welcome to nhk world "newsline." united nations officials say syrian leaders have agreed to let aid workers expand humanitarian operations in the country. the focus is now on whether the workers will be able to provide effective assistance while a crackdown continues. officials from the u.n. office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs said the government has granted access to the world food program, eight other u.n. agencies, and seven ngos. the workers are expected to arrive within a few days. they will be posted at four sites, including the central city of homs, and daraa in the

south. eight officials say at least 1 million people are urgently in need of assistance. they say food and medicine have been in short supply since the crackdown began in march of last year. human rights activists say government forces have not let up in their attacks. they say 65 people were killed across the country in the past two days. japan is supporting countries around the world and isolating the syrian government. the syrian ambassador to tokyo has left the country at the request of the japanese government. the move comes as the international community is stepping up protests against the syrian administration for the massacre last month of over 100 people in the village of houla. the syrian embassy in tokyo notified the japanese foreign ministerie left japan. japan has joined western countries in coordinated protests of the mass killing of

civilians by the government of president bashar al assad. last week japan demanded the ambassador leave the country. the united states, canada, australia, britain, france, germany and other nations have earlier announced they were expelling syrian diplomats. 300 u.n. observers have been monitoring the cease-fire. shery ahn spoke with nhk. >> they monitored the cease-fire. they don't carry weapons and they are not authorized to use force. so that limits their ability to bring an end to the violence. the situation seems to get worse every day. the city seems tob heading toward a full-fledged civil war, unfortunately. >> the international community has been quite divided over what to do with the situation there. what's it doing now? >> the u.n. security council

severely condemned the killing of more than 100 syrians in houla. the leaders of the u.s., germany, france and italy met afterwards in the emergency video conference. they agreed on the need for peaceful transition of power in syria. the former u.n. chief kofi annan said if that plan fails, western leaders may have to look at other options. >> we've been reporting on how the russians and chinese feel about intervening. what support is there for that position? >> both the russians and the chinese have registered intervention at the u.n. and elsewhere. but the fact is, western leaders, too, are cautious about getting into another conflict. u.s. and the french diplomats stress that intervention can happen only on 9 condition that

u.n. delegates adopt a new resolution for that purpose. syria has about 300,000 active soldiers, and there is strong unity among the operators defending president bashar al assad. these forces would provide resistance to any troops from o. on the other hand, the anti-government forces are rather weak and divided. and there is no group that can take over the power after the collapse of the assad regime. >> what are foreign powers supposed to do then? >> i think the first priority must go to preventing the additional loss of lives. u.n. delegates should abide by what's called their responsibility to protect. u.n. members agree that they should take responsibility for protecting people if a country lacks the intention or the ability to protect these people.

iraqi foreign minister hoshyar zebari said they need to rethink their approach to syria. >> the security council has to assess kofi annan's mission, whether it has succeeded or failed fr failed. accordingly they will take the next step, whether it's a new resolution, a new council statement, a road map. >> zebari said the u.n. security council will meet to agree on new resolutions and statements on the need for safe passages, safe havens, and no-fly zones to protect syrians. both the russians and the chinese have vetoed the security council, and they have used vetoes twice already. and the biggest task may be to persuade them to change course. >> thank you for your time. >> thank you very much.

the european central bank will keep the benchmark interest rate at 1%, a record low. the bank's policy makers decided to maintain the rate for a sixth straight month at a board meeting on wednesday at its headquarters in frankfurt, germany. it's faced with growing calls for new steps to counter declines in stock prices and the euro. values are sliding amid concerns over a new parliamentary election in greece, and the financial strength of spanish banks. after the meeting, ecb president mario draghi held a news conference and explained the background of the decision. >> economic growth in the euro area remains weak, with heightened insecurity weighing on confidence and sentiment, giving rise to increased downside risk to the economic outlook. >> the european debt crisis is now affecting commercial banks in germany. moody's investor service has cut its credit ratings on six german

financial institutions. the rating agency cites higher risks of a worsening inequality of the bank's assets. the downgrades include germany's second largest letter commerce bank. moody's says the risks of contagion from the eurozone crisis could dampen the economic outlook even more. they also noted that the banks have limited capacity to absorb losses out of their earnings. moody's said that compared with other european banks, the impact of the debt problems on german lenders has been minimized, but market watchers think the downgrades are largely due to the fact that german banks hold state bonds issued by ailing countries. another factor is the huge amounts lent to businesses outside germany. south korean president myung bak said his government will deal strictly by any provocations by north korea. he made the statement in response to threats from the

north. >> translator: we will punish any provocations in a strict manner. >> he went to the national cemetery and paid tribute to fallen soldiers, including those who died in the korean war. u.s. troops brought remains back to seoul last month. >> translator: finding other soldiers' remains in north korea would be the first priority if the two koreas are unified. >> north korean military leaders have been threatening to attack the government and media outlets in south korea. they blame their neighbors for carrying out the smear campaigns of kim jong-un. attacks are targeting security forces. patchari raksawong has the

