the big topic, you can see the cloud cover right here. this is going to be bringing some rain, possibly snow to southern canada. but this isn't what i want you to key in on. but you have that pushing to the east and with we have a new low developing down here toward the south these two are going to merge as we look ahead into wednesday and thursday. and you can see the model, that precipitation starts to kick up, northeasterly winds come in, it's what we call a nor'easter. it will be blustery conditions could even be seeing some flight

delays in parts of new york and washington, d.c. for now, though, i'll leave you with your extended forecast.

that's all this hour on

"newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. thank you for watching and have a good day.

good evening from los angeles. i'm that vis smiley. tonight with gram my winner melissa ethridge about "this is me" an album she kals her most personal and uplifting over her 25-plus-year career. she's received 15 grammy nominations and an oscar for the song for "an inconvenient truth." she's known ujutk and closing out tonight with a performance off "a little bit of me." i'm glad you have joined us for the conversation with melissa ethridge coming up right thousand.r