welcome to nhk world "newsline." u.s. president barack obama is starting his day off sifting through a mixed bag of financial data and trying to figure out how it will affect his re-election campaign heading into the fall. the latest employment data is out. the jobless rate inched up to 8.3% last month. it's been stuck around the 8% level for the last few months. the brighter spot involves nonfarm payroll. u.s. labor department analysts say employers added 163,000 jobs, mainly by gains in the manufacturing sector. that's approximately 60,000 more than economists had forecasted.

japanese prime minister yoshihiko noda is gearing up for a fight stay in power. seven opposition parties are joining forces to submit a no-confidence motion against him. they are trying to block passage of a bill to raise the consumption tax. your party, communist and social democratic party leaders met friday and invited four other parties to co-sponsor the no-confidence motion. they intend to submit it before the upper house takes a vote on the consumption tax bill. noda's ruling party pushed the legislation through the lower house late last month. political heavyweight ichir ichiro ozawa left the dpj and formed his own party. prime minister noda has staked his career on raising the consumption tax. he's vowing to stand his ground. >> translator: if the motion is submitted, we will do our best to defeat it.

>> analysts say it will be difficult to pass a no-confidence motion without the backing of the two main opposition parties. the liberal democratic party and new komeito have so far cooperated with the prime minister and his party. but they are threat toeng change their stance in f the government doesn't hold the consumption tax bill next week. kofi annan says he can't want peace more than the people fighting in syria or on the united nations security council. he's resigning as the u.n. arab league envoy to the country at the end of this month. he spent half a year in the job but his ceasefire plan went nowhere as did his attempts to unite world powers. the former u.n. secretary-general made the announcement on thursday in geneva and condemned the government of syrian president bashar al assad and also criticized the security council for being locked in a standoff with china and russia on one side and western nations on the other.

>> at the 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's worked to resolve of the syrian crisis by mediating between the assad administration and members of the anti-government opposition. u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon accepted annan's resignation with deep regret and will start looking for a possible successor. the united states and russia blamed each other for annan's resignation. u.s. ambassador to the united nations susan rice said some members blocked the actions and caused annan's mission to fail. russia and china vetoed resolutions against syria three times. russia's ambassador to the u.n. renewed his criticism of the u.s. and the council's european members. >> some members of the council

continue their routine of the past 15 months, the government fighting against the population, using force against its population. this is just a propaganda line. >> but the violence seems far from reaching its conclusion. syrian opposition forces have added some of the assad regime's heavy weaponry to their arsenal. they've captured a tank and turned it against government troops in oleppo. a uk-based human rights group says the free syrian army used the tank to attack an army base near the city. opposition forces have been operating with fewer weapons than the well-armed government troops. but they seem to be bolstering their firepower. neighboring countries appear to be sending them arms and funds. elsewhere in syria, government troops and pro-assad militiamen are on the attack. they targeted a village in the capital damascus killing more than 40 people. the latest attempt to get

talks on iran's nuclear program moving again has failed to make any progress. the chief negotiators for iran and the european union say they were unable to narrow their differences. iran's chief nuclear negotiator sayeed jalilly spoke over the afternoon with eu chief katherine ashton. a statement said the two sides will talk again at the end of the month. in june, iran and the western powers, the united states, britain, france and germany joined by russia and china held a third meeting in moscow. experts from both sides have been holding technical discussions to clarify the details of iran's nuclear program. the western countries demanded that iran stop working to enrich uranium to 20% fissile purity. iran refused saying its program is for peaceful purposes only. egypt's first democratically elected president is reflecting the strong influence of the new military in his government.

mohamed morsi has given members of the armed forces a voice in his cabinet. he sporm in the prime minister and 34 other members of his cabinet. he kept the head of the supreme koum of the armed forces muhammad hossein tantawi as defense minister. morsi took office in june. his muslim brotherhood faced off against the military during the presidential election campaign. he gave four members of the brotherhood cabinet posts. prime minister khan dill says rebuilding the economy and restoring security are the priorities for the newly appo t appointed ministers. >> translator: the success of this government is a success for all of us. we are a people's government. we only represent the egyptian people and not a specific group. >> analysts are watching to see if morsi will be able to implement his policy while the military continues to exert strong influence. japan's toyota motor has reported brisk earnings in the april to june quarter. group operating profit topped

, in contrast with a year that's in sharp contrast to a year earlier when the carmaker posted losses totalling more than $1 billion due to the yen strength and the march disaster. sales came to $70.5 billion, up about 60% from a year earlier when calculated in yen. also, toyota's parent company's earnings showed a profit for the first time since the financial crisis that followed the collapse of lehman brothers that's owing to the ecocar subsidy program and brisk car sales in asia. they plan to exceed 10 million units for the first time. despite the strong latest quarter, a toyota executive was guarded about the outlook. >> translator: various risks lie ahead, including a strong yen. so at this moment, we can't help

to be cautious on our outlook. >> the company plans to intensify cost-cutting efforts in order to overcome these difficulties. let's take a look at the latest market figures. much of the work to help people in japan's northeast recover from last year's disaster has focused on urgent needs. housing, employment and infrastructure, for example. but the little things matter, too. a man from tokyo understood that

after spending time in one hard-hit city. so he focused on creating a space where locals can gather and forget about their troubles. at least for a short while. nhk world's yoshiko nokata has the story. >> reporter: few things say summer quite like this. kids splashing around in the pool cooling off and having fun. this pool is located inside a park that just opened in the city of minamisomo. he is the main reason all of this is here. >> translator: i'm glad to see children playing like this. >> reporter: arita operates a restaurant chain in tokyo. on march 11th, he couldn't believe what he saw on tv. he wanted to help people in the northeast.

