hello there. welcome to "newsline." it's monday, august 22nd. 8:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. the opposition forces have announced the capture of siaff al islam on sunday.

a witness says that antigovernment forces gained control of an airport in tripoli on sunday while government troops struck back fiercely with rockets and other weapons. the government counterattack appears to have killed many antigovernment fighters. a resident of tripoli told nhk that government troops are gathering in the district that surrounds the house of muammar gadhafi. government snipers are positioned on high buildings. gadhafi delivered a statement on state run television on sunday. he called on people to join the fight against the antigovernment forces. >> a spoke es person for the

antigovernment says they are arriving in tripoli aboard ships. all eyes on on monday's tokyo market after the yen surged to a record high in new york against the dollar. looking at the exchange market on monday morning, the dollar is traded at 76.79-80. on breaking the previous record 76.25 yen set on march 17th after the march 11th disaster. now later friday the dollar was traded at mid-76 yen. monetary authorities say it will have a negative impact on the economic recovery from the march disaster. possibly causing firms to transfer production outside japan. finance minister told nhk saturday he will closely monitor the market on monday.

he mentioned the possibility of buying yen if the yen continues to rise. researchers have found evidence that a number of tsunami have previously hit northeast japan, the area pounded by the march 11 disaster. now, a japan professor says he suspects that huge tsunami hit the region every 1,000 years. professor hiakowa studied geological layers on the coast which runs between iwate and miyagi prefectures. he found five layers are composed of rounded stones. he believes they were carried there by a tsunami. the strata are situated above volcanic ash. they were likely to have been gradually formed with black soil. he also discovered six layers of the same kind in miyako iwate

prefecture and believes the most was by an tsunami caused by an earthquake 115 years ago. traces of a huge tsunami by the earthquake which struck over 1,000 years ago having found inland in miyagi and fukushima prefectur prefectures. >> translator: based on these findings, a major tsunami hits the region every 1,000 years. as a scientist, i regret that we had not discovered this earlier. we must examine historical records. >> he is expected to submit a report on his findings. tokyo electric power company plans to shut down a reactor in niigata for regular inspection on tuesday. this means 74% of japan's nuclear reactors will be out of service. when tepco shuts down the

reactor of the nuclear power plant, 40 out of 54 nuclear reactors in japan will be inactive. 11 reactors including a reactor at the nuclear power plant in hokkaido are planned to finish their checkups this month. but it's not likely operators will be able to restart the reactors immediately. the utilities must first conduct stress tests and get approval from local communities to restart. another 14 reactors will be down for regular checks by next spring. if no reactors allowed to resume after regular ek whiches, then all 54 reactors in japan will be out of certificates in the spring. until now the japan government promotes nuclear power as safe and environment friendly. every year the education ministry has spent almost $5 million on programs to spread the message. it was even included in the curriculum taught to students in elementary and middle schools.

but the incident at fukushima daiichi power plant is making teachers rethink what they teach about nuclear power. >> reporter: these supplementary readers provided by the government teach students about nuclear power. the books reassure students with claims like these five walls protect the nuclear power plant. and they are built to withstand strong earthquakes or tsunamis. but the crisis at fukushima shattered the widespread belief about the safety of nuclear power. people in education are looking for alternative information for teaching students about nuclear power. one local government decided to stop teaching children that it is essential to use nuclear power in japan. in toihasho city, the plan was to teach students about nuclear

power. an auxiliary reader explains that nuclear power is necessary to generate energy. but another nuclear power plant, this one in a nearby area was shut down after the fukushima crisis. now people question whether nuclear power is necessary at all. the board of education distributed a handout to all elementary schools. it explains how to teach the information in the supplementary reader. the board wants a more impartial perspective. so it instructs teachers. >> translator: right now japanese people are not completely sure about the safety of nuclear power. so schools find they can't help being influenced by this outlook. meanwhile another elementary school is trying to come to

grips with the issue. this school in iwakei lies from the power plant. the students were taught recently about nuclear power. every year the sixth graders used to take a field trip to the fukushima daiichi power plant as it was an important industry in the area. but the accident at the tepco plant shocked the teachers. they are still discussing what to teach their students about nuclear power. >> translator: teachers shouldn't hide anything from the students. we must give a thorough explanation of the causes and backgrounds of everything that happened during the crisis. the school has started a program to make students fully understand what is happening around them. twice a day the students take turns measuring radiation levels

