welcome to nhk world "newsline." people came together in nagasaki to remember what happened in their streets and to their families with words, songs and prayers, they looked back on august 9th, 1945. the day the u.s. military dropped an atomic bomb on the port city. they also looked back on a more recent event, the nuclear accident at the fukushima daiichi plant. the city's mayor called on the central government to design a new energy policy so japan will never again face the threat of radiation. nhk world's keikichi hanada reports from nagasaki.

♪ >> reporter: survivors of the bombing of nagasaki sing a song. and ask whether people remember their stories. this man was a boy of 15. his mother, two brothers, and two sisters were killed. and he saw countless others suffer. >> translator: i saw a slumped over mother holding her dead child and children sobbing nearby dead bodies. >> reporter: at 11:02 that morning the u.s. bomber boxcar dropped a bomb code named fat man. the bomb detonated 500 meters above nagasaki. it killed almost everyone within one kilometer instantly. more than 70,000 people died by

the end of that year. over 5,000 people gathered for the ceremony in peace park. they came to reflect on the past but also to look to the future. representatives from about 40 countries came, including the u.s. ambassador. representatives of victims' families and survivors placed a list in then is cenetaph. it included the names of more than 158,000 victims. the numbers grew over last year by more than 3,000. [ bell tolling ] the mayor shared the survivors' hope that nagasaki should be the last city ever to fall under a nuclear attack. >> translator: it's essential to

definitively bar not only the use of nuclear weapons, but everything from their development to their deployment. >> reporter: taue called on japanese leaders to set new goals in their energy policy. >> translator: we call on the japanese government to set new energy policy goals to build a society free from the fear of radioactivity and present concrete measures to implement these policies. >> reporter: japanese leaders are debating the role of nuclear power after the accident at fukushima daiichi. >> translator: under the principle of less dependence on nuclear power, we will aim to establish a policy that ensures people's sense of safety over the long term. ♪ >> reporter: this ceremony concludes every year with a song called "a thousand paper cranes." japanese legend promises that if you fold that many, your wish

will be granted. the people of nagasaki hope if they work hard to spread their message, then they'll get what they want -- peace. keikichi hanada, nhk world, nagasaki. the wife of a former chinese senior communist party member has admitted killing a british business man. gu kailai did not deny the verdict charges on the first dave her trial. the session lasted six hours. no foreign media were allowed inside the court in hepe city. gu is charged with poisoning a man. she allegedly had money related trouble with haywood and decided to kill him because she was worried the problem could endanger or son. a court official told a news conference that the court will

hand down a sentence at an appropriate time. gu's husband was suspended from key party positions in april. he's under investigation for serious disciplinary violations. libyans completed their first peaceful power transfer in their modern history. members of the transitional council handed over control of the country to the newly elected assembly. officials dissolved the national transitional council at a late night ceremony in the capital tripoli. it has ruled libya since rebel forces brought down late leader moammar al gadhafi and his regime in 2011. >> translator: the national transitional council hands over the constitutional duties for leading the state to the general national congress which from now on is the sole legitimate representative of the libyan people. >> libyans elected the assembly

in july in the first national poll in 60 years. they had no constitution or legislature under gadhafi who took power in a military coup in 1969. members now have to pick a prime minister who in turn will pick his government. then they'll work to draft a constitution within a year. but the way ahead is still unclear because interparty power struggles threaten delays, adding to the complications is the fact that no one yet knows how the panel charged with working on the constitution will be selected. syrian president bashar al assad is using the might of his military machine to try to take back the country's largest city. thousands of soldiers are targeting anti-government fighters in the rebel-filled streets and alleyways of aleppo. the government reportedly sent 20,000 troops to the northern city. opposition fighters say assad's forces have launched fierce ground attacks using tanks in

the salahadeen district. syria's state-run tv reports the troops have recaptured the rebel stronghold, but anti-government activists in aleppo disputes that claim. the activist tells nhk the fighting is fierce, but the opposition continues to control more than half the city. syria's neighbor turkey is feeling the heat of this conflict on its border. officials there say more than 1,700 syrians sought refuge in the country on tuesday and wednesday. more of syria's residents are expected to flee their homes. syrians have been dealing with their country's conflict for more than a year. but people in afghanistan have lived with war and the threat of violence for decades. a new report by the united nations says the threat lessened somewhat this year. the number of civilians hurt or killed between january and june dropped from the same time in 2011. it's the first reduction in five years. u.n. officials say 3,099 civilians died or were hurt in