details. bombings have hit kandahar. the twin attacks killed at least 23 people and wounded around 50. the explosions occurred shortly before wednesday noon in an area where vehicles belonging to u.s. and international security forces were parked. the first bomb was set off by a man on a motorcycle. people were gathering at the site following the explosion when another man carried a second bomb into the crowd and detonated it. local police say all of the dead and injured were civilians, including a truck driver. afghan president hamid karzai condemns the attacks, saying in a statement that a number of innocent civilians became victims. but the anti-government taliban militia released a statement saying the attacks targeted international forces, including u.s. troops, and denied any civilian casualties. the united nations said 579 civilians died in battles or terrorist attacks in afghanistan

between january and april. it says the number is lower than last year, but is still significant. pakistan is denouncing the united states' continued use of drone air strikes in the country. the complaint follows a u.s. attack in the country that killed al qaeda's second in command. the disagreement over drone strikes is driving a wedge into the already tense relationship between the two countries. we have our report from islamabad bad. >> reporter: the air threat was carried out on sunday. according to the pakistani government, 16 civilians were killed by unmanned aircraft in the country's north region. the pakistani government summoned the u.s. deputy ambassador on tuesday to protest the attack. pakistan claims that the action

was not only illegal, but also vi la violated the nation's sovereignty. jay carney said on tuesday that the u.s. drone strikes have been an effective means of attacking al qaeda. >> there is now no clear successor to take on the breadth of his responsibilities, and that puts additional pressure on al qaeda's post-bin laden leader, zawahiri. >> carney said libi's death is the harshest blow to the group since the killing of osama bin laden. drone strikes by the u.s. have caused civilian casualties in pakistan and fueling anti-u.s. sentiment among its people. but the air strikes are still

averaging one every two days during the past two weeks. pakistan's parliament is demanding an immediate halt to such actions. nhk world, islamabad. about 460 japanese companies halted production in the country when their facilities were affected. as this year's rating season has already begun, firms are taking steps to prevent a repeat of the disaster. n hrks kr nhk world has more. >> reporter: the industrial park is home to more than 140 japanese companies. they're continuing the efforts to recover. 70% have resumed operations. this old factory had water that

rose as high as 2 meters. >> translator: all i could do was watch. i was just waiting for the floodwater to recede. >> reporter: it returned to its pre-disaster state. it's now implementing measures to prepare itself for the future. they're now 2 meters above the floor. they started a new project in february. to build a flood wall around the perimeter. although, the project is scheduled to finish by late august. so far, only 15% of the wall has been built.

the project is causing unexpected problems for nearby farmers. they claim that water held back by the wall may raise the water level around the complex, possibly submerging their fields. >> translator: the wall will protect the factories, but do they have any plans to deal with water that might be diverted to rice paddies? >> reporter: in march, people living around the wall filed a lawsuit against the government demanding an injunction to stop the construction. >> translator: we want the government to clarify how it will compensate us in the event of floods. >> reporter: already in the middle of the rainy season, they're trying to find measures to win the support of both businesses and the local community.

nhk world. and that will conclude our bulletin. . japan's prince tomohito has died. he was 66. he was treated for cancer of the esophagus in 1991 and went on to have 16 further rounds of surgery before his death. surgeons removed a tumor from his throat in january this year, but tests showed the cancer had spread. the prince is survived by his wife princess nobody you could, and his two daughters. his body has been returned to his official residence in tokyo. prince tomohito, cousin of the current emperor, was born in 1946. nicknamed the bearded prince, he married princess nobody you could in 1980. he spent much of his life

campaigning for the disabled and supported cancer studies as head of the cancer research fund. but he himself battled cancer for many years and lost his voice following surgery in 2008. prince tomohito was also hospitalized several times for alcoholism and an irregular heartbeat. the prince traveled to miyagi prefecture in may of last year to encourage the survivors of the earthquake and tsunami. a fugitive evaded capture by just an hour. according to sources involved in the investigation, takahashi was working under a false name at a construction firm near tokyo. he had been living in a company dormitory since october 2011.

takahashi visited one day after another fugitive was arrested near the capital. the security camera captured takahashi urging a bank teller to quickly hand over the money in his account. he withdrew the equivalent of $30,000 from the bank. later in the day, takahashi called his employer saying he needed time off to visit an ill relative. he then packed up his belongings and left the dormitory in a hurry. he left behind a red backpack matching the one that he had been using at the bank. police are now expanding the search to hotels, stations and convenience stores nationwide. the new russian ambassador to japan said his country is ready for territorial talks. japan has long sought negotiations with its neighbor over four islands. the islands are controlled by russia. >> translator: we see the

territorial issue differently. if the talks are to go forward, neither side should impose preconditions. >> ambassador yevgeny afanasio said the two nations will be able to solve difficult problems only after improving bilateral relations over the territorial issue. the four islands kunashiri, etorofu, shikotan and hab oh mi are surrounded by abundant fishing waters. soviet forces took control of the islands soon after the end of world war ii. more than a year after the earthquake and tsunami, a young woman uses mango to tell the survivors' stories. in today's edition of "the road ahead," we'll meet her and find out why she's taken this road.

