welcome to "newsline." it's friday, august 3rd. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. kofi annan took on the job of u.n. arab league envoy to syria nearly six months ago. at the time he called stopping the fighting in the country a very difficult assignment. while that assignment proved too difficult. anan is resigning when his term expires at the end of this month. >> i do not intend to continue my mission when my mandate expires at the end of august. >> the former u.n. secretary-general made the

announcement on thursday in geneva. he condemned the government of syrian president al-assad. annan also criticized the u.n. security council for being locked in a standoff with russia and china on one side and western nations on the other. >> at a time when we need, when the syrian people desperately need action, there continues to be finger-pointing and name calling in the security council. >> annan took on his role last february. since then he worked to resolve the syrian crisis by mediating between the assad administration and members of the antigovernment opposition. u.n. secretary-general moon says he accepted annan's resignation with great regreat and will start looking for a possible successor. united nations supporters are saying the r nation's ability to feed itself is compromised. the aggregate sector is in

trouble and people will likely need food aid in the next 12 months. representatives of the u.n. world food programme and food and agriculture organization assess the situation with members of syria's ministry offing a can i actual your and agrerian reform. the report says the worsening conflict sent farmers fleeing to safety and destroyed farm land. it has affected wheat and vegetable harvest along with live stock operations. the report estimates that agricultural sector lost $1.8 billion this year. it says people who have fled fighting in cities and households headed by women are having difficulties security food. the agencies are calling for international aid, including monetary help. fao representatives says the livelihood of vulnerable people will collapse in a few months if timely assist suns not provided. japanese prime minister noda reiterated that the government will not allow the u.s. military

to fly its osprey transport aircraft in japan until its safety is assured. the u.s. side also made a similar pledge. noda made the statement in a meeting with mayors from okinawa prefecture pep was replying to their demands. the municipal heads requested the prime minister urged the u.s. to stop deployment of the controversial tilt rotor transporters to the u.s. marine corps stemma air station in their prefecture. they say an increasing number of okinawa resident are voicing opposition to the high-handed approach adopted by the japanese and u.s. governments. the u.s. military recently transported the aircraft to the u.s. marine corps air station in yamaguchi prefecture in western japan. the mayor asked noda it scrap the plan to relocation the functions of the stemma base to nagu city also in okinawa. >> translator: we want the central government to take our

request seriously. and negotiate with the u.s. in a determined way. >> the prime minister said he will discuss the matter with the u.s., taking the mayor's position into consideration. >> torrential rains brought by severe tropical storm battered taiwan. at least five people died in the deluge that forced thousands of residents to evacuate. taiwan weather bureau said they made land fall in the east, veered north and hovered over the east coast of the island later in the day. in some areas, more than 1700 millimeters of rain has fallen since tuesday. the downpours inundated houses and vehicles and disrupted road transportation. taiwan's disaster prevention authorities say mud slides and flooding left at least five people dead, 16 others injured and two unaccounted for. the authorities have ordered 6,600 people to evacuate their

homes for fear of possible mud slides. at the international airport in suburban taipei, a boarding bridge collapsed in the strong gusts. dozens of flights were cancelled across the island. our weather team has been tracking the storm for us and will bring you the latest information later in the program. last week's opening ceremony for the london olympics fae tired the history of british pop music. former beatle paul mccartney was one of the artist who performed at the july 27th event. the tunes played during the ceremony hit store shelves on britain, or rather in britain, on thursday, and is proving to be quite popular. from the beatles to disney. all about celebrating british

music culture and now the albums are seeing the sales rocket. the compilation album has been available with an on-line download since a day after the ceremony. it topped the charts, not just in britain, but also in france, belgium and spain. people were seen buying the cd at a store in the heart of london soon after it went on sale. >> i watched it on friday night, openinger is menny. i thought the music was fantastic. i thought i would come down here. i was going to wait for a few days, but i wanted the album as well, so i came down this morning to get it. >> it is currently the best selling album overall. but we think that new that the cd is out and with strong sales over the weekend, it will challenge to be the best selling cd of this week. a lot of people are buying it, not just uk residents, but tourists who want a souvenir of this wonderful experience.