firefights or terrorist attacks in the first half of this year, but they say the statistics don't tell the whole story. >> -- civilian casualties is welcome, but these gains are fragile. they do not reflect a move towards a peaceful society. >> violent events happen weekly almost daily in afghanistan. a bomb exploded tuesday on a street in kandahar killing nine people on a bus. the taliban has targeted neighborhoods in kabul, some of them home to foreign embassies. it's against this backdrop foreign combat troops are preparing to leave afghanistan more than a decade after they started the war there. about 90,000 american soldiers are still stationed in afghanistan. a third of them pull out by september. u.s. president president barack obama says the full withdrawal will be complete by the end of 2014. afghan military and police are assuming duties from members of the u.s.-led international

security assistance force. they'll take charge of security once foreign troops leave, but they're underfunded and will need international assistance well past the pullout. so a long way to go for a country that's known conflict for a long time. i spoke earlier with the university tokyo's daisuku about what needs to be done. he worked for a u.n. assistance mission in afghanistan in 2009th in 2010. professor higashi, billions spent, thousands of lives lost. why is the security situation in the country improving? >> i think there's no sustainable peace negotiation including the taliban. of course there is some development in the last few years. in 2010 we supported to establish a new mechanism of program. and in 2011 president obama

announced that he's ready to talk with the taliban to make some political agreement. and january this year, 2012, the taliban finally announced that it's also ready to talk with the united states. also the afghan government establishing the office in qatar. so there's some development, but still long way to go. >> when you talk about long way, what challenges will afghanistan have to overcome to achieve reconstruction, do you think? >> on this particular question, i hosted an international conference on july 7th in tokyo inviting expat on these particular issues including a political director -- we conclude that a four key party -- u.s., afghan government, taliban and pakistan -- need a sustainable talk to make a final agreement. and in terms of the content of the negotiations, we argued the

karzai government of afghan and taliban need sustainable to make final a agreement especially on the governance. some experts argued that it may be good for afghanistan to introduce a new electoral system which make a government elected by the elections, not by taliban can have motivation to participate in the political process, not only for the central government but for the local government. the way i conducted the research in pakistan, experts who have communication with taliban tend to support these kind of ideas. >> you've talked about some of the parties needed. we only have a minute left. how should countries support the process? other countries i'm talking about. >> we proposed in order to support facilitation, in order to support the talk by key four actors, it might be good for the united nations to establish some office this dubai which focus on the talks. if united states and karzai

government officially request u.n. to establish that kind of office in dubai, maybe japan can support u.n. office financially also diplomatically. and i think this could be the key step for future afghan election process. >> that was daisuka higashi, an expert on security issues and assistant professor at the university of tokyo. policymakers at japan's central bank have unanimously decided to maybe maintain the current monetary policy of supplying a huge amount of noun the financial markets. bank of japan officials said on thursday that the country's economy has started picking up moderately. they say domestic demand remains firm due to rebuilding efforts in the areas hit by the march 11th disaster. corporate capital investment is increasing, and consumption is strong.

partly due to government subsidies for buyers of eco-friendly cars. meanwhile, on overseas economies, the policymakers said uncertainties remain amid the ongoing european debt crisis. looking ahead, the central bank maintained its economic outlook. that domestic demand will continue to be steady. but it warns that close monitoring of economic development in europe is needed. bank of japan governor masaki comments on the political debate over the consumption tax hike after the central bank's policy meeting. he stressed that fiscal reconstruction is important to stabilize the financial markets. >> translator: no country can keep expanding increasing its fiscal deficit forever. it is indispensable that each country must ultimately restore its fiscal health. >> shirakawa said the consumption tax hike contributes

