hello, and welcome to this hour's "newsline" coming from our studios here in tokyo. opposition sforss in libya say they're focussing their attacks on the hometown of colonel moammar gadhafi. the national transitional council said on saturday it is deploying troops in readiness to strike the east and west fronts of gadhafi's stronghold in its victories against gadhafi's forces in tripoli.

a large-scale unit has been assembling in a town about 150 miles east of sirte, while opposition troops who fought in the capital are moving to the west of gadhafi's hometown. after retreating from tripoli and other fronts across the country, gadhafi loyalists are believed to have reground in sirte. it is expected they will deploy scud missiles against opposition troops. opposition forces in sirte are expected to launch attacks with support from nato air raids. the national transition al council said it is counseling on moderate factions in the city to sway pro-gadhafi troops to surrender. the council hopes to conquer the strong hold as one of the final steps in gaining control of the country.

meanwhile, the vice president of the opposition group told nhk that gadhafi is likely to have fled tripoli. >> translator: i believe gadhafi is no longer in tripoli. he is highly likely to be in algeria, a border area. >> ghoga said he bases his assumption on the fact that algeria has yet to recognize the council as libya's official interim government and gadhafi has not been confirmed to have escaped elsewhere. he added that no trace of gadhafi has been found in his hometown sirte. tropical storm irene has been leaving a trail of wreckage through the new york region, despite being downgraded from a i hurricane. the national oceanic and atmospheric administration says the storm moved over new york

city at around 9:00 a.m. local time sunday. the new york city government has issued evacuation orders to 370,000 residents of coastal areas. subways, buses and other public transport have been suspended. all airports in the city are closed. the administration says the tropical storm is moving north-northeast at 42 kilometers per hour as of 9:00 a.m. sunday. it maintains an atmospheric pressure with winds at 400 kilometers per hour. eight people have lost their lives in storm-related accidents in north carolina and other east coast areas. 2 million households and businesses are without power. meanwhile, severe tropical storm nanmadol rages over southeast asia. in the philippines eight people have been killed and six remain unaccounted for. the slow-moving storm which was downgraded from a typhoon passed through the northern part of luzon island of the philippines from friday through sunday. the philippines government says heavy rain with strong winds caused land slides and destroyed buildings on the island.

57,000 residents are sheltering in public facilities to escape possible flooding and other disasters. authorities are attempting to send rescue workers and relief supplies to the affected areas. but roads have been blocked by floods and fallen trees. japan's meteorological agency said the storm is moving north over the sea between the philippines and taiwan at 15 kilometers per hour. it has an atmospheric pressure of 980 at the center with peak winds of about 108 kilometers per hour at 9:00 p.m. local time. in taiwan, 2,500 people have been evacuated to shelters, as the storm approaches the island. "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 the impact on 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." continuing with more news here on "newsline," three miners trapped for more than four days in a flooded coal mine shaft in northeast china have been rescued. 22 other people are still unaccounted for. china's state run news agency said 16 miners were trapped on tuesday after a large amount of water flooded into a mine. rescuers have been pumping out water from the pit, and three trapped workers were brought to the surface on saturday. the three miners said they had been waiting to be rescued in the pit with only drinking water. they are reported to be weak, but not in a life-threatening condition. rescue efforts are continuing for others still trapped in the mine.

the mine was closed four years ago, but a mining firm resumed operations without permission from the provincial government in mid-august. the accident was caused when the workers penetrated an old pit which had filled with water. at least 2,400 people died in mine accidents last year alone in china due to poor safety management. the ruling democratic party of japan votes on monday to choose a successor to its leader prime minister naoto kan. on sunday the five contenders spoke at a forum organized by the party, jockeying for support from undecided members. monday's vote will involve balloting by 398 diet members belonging to the party. the winner will almost certainly become the next prime minister of japan. economy trade and industry

ministry banri kaieda is the new front-runner. kaieda seems to be able to count on the support of nearly 100 lawmakers. he visited the campaign office this morning to analyze the election outlook. finance minister yoshihiko noda is second in the running with support of over 60 lawmakers, including members of secretary-general casio okada. next is seiji maehara which has about 50 members behind him. agriculture ministry michihiko kano has garnered support of over 30 law makers. bringing up the rear is the former land ministry sumi sumio mabuchi who is trying to bring his numbers up from just 20 members in support. the candidates' teams are working hard to enlist the backing of over 100 lawmakers who have yet to decide or announce who they support. they're also attempting to gain favor with other candidates for a possible runoff, as it's

widely expected, no one will win a majority in the first round of voting. kaieda's campaign office believes he is ahead, but is concerned about the moves of other candidates who may join forces in a runoff election. the ground self-defense force has carried out a massive live fire drill involving tanks and helicopters. the annual event held at a training range is open to the public, and attracted about 24,000 people on sunday. about 2,400 ground self-defense force troops, 80 tanks and armored vehicles, as well as 30 combat helicopters and aircraft took part in this year's event. the drill was based on the sutititititititititititititititi position halfway up a mountain. troops who slid down ropes from helicopters conducted surveillance and tanks and combat helicopters shot live ammunition at the enemy

territory. the drill is the largest shown to the public, and used 40 tons of ammunition, worth about $4.4 million. let's now take a look at weather conditions in cities across the globe. that was the news at this hour. i'm james tengan in tokyo.

thanks for watching.