world "newsline." i'm shery ahn. north korea television has described kim jong-un as the leader of the party, the state and the military. it seems to be trying to show there's been a smooth transition of power from his late father kim jong-il. korean state-run television says kim jong-un wented from to the palace to pay respects to his late father whose body is lying in state there. after north korea's founder died in 1994 his son and successor kim jong-il also made two visits to pay his respects.

a north korean television broadcast described kim jong-un as the discerning leader of the ruling party, the state and the military. the north korean government says it will allow any south korean group to visit pyongyang to express condolences for the death of leader 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 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 yu lee said the south has no intention of changing its stance. public opinion is divided over

the visit to the north. some say the government should send an official delegation. others oppose any visit or expression of condolence. egyptians had the biggest demonstration in cairo since demonstrations began last month. women and children were among tens of thousands in tahrir square. the demonstrators chanted the military should give up power right away. anti-military demonstrations have subsided after the beginning of elections that are part of transition to civilian rule. protests in cairo gained momentum this week after the public learned soldiers had beaten female demonstrators. >> i don't think the military can -- >> the supreme council of armed

forces will hold a parliament session january 23rd, right after the elections, rather than in march as it originally planned. an opposition group in syria has accused the government of staging terror attacks in the capital to justify its crackdown on protesters. state-run television says at least 30 people were killed in damascus on friday in what appeared to be two suicide bombings. it showed the blast sites and said the incidents will be investigated by arab league observers. the government blamed the attacks on islamic extremists, but an anti-government group told nhk the government staged the attacks to deceive the arab league observers and justify its crackdown on protesters. the u.s. state department says the united states condemns the bombings in damascus in the strongest terms. it says there's no justification for terrorism of any kind and that it's crucial the bombings not impede the work of the arab league monitoring mission.

a revolt in a village in southern china appears to be growing. thousands of people are stepping up their protests against plans to build a thermal power plant. hong kong media say people from the village of haimen blocked a highway for the fourth day in a row. the local government promised to suspend the power plant construction project, but villagers say they don't trust it. villagers are also unhappy about police detention of protesters. police tried to stop protesters . police tried to stop protesters from getting onto the highway and used tear gas to try to break up the demonstration. residents of a village about 100 kilometers away are also in conflict with their local government. they're protesting against forced expropriation of land for resort development. myanmar's opposition leader, aung san suu kyi, is inching closer to 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 for the nld on friday at the union election commission in the capital naypyidaw. the nld is expected to be approved as a legal political party in the near future. it disbanded in may 2010 because the then-military government disqualified it after the party 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. two earthquakes have injured people near the city of christchurch. it is only ten months since an earthquake there killed nearly 200 people. the u.s. geological survey says two magnitude 5.8 quakes struck near the city in the same hour. police say the tremors damaged some buildings and triggered liquefaction which caused damage over a wide area. power cuts have been reported in

christchurch. >> a regional airport was temporarily closed for safety checks. a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck christchurch in february, killing 181 people. japan's emperor akihito turned 78 on friday. thousands of people visited the imperial palace in tokyo to wish him a happy birthday. the emperor and his family greeted the well-wishers from the palace balcony.

>> the emperor spoke about the earthquake and tsunami that hit japan in march and the flooding and mud slides that happened in the autumn. he said his heart aches when he thinks of the victims and their grieving families. the emperor also said he's encouraged to see so many people working hard to help those affected. he said he'll never forget the people who have suffered and hopes for happiness for everyone in japan. he wished his visitors a happy new year. dozens of santas are bringing christmas cheer to a part of japan that was hit by the earthquake and tsunami in march. 100 santas arrived in iwate prefecture from all over the country. 30 santas visited people who are in temporary housing after losing their homes in the city.

>> tomoki yoshida and his sister, ui, were delighted with their presents. >> translator: my children had written a letter to santa. they were looking forward to this visit. >> shuji nakano and his wife, yuki, came hundreds of kilometers to be among the santas. >> translator: the children are pleased to see us, so we're glad we came. we hope we can spread some cheer. >> the santas will be visiting communities in the disaster area throughout the weekend. they'll be delivering 22,000 presents. here is your weather upda .

shery ahn. stay tuned for more on nhk world stay tuned for more on nhk world "newsline." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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