so he rushed there the next day with 100 bottles of drinking water. >> there was little information at the beginning of the disaster. all i could do was bring aid supplies or cook meals for the victims. >> reporter: arita set up a volunteer group. he devoted most of his weekends over the past 17 months to helping regions in need. then he started to worry about how children were coping with the aftermath of the disaster. the southern most part of minumisomo is just ten kilometers from fukushima daiichi. he found out parents in the city had been keeping their kids indoors because of the fears of radiation exposure. he decided to give some of the kids a break. he praut them to a swimming pool

in tokyo last august. >> translator: they were really excited. i wanted to provide them with something to cherish or a place to go to make up for their suffering. no matter how small their satisfaction. >> reporter: then arita got another idea. instead of bringing the children to the pool, he'd bring the pool to the children. by that time, the government had said outdoor radiation levels for this area met safety standards. but it wasn't easy. initially locals were not in the mood for this kind of project. arita also had trouble finding the right location. that's when a resident who had lost almost everything offered to help out. takauki heard of arita's project

about a year after the disaster. before march 2011, he and his family lived in this house about a kilometer from the coastline. his father and mother used to farm this land. the waves destroyed his house and swept away his parents and his two children. >> translator: it's still hard. and it still makes me cry when i think of my children. but i also believe that children the same age as my own should be able to smile. >> reporter: ueno told arita he could use some of his land to build the park. they worked side by side with volunteers and locals to create a place where people could get together. then in july, the park opened.

in arita, ueno and the others got their reward. >> translator: the sound of children laughing cheers me up. i'm glad i did it. >> reporter: the park provides a place for locals to gather, but reminders of daunting reconstruction efforts remain. many of the families who come here still live several kilometers away in temporary housing. children can just get together with friends to play. >> translator: even if infrastruct surrebuilt, reconstruction won't gain momentum unless survivors are better spirited. i'll keep on thinking about what they need and what needs to be done. >> reporter: arita says he's committed to helping this community for as long as it

takes. for now, he's just happy to watch everyone enjoy the park and the pool. a welcome distraction from life's day-to-day difficulties. yoshiko nakata, minomisoma, japan. hiroshima, nagasaki. the atomic bombings marked a brutal conclusion to a brutal conflict. world war ii ended 60 years ago this month. from the fight to abolish nuclear weapons and efforts of younger generations to support peace, don't miss our special coverage, "war to peace: lessons of 1945," starting monday, august 6th. a relative of the man who authorized the nuclear bombing of hiroshima and nagasaki is hoping to help ease some of the pain of the survivors. clifton truman daniel is the

oldest grandson of u.s. president harry truman. he's on his first visit to japan. he met with people whose lives were forever changed by the atomic bombs. daniel is a 55-year-old former news reporter. he talked with a group of survivors in tokyo. daniel decided to come to japan after he got to know a family of atomic bomb victim two years ago in the united states. during themeeting, they said they are determined to keep on talking about their experiences so no one else will have to endure what they've gone through. >> translator: it's been 67 years since the terrible incident. the atomic bombing only lasted for a few seconds. but my suffering will continue until i die. >> translator: the u.s. president said he will make efforts to bring an end to all

nuclear weapons. so from now on, we, the hibakusha, are looking forward to our new and better world. >> daniel said he appreciated the opportunity to meet the survivors. he said he's more hopeful about the future after the talks. >> i hope that i can do the same to work to hopefully rid the world of nuclear weapons. >> daniel will attend the memorial services on august 6th in hiroshima and nagasaki three days later. the u.s., british and french ambassadors will also attend the service in hiroshima. while chinese athlete goes for gold at the olympics, back home it's diamonds that wealthy chinese are after. and not even the country's slowing economic growth is dulling their desire. hoping to profit overseas

merchants are moving to china. nhk world has the story. >> reporter: many chinese can't -- diamonds. some shop for the gems at this store in beijing. a lot of the customers were born into wealth in the 1980s. as they get engaged, they pick a diamond ring. some spend as much as $10,000. >> translator: today i chose my favorite diamond ring so i am really happy. >> translator: the sales are going up like mad. so far they are 50% higher than this time last year. so i'm very glad. >> reporter: now owners of foreign jewelry firms are making appearance in china's market. at this company owned in beijing, workers prepare

diamonds for sale. he has an eye to the chinese people growing love affair with diamonds. he launched his business five years ago. he imports about $80 billion worth of diamonds. he processes and sells them not only in china but also the united states, japan and europe. one incentive for expanding into china is the cost of labor. workers accept lower pay than those in many other countries. even though wages are rising, preparing one carat for sale in china costs only one-tenth of what it costs in belgium. he asked the chinese government for support for investment.