in the schoolyard. on this day the radiation is much lower than the government sanctioned safety level. afterward, a teacher encourages the students to think about how to deal with the readings. >> translator: so what should we do? >> translator: just like before, even if radiation levels are low, we have watch our hands. we shouldn't spend too much time outdoors during the summer vacation. >> translator: there's so much information about nuclear power. we try to teach our students to pick out the correct information and use it effectively. we hope our students will be able to evaluate whether nuclear power is necessary for japan. >> the education ministry is waiting for the government to revise its policies on nuclear energy. now, though the nuclear crisis is not yet over, the education

ministry is waiting for the government to change policies. "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post-march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline. north korean leader kim jong il has inspected the biggest power plant in russia's far east. this is kim's first visit to russia in nine years. he has been traveling by a special train from the far east to siberia. russian state run tv broadcast

footage showing kim limping down from the train while holding a handrail. the russian far east news service reported that he visited the power plant in the region. he got off his private train at a station near the plant and was honored with the traditional russian welcome of bread and salt. he arrived at the power station where he lived to a speech about turbines in a room and observed water from the dam. it's believed he will visit -- his first meeting with medvedev is expected to happen this week. u.s. vice president joe biden has urged china to improve its human rights. he also called for the release of pro democracy activists and lawyers.

biden made the remarks during his lecture on u.s.-china relations at a university at shandu city on sunday. >> maybe the biggest difference in our respective approaches are what we refer to as human rights. that prosperity peaks when governments foster both free enterprise and free exchange of ideas. >> biden apparently sought the release of the actists and lawyers including imprisoned nobel peace price winner. saying the u.s. president's benefitted regional stability and allowed china to focus on its economic development. but he added the united states needs china's cooperation on the issue of development of nuclear weapons in iran and north korea. during his visit, the vice president and the chinese leadership agreed to work

together to stabilize global financial markets and enhance regional security. biden will visit japan on monday and meet the countries prime minister naoto kan. they're scheduled to talk about reconstruction efforts following the march disaster and the fukushima daiichi nuclear accident. a man who used to work as a bodyguard for osama bin laden has warned in an interview with nhk that al qaeda may launch attacks that are more serious than those on september 11th, 2001. nhk was able to meet nassir al-bahri. >> translator: after bin laden's death, al qaeda will regain momentum. >> the former bodyguard said radical groups that used to receive military training in afghanistan have gone back to their home countries over the

past ten years. he added these groups are heading local organizations and are strengthening cooperation. >> translator: arabs led al qaeda in the past. but now there are members in various nations. the network could be preparing for an attack that will dwarf the 9/11 attacks. >> al-bahri's statement says even after losing the charismatic leader, al qaeda is reforming itself and continues to be a threat. at least 11 people have been killed in two suicide attacks. a car bomb exploded in the alkub area in the abyan province sunday night. in the same province a man carried out a suicide attack using explosives. both attacks are suspected of targeting local government supporters and being carried out by militant groups with strong

ties to al qaeda. the groups are increasing their influence in yemen while the government forces are cracking down on protesters who are demanding that the president resign. over 1,000 mill taitants of al a have been linked since may. the government forces are working with the u.s. military to step up rates against them. islamic militants across the country are said to be joining al qaeda groups and clashing with the government. the united states says it's concerned it may make yemen another afghanistan. a hot bed of terrorism. now we look at an art form which has its roots in the streets of bangladesh. it is bright and full of social commentary. but the artist as times change are seeing their fortunes fade.

>> reporter: the people movers of bangladesh. cycle rickshaws are a common sight in dhaka. as many as 300,000 are said to apply the streets of the bangladesh capital. as in other asian cities, these man powered taxis are cheaper. but function takes a back seat to style. the canopy, seats and bodies are a thing of color. the signature piece is the rickshaw plate. the themes of these works are as wide as the colors are bright. this vibrant street art is the work of rickshaw painters. d.c. das is a specialist in the art of rickshaw paintings.

his art is fantasy paintings. >> translator: pleasing drivers, riders with art is my calling. >> reporter: but these are hard times for rickshaw painters. work has been drying up. and the number of painters in dhaka is on the decline. one reason is the shrinking fleet of rickshaws. in an effort to ease traffic congestion, the vehicles have been banned from the main roads. as a result side streets are now clogged with the three wheelers all going nowhere fast. >> translator: in addition to traffic jams, the authorities stopped licensing rickshaw businesses. that's why the number of rickshaws continues to decline.