to stemming a rise in long-term bond yields. he said that social security reforms included in the package of tax hike bills will also help ease people's anxieties and the revisions are positive for the economy. china's consumer price index rose at its slowest pace in 2 1/2 years last month. the government may take further monetary easing measures as a result. the national bureau of statistics said thursday that the index grew by 1.8% from a year ago. the increase was relatively minor because food prices, which are a major component of the index, remain stable. behind a slowdown was falling consumption on the back of the european debt crisis. some analysts say this may lead to lower corporate profits, as well. the biggest japanese bank is now under investigation for possible involvement in the rigging of libor, a global benchmark for lending rates. bank of tokyo mitsubishi ufj says the british financial authorities are probing the bank on suspicion that an employee at

its london operations may have played a role. a bank spokesperson says the employee has been ordered to stay at home. and the bank is cooperate with the investigators. separately, two other employees of the bank have been under investigation for the suspected involvement in the libor manipulation. they were working for a dutch bank at the time and later joined tokyo mitsubishi ufj. a senior u.s. trade official says the country will host ministerial talks on the trans-pacific partnership free trade agreement. the talks will take place on the sidelines of the apec meeting which is to be held in russia early next month. deputy u.s. trade representative dimitrius mirantes made the announcement in a lecture in washington. he said ministers will discuss the progress of the talks on the tpp agreement. >> it's a great opportunity for the ministers to sit down together and to be able to assess where things are.

you know, address any particular issues that may come up. >> marantas also says the u.s. is discussing the matter with japan. some japanese leaders are positive about joining the talks but the government has not yet officially decided to participate as opinions on the partnership are sharply divided among the public. nine countries, including the u.s. and australia are now negotiating for the free trade pact. mexico and canada have discussed their willingness to take part in the talks. if you've been watching the summer games in london, you've seen plenty of stunning performances. team usa's michael phelps swimming to become the most decorated olympian ever. japan's matsumoto fighting her way to gold in judo. and jamaica's usain bolt

coasting to victory in the 100 meter. thanks to a british newspaper you can relive the best olympic moments in a rather unique way. nhk world's akira sahiki shows us. >> this time in the final of the 200 meter individual medley. >> reporter: here comes american swimmer michael phelps as you've never seen him before. and just like the man himself, he grabs his 16th olympic gold medal. remember the women's fencing semifinals and the dramatic appeal from the south korean competitor? >> lamshin is devastated. >> here's a look at the moment again. this video attracted more than 500,000 views in four days after its release. this man from germany is the man behind these stop motion

animations. his hobby caught the attention of the managers at "the guardian," newspaper. they invited him to london. we sat in as he reconstructed a men's rowing event. the british team won gold. he gets the equipment ready while carefully considering the camera work and how to connect the scenes. he also spends time figuring out how best to replicate the athletes, too. >> so like here, he's sitting here and i try what's possible and i see this is possible. that will be the movement later. >> moritz pays attention to the finest details. he takes notes on the sunglasses and caps worn by the rowers on each team. and based on those notes he hand

picks the perfect plastic brick figures. then comes the really hard work. moritz painstakingly moves the boats and figures by tiny fractions, taking a picture between each adjustment. he shoots about 300 images to make just two minutes of animation. moritz works through the night so the video can be uploaded to the internet the following day. and then everyone can enjoy the final product. >> i think really amusing for people. people enjoy it. it's a thing that you don't need to be able to speak english. >> reporter: moritz has used his skill and dedication to create a whole new way to watch and remember the 2012 olympic games. akira saheki, nhk world, london. scientists have made a discovery that may shed new

light on human evolution. our homoerect russ ancestors lived in kav about 2 million years ago. researchers have found evidence of two other prehuman species from that period. u.s., german and british experts published their discovery in the british science journal "nature." they found three fossils of a jaw and teeth at digs in northern kenya. the bones are distinct from those of homoerect us. studies confirm they are from two different species. the find was made clear -- made near other early human remains. the researchers say this suggests at least three species lived side by side. they might look a little like your average vacation snaps but the latest images from nasa's mars probe curiosity are anything but.