>> reporter: the author based the stories on actual conversations with survivors. she began posting the mango on the blog soon after the disaster so readers understood the victims' ordeal. >> mom? someone? anyone? please help me. my mother's down here. >> reporter: ishizawa's blog caused a sensation. she published a book. an english version followed so people around the world knew about the tragedy. ishizawa volunteered to clean up a hard-hit town. she spoke with disaster survivors about what they feel and about their future.

>> translator: i thought about what i could do to stop people forgetting about what happened in tohoku. i decided to draw a manga that tells the story of each victim. >> reporter: she wrote "hometown, field of cole." it's about a man who clears debris along the riverside to plant cole flowers. he wants the blossoms to encourage people not to give up. >> translator: i'm not doing anything extraordinary, but if i can clean up this whole place, i hope i can get everyone to smile again. if a town is covered by pretty cole flowers, smiles would return to people's faces. >> reporter: ishizawa returned to otsuchi on may 11th.

the area overflowed with color. after hearing about the man's passion, locals and volunteers helped plant the flowers. >> translator: how are you? you look well. >> reporter: once again, ishizawa found the man. his name is bunzo kaneyama. >> translator: the flowers are a symbol of everyone's love and cooperation. one day a field of cole. >> translator: the dream came true. >> translator: yes, if we wish hard enough, dreams do come true. >> reporter: the field of

flowers became a place where survivors heal. after returning to tokyo, ishizawa put together another story about kaneyama's field of flowers. ishizawa says she feels for the people waiting for the recovery. >> translator: one year isn't enough time. i want to tell my readers that the recovery efforts are going much slower than we imagined, and it will take longer. >> reporter: people should never forget the disaster. nor let it defeat them. ishizawa hopes to continue telling her inspiring stories about the survivors' recovery and hope. for an update on the weather forecast, here's mai shoji. mai?

>> hi. we've been monitoring a typhoon quickly moving away from land masses which is good news. you can see a clear spiral here, very close to the isobars. the winds are strong and affecting the pacific coast with high waves. it could reach as much as 3 to 4 meters in the coastal areas. there is still a storm warning posted out in the pacific ocean. not a great idea to take your boat out there. high pressure will be dominating much of the rest of the country and korean peninsula. we'll be seeing sunny weather and much calmer and drier conditions. but very different story here in southeastern china. we have a seasonal front lingering there for the next several days. it could pack -- accumulate rainfall amounts as much as 100 millimeters in places like shunji province. not great news here, because the ground is already very well

saturated. further flooding is going to be at very high risk. also, all these ongoing heavy rain enhanced by the southwestern monsoon are flowing into the peninsula and the philippines. it will up the risk of further flooding there as well. temperatures down in the tropics, in the 30s. here in beijing as well, reaching up to 32 degrees. we're looking at tokyo at 25 degrees. now, if you can remember that rain band is going to be stretching all the way to japan early friday. so our weekend ahead is looking like a very rainy weekend. let's enjoy that sunny weather on our thursday while we can. moving over to the americas now, well, we have a very late winter storm moving over to the southwestern canadian regions, bringing gusty conditions and some slushy snow in the canadian rockies. yes, it's june, but still, we're going to be seeing the white stuff piling up, maybe a couple

of centimeters. it will be melting down in the daytime, but we have a cold front that is sweeping all the way down. this is what's happening, the jet stream is bringing all these cold temperatures down towards the four corners, and then towards the eastern side much cooler temperature here. so the two air masses colliding here with the heat, moving all the way from the gulf coast, this is where we may see severe activity. we had reports of tornado touchdowns in the u.s./canadian border and right around this region yesterday. that's going to be moving here. so here, tornadoes could not be ruled out. severe thunderstorms could be seen there as well on your wednesday. also, keeping things pretty nasty here in the southern gulf states, because of that jet stream and the heat clashing here as well. so thunderstorms could pop up here in oklahoma city. 32 degrees temperaturewise.

moving over to europe now, things are going to be messy here. and then also in the british isles as well. we have a couple of frontal systems moving into that area, especially a second one that is going to be a potent one bringing thunderstorm activity there. temperaturewise, finally in the balkans, you'll be seeing some clear skies. keeping a cooler side in london at 17 degrees. here's your extended forecast.

we'll be back with more news in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

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