>> reporter: what's worse for painters is the emergence of mass production. this rickshaw goods shop features printed plates, not handmade ones. >> translator: hand painted ones cannot be mass produced. printed can be made on a large scale. >> reporter: fewer orders are not the only problem. this is r.k. das. his favorite subject is rural scenery. however, das says he can no longer paint the types of pictures he likes. tastes have changed in modernizing dhaka. movie stars are in. >> translator: rickshaw owners prefer movie scenes. i have no choice but to paint

such pictures to make a living. >> reporter: with orders vanishing and no creative incentive, some painters have given up. ahmad hossain is one who has hung up his rickshaw brush. he now does souvenir plates for tourists. he painted portraits of people against a background of bangladesh scenery. business is picking up thanks to word of mouth. ahmad is making a comfortable living. but he can't forget his old calling. >> translator: these are rough sketches from my previous work. i made copies and have kept them. if i receive an order again, i'll be able to trace them. they're like photographic negatives. this one was very popular. a rickshaw shop in a town of animals.

>> reporter: ahmad has a special passion for animal themes. it has attracted international attention. >> translator: these rough sketches remind me of how eager i was about my work. at that time i took great pleasure in work. now i don't. looking at these pictures i feel somewhat sad. >> reporter: artists like ahmad are having to adjust to the times. as they do so, dhaka's fleet of rickshaws, the canvas for their unique trade, is steadily fading from view. and welcome back to your weather update. for east asia we're talking about a lot of rain moving in towards japan. we've got the front line that's been with us through the weekend. dipping rain to southern japan.

now the bulk of that intense showers that are heading in towards central and northern areas. that's where we'll see wetter weather today throughout the day. especially for the tokyo area morning hours we're going to see heavier showers develop. over towards china to central sections in particular will be looking pretty wet. and in the shanghai area, the heavier showers will linger into the morning hours before tapering. then behind it a new wet area develops towards the chongqing area. we'll look at more heavier showers to develop into the afternoon. down towards the south. the philippines then into the indochina peninsula. 31 is the high in manila today. on the other hand we're looking at only 24 in tokyo. it is going to be another mild and cool day. it will be looking warmer on tuesday. over towards the americas, right at the corner of the screen here we've got this cluster of clouds. this will be the tropical storm

system heading in towards puerto rico know. tropical storm irene is still on the strengthening track. it may become a hurricane on monday. we're talking about within the next 24 hours. a lot of warnings. you do want to take precautions in the area. some of the heaviest rains will be impacting this area. will all look at 500 millimeters of rain possible with the system. lot of rain, flooding, landslides will be possible. you do want to be on the watch for that. over towards north america we've got this very active frontal system that is going to be impacting the eastern seaboard tonight. we are looking at severe thunderstorm watches through quebec into the atlantic states. it is going to be stormy tonight. and even into monday, eastern sections of canada from quebec into the mare tiitimes we are looking into the lingering.

33 in atlanta. 39 houston. and it is going to be on the warm side for you here. and getting a look at europe now. a lot of activity is going to reside up towards the north. denmark as well as northern germany will be looking at stormier weather tonight as the system moves on through. that is all going to be heading eastward into finland. baltic states too. you want to watch out for that. out west right now heavier showers possible for northern spain. northern areas of portugal. but instead parts of france and then southeastern end of the british isles too will be looking wetter here. as for those temperatures, 22 in stockholm, 25 in berlin. it's a lot warmer here. 34 degrees in vienna. that's going to be hot. 32 in rome. getting up to 35 in athens. do take precautions against the heat here.

and here is your three day outlook.

our lead stories this hour in libya fighting intensifies between government troops and nato backed offenses in tripoli. the opposition forces announced the capture of saif al islam on sunday. a witness says that antigovernment forces gained control of an airport in tripoli

on sunday while government troops struck back fiercely with rockets and other weapons. the counterattack appears to have killed many resident fighters. government troops are gathering in the district that surrounds the house of muammar gaddhafi. also that government snipers are positioned on high buildings. gaddhafi delivered a statement on sunday. he called on people to join the fight against antigovernment forces. >> a spokesperson for the antigovernment forces says that opposition fighters are arriving at a port in tripoli aboard ships. we're keeping an eye on monday's tokyo market after the japanese yen surge ed against t

dollar in new york on friday. on monday morning the dollar is being traded at 76.84-88 yen. it hit a record low of 75.95 yen on the foreign exchange market breaking the previous record of 76.25 yen set on march 17th after the march 11 disaster. later in the day, it's still hovering around historic lows against the yen. japanese monetary authorities say the rapt rise of the yen whether have a negative impact on the economic recovery since the disaster. finance minister told nhk on saturday that he will closely monitor the market on monday. he mentioned the possibility of selling yen and buying dollars to intervene in the market if the yen continues to rise. and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. we'll be back with more of your

updates at the top of the next hour. we'll see you then.