the roving lab has just sent back its first high resolution pictures of the planet's rugged landscape 566 million kilometers away. these new photographs show the northern wall and rim of the crater where curiosity landed. they reveal jagged peaks resembling mountain ranges. and clear images of rocks scattered around the landing site. nasa also released lower quality color photos indicating curiosity's equipment is functioning normally. scientists expect the probe to send back panoramic pictures and high definition video in the near future. they're trying to find out if life once existed on mars. u.s. government figures show july was the country's hottest month since records began in 1895. the average temperature in the continental u.s., that excludes alaska and hawaii, was 25.3 degrees celsius. some of the daytime highs topped 45 degrees. it made the country's most severe drought in decades much worse. the harvest is expected to be

terrible, and the price of corn and other crops is rising leading to global concern about how much we'll all pay for food. the hot weather also sparked wildfires. they burned through at least 800,000 hectares of land in july alone. >> a deadly storm in eastern china has left a trail of destruction in its wake. typhoon h aye kui hit coastal areas killing three and forcing nearly 2 million residents to evacuate. the storm flooded houses and farmland. up to 400 millimeters of rain fell in some areas. haikui also caused travel chaos in shanghai. operators of the city's two international airports canceled almost 500 flights. it's been downgraded to a tropical storm, but authorities are still warning about landslides and flooding. the rain continues after a downpour has inundated many parts of the philippine capital of manila. nhk world meteorologist robert speta is here with the details.

>> yes, we are still watching across manila. this continues to linger. you see this big band of cloud cover off to the west. still going to be seeing these rain showers through the remainder of the week. and that is on top of, throughout this week, upwards of 1 meter of rainfall around the philippine capital and even into -- since tuesday, about 879 millimeters just toward the northeast mav nof manila into t mesa dam. the sdam starting to overflow and that's one of the situations taking place. most of the schools have been closed in and around manila. a lot of the governmental buildings and on top of that just getting around is horrendous. many residents here have to wade through the flooded waters. even further, the threat of landslides farther inland. good news is that on saturday and sunday, the conditions may be improving. they're not going to be completely improving. you won't have sunny skies but at least a little break in the cloud cover, although afternoon and evening thunderstorms will continue to pop up because you

are still in the rainy season out here across much of the philippines. now let's look off here towards the northeast because this is now severe tropical storm karogi. it's moving off towards the north. it is expected to weaken toward a remnant low but this could even be impacting the far northeastern coast of hokkaido, bring something heavy rainfall. upwards of 80 millimeters. even destructive winds and three meter high waves as that pushes through. a surprising system here as those sea surface temperatures rema remain. hakui has been continuing to linger here. really just stalled out. that's where the problem lies with this storm. heavy rainfall. an additional 150 millimeters on top of the 300 millimeter hfs pl plus. fooding will still be a major concern out across this area. through the weekend expect these rains to taper off as the storm continues to weaken. temperaturewise, chongqing up to

38 for you. beijing at 33 and ulaanbaatar at 21 on your friday. toward the americas, still watching ernesto moving off toward the west. this is going to be making a second landfall. with it some heavy rainfall. it will be losing all of its energy but that has to go somewhere. and it likely will be into these mountainsides. flooding and landslides are also going to be high at risk. definitely still watching this storm system very closely into the coming days. now further off towards the north, a cold front is diving in across the great lakes region. severe weather from the ohio river valley towards the northeast. you could be seeing severe thunderstorm activity, gusty winds and large and damaging hail. very well could be possible out of this. and behind it, cooler and more bearable weather. fight with the dog days of summer across the great lakes region. temperatures should be dropping about 10 degrees. off towards the west in the desert southwest, look at these temperatures. phoenix at 46 here on your thursday and friday. much of this region actuall under excessive heat warning. do stay inside in the ac if you

can. if you have to go outside, stay hydrated and out of the sfun at all possible out here as heat streak will be very high at risk. over towards europe, we are watching the jet stream continuing to meander here towards the west of it, you have hot temperatures in and around spain. actually madrid up to low 40s. in eastern europe, severe weather. 65-kilometer-per-hour winds. thunderstorms due to the unstable nature of the atmosphere. but over the uk, high pressure is lingering and that is just fantastic for the olympics. partly cloudy skies. even sunny here on saturday. temperatures remain into the 20s for you to get out there and enjoy the olympic festivities. now here's a look at your extended forecast.

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

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