when he imports diamonds for processing and then export the finished product, he doesn't pay a scent on duty. >> europe has slowed down drastically. united states growth is very modest. it still is the largest diamond market. there is great reliance and great hope that china can actually compensate for all these world difficulties. >> reporter: processing diamonds right from scratch is not easy. workers must be highly skilled. young apprentices receive on-the-job training for two hours every day. the company invited our engineer from israel to the training. that country has made great strides in diamond processing. >> translator: i am confident i can acquire the techniques.

i want to become an excellent craftsman in this field. >> reporter: some fear that china's slowing growth rate may discourage shoppers from buying luxury goods like diamonds. but klausner is not worried. >> next five to ten years, i think we can see steady and good growth in the chinese market. >> reporter: however, a chinese expert does not share klausner's confidence. >> translator: if a financial crisis should arise and it spreads to european countries that play a key role in the diamond trade, it will affect china. then i think that the people here will think twice before spending large sums on diamonds. >> reporter: so diamond processors could be taking more

chances than they were prepared for. if the growth of china's economy takes a turn for the worst, the outlook for the purchasers won't be nearly so dazzling. >> after filing that report, michitaka joined us from our beijing studio. we asked him where else besides beijing the diamond trade is expanding. >> in coastal areas, especially in the southern part of guangdo guangdong, the industry is taking off. government regulators help make this possible by giving foreign diamond processors a lot of encouragement. this becomes clear when you consider what the processors must put up with in india, an industry leader. operators must cut through a lot of red tape to set up businesses there. but in china, policymakers go a long way to encourage foreign processors who want to set up

shop there. as a result, more foreign businesses believed to be about 100, have moved to china to process diamonds. that was double the number five years ago. the result, those around the world will likely have a larger amount of diamonds processed in china. for an update on the weather forecast, here's mai shoji. mai? >> hi. we have a newly formedcal storm yet again over the pacific. this is the south of ogasawara islands. and it is going to become a severe tropical storm as it intensifies over the weekend over water as it nears the islands of okinawa. possibly about sunday. and then by monday, it looks like it's going to become a typhoon. so further intensifying -- this is very bad news -- to the area in and around taiwan where the

flooding conditions still not alleviated at all due to the ex-typhoon saola that battered in and around taipei over the week. now it is already affecting the agasawara islands. it's going to be developing over the okinawan islands with some rainfall accumulation which could be some staggering amounts. but the high waves will be as much as 5 to 7 meters high. even in the pacific coastal areas of western and eastern japan, we may see those high waves up to about 3 to 5 meters. and rain will be heavy at times across much of japan as well due to the copious amounts of moisture surge and dumpg all these rain to these regions. so thunderstorms will be likely over the weekend in much of japan as well. but as this system develops it looks like it will be moving towards southeastern china. if it does, take this path, this is because we have a high pressure system that is very strong that will keep tin this

path. and another high pressure system will be developing over the week and into the next monday. so both of these high pressure systems will keep this to linger over the okinawan islands. stormy weather will be continuing there for a long period of time there. and it's going to be bad news because we're going to be having a lot of rainfall due to this saola. even though it's a tropical depression, downgraded already it will be accumulating rainfall up to about 150 millimeters. and also this used to be a typhoon is now a tropical depression. still will be bringing about 250 millimeters of additional rainfall to some isolated regions. you can see the very bright pink moving through northeast of beijing there. temperaturewise, seoul is up to 35 degrees. we're going to be looking at a very hot day on your saturday. soaring into 31 here in tokyo as well. staying in the 30s in much of the tropics. and even in ulaanbaatar, much

warmer than average there. over to the americas. we have a tropical system to talk about. this is tropical storm ernesto which is already giving out tropical storm warnings and watches against the leeward islands. and then probably heading towards the yucatan peninsula and to the gulf, perhaps. so we'll keep a very close eye on this system. central canada and down into the central plains, we're looking at some severe activity. we cannot rule out the chance of tornadic activity here. temperaturewise, soaring into the 40s. again in oklahoma city due to the heat dome persisting in the similar areas, very bad air quality in eastern areas here in the coastal areas. new york, 33 degrees. soaring to 35 in washington, d.c. moving over to the european continent, we're looking at these temperatures. and the outlook for your london area. saturday, precipitation will be chances. some showers could be heavy at

times on sunday and monday, but temperature really not bad at all. enjoy the games. here's your extended forecast.

once again, our lead story -- u.s. president barack obama starting his day off safetying through a mixed bag of financial data and trying to figure out how it will affect his re-election campaign heading into the fall. the latest employment data is out. the jobless rate inched up 8.3% last month. it's been stuck around 8% level for the last few months. the brighter spot involves nonfarm payroll. u.s. labor department analysts say employers added 163,000 jobs, mainly by gains in the manufacturing sector. that's .