welcome to nhk world "newsline." naval defense crews from japan, the u.s. and australia are working together to prepare for one of the world's most dangerous natural disasters. they've held their first joint tsunami drill off hawaii aimed at saving lives should the monster waves strike. it's part of a u.s.-led multinational exercise. soldiers posed as civilians who had been swept away by a tsunami. divers from the three countries then took to the water and worked together to carry out a search operation. they used a boat to transfer the survivors to a japanese

self-defense forces vessel. they provided first aid which included the use of oxygen masks. the drill is part of the rim xef exercise pacific exercise which happens every two years. rimpac began in 1971. the united states have been recently placing importance on humanitarian aid and disaster relief to encourage more nations to take part. a record 22 countries are participating this year. new additions include russia and india. china wasn't invited. analysts say the u.s. intends to use rimpac as one way to keep china's activities in the asia-pacific region in check. japan and u.s. forces are also preparing against a large-scale disaster that experts say could hit tokyo at any time. mitsuko nishikawa tells us more. >> reporter: this is what tokyo would look like if it was hit directly by a massive earthquake.

>> reporter: it's the kind of situation today's joint drill was meant to address. the 5,000 participants focused on improving coordination during disaster relief operations. based upon a scenario, the officials check the extent of damage and the number of casualties to the devised set of priorities. japan's self-defense forces have been conducting similar drills regularly since 2006. today is the first time they are joined by counterparts from the u.s. military. >> there's some air reconnaissance conducting right now over the tokyo bay. >> reporter: some 100,000 japanese troops were mobilized during last year's disaster. the united states contributed 16,000 soldiers to provide

assistance under the banner of "operation tomodachi" meaning friend in japanese. japanese and u.s. troops who work together after last year's quake and tsunami faced several challenges. one of them was determining when and where to deploy the right type of units. participants say they've learned a lot from last year's relief efforts. >> so lessons learned, you talk about communications. getting accurate account of what may be required or needed. that type of thing. and taking that experience of what was learned and trying to incorporate it in this current exercise. >> translator: we are simulating how to conduct swift coordination at a real site. we want to check the order of our work to get ready for a possible disaster. >> reporter: japanese and american officers say today's

drill was a good opportunity to understand their respective roles in the event of another major disaster. the presence of american soldiers in japan is a regular source of friction with the communities that host military bases. u.s. officials are eager to show that they are also capable of saving lives. mitsuko nishikawa, nhk world. fighting in the syrian capital is intensifying. opposition forces are battling against government soldiers for control of damascus. their 16-month-long campaign to topple president bashar al assad is rung on momentum gained wednesday after an explosion killed three senior figures, including assad's brother-in-law. but anti-government activists in damascus said the clashes in the capital continued overnight wednesday and into thursday. the activist says government forces are using artillery and

helicopters and they might be poised to launch a full-scale retaliatory attack. >> anti-government forces say more than 180 people died across the country on wednesday alone. they say an attack on a funeral outside damascus killed about 60. some reports say armed militia groups loyal to president assad have been going after residents. members of the u.n. security council will be meeting soon to try to find some common ground on the syria issue. they are voting on a new restlugs impose sanctions on the assad regime. syria's key allies are expected to block the action. the united states and

britain proposed the draft resolution. it calls for a 45-day extension of a u.n. cease-fire observers mission. their term expires on friday. the resolution also calls for nonmilitary sanctions if the assad administration refuses to stop using heavy weapons within ten days. the leaders of russia and china are opposed to the sanctions. their delegations are expected to use the veto powers. if the resolution is voted down, the u.n. observers will have to leave syria on saturday. western countries are considering an alternative resolution to extend the mission. china aims to forge a stronger partnership with african nations. chinese president hu jintao made a loan pledge over the next three years on the opening day of a two-day china/africa meeting in beijing. >> translator: china will

provide $20 billion to african countries. especially to support infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises. >> representatives of more than 50 african countries are taking part in the summit to discuss cooperation between china and the african continent. the summit has been held every three years since 2000. at the conference, hu also announced a plan to train 30,000 experts in farming technologies in africa and to send 1500 health care professionals to various parts of africa. chinese officials say total trade with africa last year came to around $166 billion. that's roughly 16 times the level shown in the year 2000. critics say china aims to have a stronger presence in africa in order to gain better deals for africa's natural resources. japanese government ministers have approved a hike in home electricity charges

requested by tokyo electric power company. households will bear an increase of more than 8%. industry minister yukio edano and other cab nelt ministers met on thursday to decide on the higher rates. power utilities must get government approval before they can raise home charges. the hike was settled at 8.47%. tepco originally wanted an increase of over 10% as it has been struggling with higher costs of fuel like natural gas that it needs for thermal power generation. almost all nuchlor power plants across japan are currently offline in the wake of the accident at the fukushima daiichi plant in march last year. the ministers decided to cut the annual income of tepco managers by more than 30% from the predisaster level. the government is set to have a majority stake in the utility allowing it to make key managerial decisions. they also decided on ways to cut budgets for equipment by having