>> other albums containing tracks played at the ceremony are also selling well. sales of the 1973 blockbuster, tub u lar bells, rose more than seven-fold. he also said he is looking forward to the closing ceremonies for the music it will feature. nhk world, london. >> the european central bank said it will maintain its benchmark interest rate. the bank's policymakers decided to keep the interest rate at a record low of 0.75%. the ecb had cut the rate at its monthly meeting in july to support the region's ailing economy. the deposit rate will also be maintained at 0%. ecb president mario draghi said at a press conference at the interest rate announcement that the bank is ready to make outright open market purchases to stabilize eurozone borrowing costs. the greek people are

struggling to cope with harsh austerity measures. life in greece may soon become even more difficult. the greek government has agreed to further budget cuts. the country needs to sharply reduce spending to obtain more money from its creditors. greece will have to find additional savings of 11.5 billion euros, or over $14 billion. the european union and other international bodies will provide bailout funds in return. the three coalition parties discussed the deadline for making the cuts. the leaders of two of the parties demanded a two-year extension. they blame the current austerity policy for the shrinking economy and job losses. but conservative prime minister antonis samaras persuaded them to accept further reductions. he insists that greece needs to take drastic action to remain in the eurozone. the details of the cuts will be announced around the end of august. more state-owned corporations will be privatized. pensions will be lowered. the greek people are expected to strongly oppose the new

measures. the people at toyota motors plan to roll out more automobiles than in its history. they will produce more than 10 million units by the end of 2012. the group includes daihatsu motor and hino motors. the figure will be more than 2 million higher than last year's production of 7.8 million units. toyota increased its assembly in the first half of the year. the company predicts brisk sales of its vehicles will continue, mainly in north america and emerging economies. we've been looking at emerging asian economies all week on

"newsline." today we focus on vietnam. political leaders in vietnam are struggling with inflation and slow down on economic growth. leaders have set the nation on a path of economic development. they've seen a modest trade surplus in july and enjoy a cheap pool of labor. now they are forging ahead with negotiations on regional trade under the proposed trans pacific partnership agreement, the tpp. earlier, gene otani talked with nhk world senior commentator to get more insight into vietnam's economy. vietnam thrived on trade throughout its history. now it is at a major turning point. how would you tell us the state of the market is now. >> with open doors policies with be and the collective leadership

of the communist elite, this reform helped the nation achieve a high rate over the past decade. the vietnamese economy has been growing over those years. but this year, the figure is a projected to dip below 6%. >> what's behind the slow down? >> for sure it will grow strong, but aside from that, vaet meez need to transform its industrial structure. being associate states, vietnam is being affected by the downturn just like most other countries. so that means that vietnam can no longer afford to simply rely on its cheap labor pool and growing population. >> so what specifically needs to be changed now that vietnam is at such a point. its domestic industry needs to

be reinforced. rice and seafood exports are in international rate, but except for those primary product and there were hardly any competitive products except textiles. they are basing a challenge to force industries of high added value. even though vietnam's economic growth rate has been high, it's industries were not built on a solid foundation. and that makes the country vulnerable to rising inflation as we see in other emerging economies. >> you talk about some of the domestic stuff. now, what about relations with other countries? >> vietnam has been in lifting international standards. vietnam's active participation in tpp negotiation shows a

desire to reduce its dependence on giant neighbor, china. expectations are high among vietnamese business people for the tpp potential benefits. >> new zealand land is wonderful. and so it will open the trade air to many can country and so more country can benefit. >> why is vietnam focusing so much on external trade? >> that has to do with programs facing countries around the world that vietnamese can see that the economies know free economies doing well on these days. >> plan economy collapse but own hundred percent market, economy like u.s. and in year 2008, oil crisis, it

been open, free, free market hundred percent. also some problem. and you need some control from the government. but not all at one government. now wrs controlled by many governments. >> how do you see vietnam evolving from here? >> addressing a number of economic woes. they are reform willing state run enterprises regarding actions. whether we see vietnam trade in taking big stride forward, and peaceful corporation with neighbors is something we need to watch. nhk's senior commentator on asian affairs. now let's take a look the a the market figures.

the high court will old a retrial for man who had been serving a life sentence. he is in prison for 1997 murder before the discovery new evidence one for his release under june. the new trial of mainali was confirmed after prosecutors said on thursday they will not file a special appeal against it. prosecutors had already launched one pale against the new hearing but the tokyo high court on tuesday rejected their claims. the retrial can be held without

the presence of mainali, who is now in nepal. he is likely to be acquitted. japan death row or life convicts have had nonguilty verdicts. they admit they have no reason for a special appeal but continue to argue that mainali is guilty. a japanese woman was found robbed and strangled in a tokyo apartment but he won his case in june based on new dna efd. the tokyo high court granted him a retrial and he returned to nepal later that month. he said in a statement he is very happy and expects the decision ton appeal his trial will help close the case quickly. he added that he expects justice will be served as soon as possible. tb calls to mind a disease from the past that killed tens of thousands of people.

