welcome back to "newsline." myanmar's opposition leader, aung san suu kyi, is inching closer do jumping back into political life. she formally registered her national league for democracy party to participate in an upcoming election. the nobel laureate submitted a membership list on friday in the capital. the nld is expected to be approved as a legal political party in the near future. it disbanded in may 2010 because

the former military government disqualified it after it boycotted last year's general election. aung san suu kyi is expected to officially announce her candidacy soon for a parliamentary by-election. the poll is scheduled for next year. the north korean government says it will allow any south korean groups to visit pyongyang to express condolence for the death of kim jong il. the committee for the peaceful reunification of the fatherland released a statement friday on its website. the south korean government decided earlier this week, to permit some civilians to visit the north, instead of sending an official delegation. north korean officials urged their neighbor and their statement to review this policy. they say authorities in the south should consider the impact this condolence visit could have on future bilateral ties. south korean unification minister responded by saying the government has no intention of changing its stance.

public opinion is divided in south korea over the visit to the north. some say the government should send an official delegation in response to kim jong il's death. others oppose any visit or expression of condolence. many residents of christchurch, new zealand, are saying, not again. two powerful earthquakes shook their city on friday. the tremors injured several people. u.s. geological survey people said the magnitude 5.8 quakes struck within the same hour near the southern city. police say the tremors partially destroyed some buildings and triggered liquid faction, which caused damage over a wide area. power cuts have been reported in parts of christchurch. >> not again, i'm sick of it. >> i don't know -- who needs this two days before christmas. >> authorities at a regional airport temporarily closed the facility for safety checks.

the magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck chist chuch last february, and killed 181 people. less than a week ago, the last convoy of u.s. soldiers pulled out of iraq after nearly a decade of war. now defense department spokespeople say the first phase of the troop withdrawal from afghanistan is complete. the announcement comes ahead of a year-end deadline set by president barack obama. obama unveiled a plan in june to end u.s. combat operations in afghanistan in 2014. he said, 10,000 soldiers would be pulled out by the end of this year followed by 23,000 by next september. defense department press secretary george little told nhk there are now 91,000 u.s. troops in afghanistan, down from more than 101,000 in the summer. the obama administration has focused on disentangling the country from the conflicts in afghanistan and iraq. the wars have led to the deaths

of thousands of american soldiers and could end up costing the u.s. at least $3.7 trillion, according to reuters, which quoted research by u.s. institute. however, afghanistan remains one of the deadliest places on the planet, bombings continue in different parts of the country, including the capital kabul. the government forces -- the government faces the task of maintaining security as u.s. troops withdraw. pakistan's army is rejecting the results of a u.s. investigation into an air strike that killed 24 of its soldiers. american war planes bombed several military posts last month near the country's border with afghanistan. the pakistani army released a statement friday. it said, the u.s. report does not have all the facts and cannot be accepted. the u.s. military released the results of its investigation into the attack a day earlier. the report said inaccurate maps used by american soldiers led to a misunderstanding about the

true location of the pakistani posts. the u.s. also said the air strikes were an act of self-defense against the pakistani side, which opened fire first. the u.s. said air strikes were an act of self-defense against the pakistani side, which opened fire first. pakistan's military maintains its soldiers did not shoot first. it also says the location of the posts have been conveyed to the americans beforehand. editors of the u.s. magazine "science" have released their breakthrough pick of the year and researchers in japan won a spot in the runner-up category for out of this world discovery. scientists analyzed samples of an asteroid and concluded that contrary to prevailing wisdom, asteroids and meteorites are

similar in makeup. japan's say busa satellite returned to earth in june 2010, carrying the first particles from an asteroid. the research is one of nine runners-up for "science" magazine's annual competition. editors chose a study on hiv-aids prevention as the winner of the year. in "science"'s breakthrough issue also made mention of japan's earthquake and tsunami and called the march 11th disaster one of the events of the year that affected the global research community. editors say forecasters failed to anticipate the quake and subsequent accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. they add japanese scientists are now thinking of how to fill the gap between what they can do and what is expected of them.

pimples may be the bane of teenagers, but researchers are looking at them under a new light. a japanese research team says a backcourt yum that faushl ofacil outbreaks could help treat a rare form of skin cancer. researchers injected the acne bacteria into mice with malignant melanoma. the group said a single injection suppressed the growth of tumor cells within a month. two injections eliminated almost all the cancers. the group believes the acne bacteria improves the function of immune cells which destroys the melanoma cells. the researchers hope it will lead to the development of new medicine for this hard-to-treat disease. the head of the research group said the group first needs to find out which component of the acne bacteria is acting as the key agent.

with only a few days left until christmas, children around the world are eagerly awaiting the arrival of santa claus. well, now one santa in finland has begun his trip to spread the holiday cheer. there was a busy last-minute rush as santa watched his elves pack presents into large bag in his hometown near the north pole. he then took off into a snow-covered forest on a sleigh being pulled by reindeer, although local television say there's not as much snow as usual this year due to higher temperatures, it looks like nothing will stop santa from continuing on his merry way. and now a look at weather forecasts around the world.

we'll be back at the top of the hour. so please stay tuned to nhk world. i'm yuko fukushima in tokyo. thanks for watching.