competitive bids more often. edano is expected to instruct tepco to revise its request to raise power charges based on new guidelines agreed by the ministers. if everything goes smoothly, the government will give its approval to increase the power charges. they will become effective on september 1st. tepco will be thrown into a tough spot as the increases in electricity charges are below what it requested. tepco and the state-backed nuclear accident compensation fund developed a comprehensive plan in may to turn around the, tilt's business. the plan calls for an injection of public funds benefit $13 billion and a hike in electricity rates over 10%. the funds would help tepco ensure a stable power supply, compensate people suffering from the fukushima daiichi accident and decommission the reactors there. the plan also includes repayment of the public funds. based on the hike that is below target, not only for households

but also corporate users. the utility would lose about $1 billion in expected annual revenues. that would make it difficult to turn around the company in the near future. here are the latest market figures. a year has passed since

south sudan gained its independence becoming the world's youngest nation. its people are hopeful about their future. but they are still facing many challenges. nhk world's yuko bayashi has this story. ♪ >> reporter: south sudanese celebrated their nation's first independence day. the president pledged that the government would work with citizens to build a strong nation. >> we must know that freedom is not an end in itself, but a means to aspirations for liberty, justice and prosperity. >> reporter: the influx of foreign aid is spurring infrastructure projects throughout the country. even in areas devastated by years of civil war. but the construction boom has

caused a labor short aage. workers from neighboring nations like kenya and uganda. >> i've got the experience, the skills, so at least i have people to teach here. these kind of skills in kenya, people very many aren't needed there, but this country needs it. >> reporter: political instability has left many south sudanese without basic education. a lack of work experience is preventing them from competing with those from other countries. that's why many people in south sudan now struggle to earn a living. the landlocked country also stopped producing crude oil in january. it's at odds with neighboring sudan over the distribution of oil revenue as the pipelines run through both territories.

>> it's affect iing -- >> reporter: oil was primary source of income for south sudan. now the country can no longer afford to supply the necessary commodity commodities. james clement is 30 years old. he returned from sudan five months ago to live with his family in his home country. he now has to support eight other family members and is worried about rising prices. the cost of daily necessities has doubled or even tripled at his local grocery store. all he has left at home is a stash of corn flour.

>> this is for three or five days we can eat from it. when we get a job, we can get money and buy the other food. >> reporter: he has been looking for work for five months but hasn't had any luck. >> but thousands of sudans left my country. i cannot leave my country. >> reporter: like james, many have returned to south sudan since it became independent last year. but few have succeeded in finding a way to get by in what is now their own country. egypt's new islamist president has met with 00 palestinian counterpart for the first time.

people are waiting to find out mohamed morsi's policies on regional issues. morsi hosted mahmoud abbas in cairo for their first summit. he became egypt's first democ t democratically elected president last month. many experts believe morsi will be more supportive of the palestinians than was hosni mubarak. the ousted president favored relations with the united states and israel. >> translator: president morsi has promised that egypt will play an important role in solving the palestinian issue. >> abbas wants egypt to pay more attention to the needs of the palestinians and lend a hand in mediating future peace talks with israel. a nazi war criminal will soon face justice for crimes against humanity. prosecutors in budapest detained the 97-year-old hungarian national. laszlo csatary is accused of

sending thousands of jews to nazi death camps during world war ii. the simon wisenthal center hunts down nazi war criminals. it says csatary was their most wanted. a british newspaper report heed was living in budapest. he helped deport around 16,000 jews to the auschwitz death camp in poland. he was a police chief of the nazi occupied down at the time. he denied charges saying he was only following charges. the country revoked his citizenship in 1997 and his whereabouts had been unknown. workers set fire to a suzuki car factory in northern india on wednesday night. the blaze killed one person and injured 90 others. the japanese firm's indian subsidiary maruti suzuki runs the manisar plant in haniana

state. the company says plan officials were meet with union members when workers turned violent. it said workers assaulted officials and guards and set fire to the office. the trouble's cause is not yet clear. the plant began operating in 2006. it's the second largest suzuki factory in india. suzuki says plant workers staged strikes between june and october last year demanding a new labor union. the maker says the output dropped by 85,000 units during that period. indonesia's foreign minister is on a bridge-building tour of southeast asia. he's trying to get asean neighbors to mend divisions that emerged last week over maritime disputes with china. nhk world's pinchanda reports from phnom penh. >> reporter: the meetings ended last friday without a joint communique. on one side of the disagreement

with the philippines and vietnam, two countries in dispute with china over the south china sea. on the other side was cambodia whose top financial supporter is china. it was the first time in asean's 45-year history that the group failed to issue a joint communique. indonesian foreign minister martin is on a quick sweep of the three asean members involved. on thursday, he held meetings in cambodia after visiting the philippines and vietnam on wednesday. cambod cambodia's foreign minister says his government may agree to a joint communique as soon as friday after consulting with other asean members. >> translator: we should maintain our common views and the unity of asean on the south

china sea issue. >> i sense a strong determination to move forward and not to turn back. >> reporter: indonesia feels a sense of crisis about the state of relations among asean members. it's taking a role as mediator in order to keep the group united. asean has the goal of establishing an economic community by 2015. this episode rises concerns about a group's sense of common purpose. phin chanda, nhk world, phnom penh. if you lived on this planet for the past decade, of course you know all about youtube. after all, it's the world's number one video sharing site.