but tb is still the number one contagious disease in developing can countries. the world health organization says some 8.8 million new patient were diagnosed last year and that 1.4 million of them died. 80% of the patient were found in 22 countries. the situation in regions such as southern africa and asia is especially serious. japan succeeded in keeping tb under control. thanks to a nationwide campaign dating back to the 1950s. the country's experts decided to develop a training course half a century ago to share their knowledge. nhk world reports. >> reporter: delegates from countries with a high prevalence of tb discussed the current situation in a symposium in tokyo. participants from indonesia and uganda reported that thousands of young people who make up critical work forces are killed

every year by tb. >> we must strengthen our ability to treat all cases. >> reporter: the tb research institute in tokyo holds an annual three-month course for doctors. public health experts from around the world come to learn how it's brought tb-related deaths down from pandemic levels to almost zero. doctors from 14 countries participated this year. some 2,000 physicians from 97 countries have completed the course. among them is this man, from zimbabwe. his country has one of the

highest tb infection rates in the world. the number of patients has increased sixfold in 20 years. and hiv infection doubles the risk of contracting tb. hiv's prevalence in the country is the reason behind the spread of the disease. >> the way to use data, analyzing data, identification of problems, that is major, major thing that we are here to learn. >> reporter: he took part in a lecture focusing on tb countermeasures in poor communities. most developing countries like zimbabwe are desperately short of doctors. so many countries recruit and train basic health care workers in communities to monitor tb patients in their homes.

they make sure medicine is properly taken until the patients are fully cured. he and his peers discuss how they can help community workers do a better job. >> financial stability is crucial -- >> especially in low-income cities. >> even more here than at a patient's house. >> but maybe they will put money in the pocket and do nothing -- >> reporter: he says he learned about how physicians in other nations deal. he says this information will help him draw up anti-tb programs to prevent transmission from neighboring countries.

he says he's developed bonds with his colleagues facing similar challenges. he says he'll call on them for advice in the future. >> i am hopeful. things are looking up. and with more support, not just from in-country, but the region and international partners, i think we can make significant strides in reducing tb. >> reporter: participants will finish the course on friday. they're vowing to continue the fight against tb with a renewed sense of urgency. coverage "war to peace, lessons of 1945" starting august 6th. rachel furgason joins us now with the world weather forecast. rachel, we have seen pictures of people in taiwan dealing with

heavy rain and strong gust due it a powerful storm. what's the latest? >> just hovering around taiwan for the last several days, earlier in the week it brought intense flood together northern part of the philippines and also affecting, of course, taiwan. southern parts of okinawa and the southeastern coast of china over the last several days because it's been moving extremely slowly. we've had just incredible rain fall totals, mountainous regions of northeastern taiwan acoucordg to the meteorlogical, 1.2 meters of rain in the last few days. it has been raining there since monday. we can add on to the totals in the next 24 hours. too we will see additional rain fall here. the good news that i can tell you is that the storm started to pick up the pace. it also weakoned off to a tropical storm. it was a typhoon, a strong

typhoon. it is about to make land fall. unfortunately 245 means that the rain will spread into somewhere else. it's got to go somewhere. we can see additional totals of up to 200 millimeters of rain. still a potent storm system. and it's not the only one we have in the region. you remember damrey. damrey came very tip to the kyushu on wednesday. it became a typhoon after making land fall recently. it has been a severe tropical storm once again. by the evening, it should be a tropical depression. now situated in southern shan dong near the province and looks like it'll head up towards the north. so seeing that heavy rain spread up towards northeastern china, it is also going to be prompting some very heavy rain across

northwestern parts of north korea and that's another area that's been experiencing flooding over the last several weeks. unfortunately, there is going to be more heavy rain coming in here. i should point out another tropical system here, a depression that formed just east of the island. this is the same area that damrey formed, just at the beginning of the week. so we will be watching this one for signs of intensification and to see which track it will take. temperature wise very hot in inland china. 35 is the figure we are looking for in seoul on friday. and so 33 in tokyo. much of japan is under a strong high pressure system. we will see a few pop up thunderstorms but generally pretty hot throughout much of the country. okay, into you're europe we go. out east, clear and calm. storms around the black sea region. hot in the southeast. then we have a front moving through central europe.

this one will be producing heavy rain to the north and to the south of the front. so parts of norway as well as hungary, you will see intense rain fall and strong winds for the coast of poland. as we head into the british isles. a when over the atlantic, that will send in periods of heavy rain. but is it going to be affecting the olympics? well take a look at your olympic weather over the next three days. everything is looking pretty steady. low 20s, few showers, nothing dryer. nothing too dramatic for you weatherwise. we hope you the event will bring you the weather you need. here is your extended forecast.

edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.