but you might not know that youtube is actually facing challenges. and i'm talking about this site right here. this platform offers a home for music videos, animation, short films and clips about nature and i've been looking at this piece by a gentleman named lundgren totaled atom boy. has nothing to do with that animation atom boy. the graphics are quite amazing and this could be a creator's dream for a global debut, of course, on the world wide web. quite amazing video there by lu lundgren. the producers say it's not only different but better. and that its advanced features are helping them attract a following of young artists. nhk world yudan franco shows us why. >> reporter: nature in vivid close-up. cutting edge computer generated animation and short movies. these are the kind of high resolution images you can watch

online thanks to up to the minute media sharing website. this particular site vimeo, has been growing rapidly and has become especially popular with the young creative types. last month, crowds gathered for vimeo event in new york. they got to see and hear some of the people making award-winning videos and to find out more about making the best videos possible. >> i like vimeo much better. it's so much cooler. the environment is cool, too. >> people that make these videos put a lot of time and energy into it. it's great to see that creative process. >> reporter: one reason for vimeo's popularity is that it allows people to share videos produced in high definition format. the website is equipped with state of the art i.t. technology. people can upload a certain

amount of videos free of charge. there is a fee for uploading further content. even so, the number of people signing up for this service has tripled in the past two years. >> the line between amateur and a professional is blurring because of that kind of quality difference. and so more people are able to express themselves and it looks much better. >> reporter: new yorker is one of these new generation of online moviemakers. he uploads music videos on vimeo. for him, this is the first step towards becoming a professional director. using his $1800 high resolution camera, he is now planning his next project. laramie is hoping that one day his work may catch the attention of an industry insider and get his big break as a filmmaker. >> my goal is to become a

director. right now we're working mostly in music videos. hopefully everything -- everything is going to work well and we'll be able to do the films we want to do. >> reporter: thanks to video sharing websites like this, would-be moviemakers can reach new audiences. widad franco, nhk world, new york. for an update on the weather forecast, here's mai shoji. >> we had a very sizzling hot day today here in metropolitan tokyo. for the first time this season, the temperatures rose above 35 degrees. we call that extreme heat temperature. tokyo at 35 degrees, and, in fact, it reached up to 37 degrees. nagoya reaching up to 36 and aommori, the northern tip, 25 degrees. fukushima, 33. so really looking at a lot of 30s in this picture. but tomorrow, things are going

to be much cooler. we have a high pressure system lingering over northern japan and just ridge of that we're going to be seeing those northerly flows. so cooling down those temperatures in the eastern half of northern japan. the temperatures are going to be shaping up like this. all in the 20s. tokyo down to 26 degrees. finally we're going to be having a good rest overnight tonight. and on friday, however, the temperatures dropping about 10 degrees in most of these regions. well, that's going to be very tough for our bodies to cope with. so let's be precautious with that. all right. moving over to the americas now, this is what's happening here. cold front will be stretching all the way down and descending towards the southeast portions where drought conditions are severe. relief for that with the rain but short time heavy rain could be very dangerous, especially across the ohio river valley. today this is where the severe weather could erupt, including severe thunderstorms and gusty

withins as well as large hail. but take a look at this. this is the record-breaking drought conditions we've been talking about. it's an ongoing situation. and as mentioned, the short time heavy rain could be possible. around this region in the south of the great lakes, the ohio river valley. so really, upping the risk of flash flooding there. and then across the arklatex region, things are going to be ongoing and you're not going to be seeing rain throughout the weekend or there are so chances of precipitation. across the four corners, actually you'll be seeing a lot of showers with those monsoonal flow from that southerly direction. and severe thunderstorms could erupt. so frequent lightning, though, that would trigger and start new wildfires. there's a lot of things to be watching out for across this continent. winnipeg reaching up to 33 degrees. take a look at that. 40 degrees in oklahoma city. new york, 31. so that's a little bit of a

relief from the extreme heat due to the cold front moving in. all right. let's take a look at the european continent. still in greece, things are really hot. take a look at this video. people in greece smelled smoke on wednesday as the wildfire raged just outside the city. the fire broke out in the morning and quickly spread across forested areas. 120 firefighters accompanied by ten aircraft fought off the blaze. there are no injuries -- reports of injuries or damaged buildings as of now, but wildfires in greece are common during the summer months but these dry conditions could trigger more. greece is going to be looking at dry conditions yet again. across much of the northern half, some severe thunderstorms could erupt so do watch out for that. temperatures soaring in the 40s here in marrakesch. here's your extended forecast.

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