welcome to nhk world "newsline." thousands of athletes, officials and spectators are leaving london and grabbing flights to destinations all around the world. the 2012 summer olympic games are now over, and they ended with a bang. the three-hour closing ceremony showcased the best of british music and culture. even people who couldn't get into the stadium enjoyed the celebration. londoners and visitors gathered in the city's victoria park.

they watched the show on huge screens and enjoyed the last few hours of the olympics. >> all the athletes, all the public, all the volunteers have been amazing. everyone has been so friendly. there's been no trouble whatsoever. it's been really, really wonderful atmosphere. >> makes us proud to be british, definitely. really proud. >> i think if it's for another week, i'd try to get as many tickets as i could for as much as i could. it's been fantastic. really good. yeah. >> athletes from 204 countries and territories took part in the games. the united states got the biggest haul of gold medals with 46. china was next with 38, then britain with 29. japan had its most successful olympics ever. its athletes won 38 medals including 7 golds. now that the london olympics have come to an end, excitement is growing in rio de janeiro. the brazilian city is hosting the next games in 2016. more than 200 locals gathered in

rio's central square to watch the closing ceremony in london. they cheered wildly when the olympic flag was handed to their city's mayor. >> translator: i hope people who come for the olympics will see that brazil and rio de janeiro are joyful, happy places. >> translator: i hope the next olympics are as good as the ones in london or better. >> rio won the competition to host the games partly because they would be the first olympics in south america. but critics have raised concerns about the city's traffic jams, lack of accommodation and poor security. olympic organizers and host cities plan years in advance for the games. so no surprise people in tokyo are looking well beyond rio. members of the olympic bid committee are working hard to win the 2020 summer games five decades after the city hosted the world in 1964. nhk world's tomoko kamata

reports. >> reporter: two other cities are in the running for the event and the paralympics. tokyo's competition is istanbul and spain's capital madrid. tokyo announced its hosting plan in february. the city centered its vision on boosting reconstruction after the march 11th disaster. critics say the city's weak point is low public support. nhk asked the community member what the team thought of the london games and what he learned to improve its presentation plans. >> first of all, we have run very nice system of transportation. i know it was a little bit difficult, but finally they managed very smoothly.

they used the public transportation as much as possible. so as you may know the tube system in london is very fantastic so you can move to any place by the tube, and also they provide free ticket for the tube in case the fans received ticket. this is the first point. and then second point is transport -- there are so many ca cars. and also they could create the olympic lane that can be used by only the dedicated car. that help us -- a lot of the smooth transportation. we believe that we need to improve a lot, especially for the transportation, security accommodation management as well as how to deliver the olympic movement toward the new generation. so, of course, we know there

were some weakness regarding the public support. however, during the olympic games, i believe that the -- all the fans in japan, all the people in japan, very, very impressed what the sports can help us and the power of the sports. then also i believe they recognize that -- how the city can be changed through the olympic games. >> the international olympic committee plans to choose the winner at its general assembly in december 2013. fifa officials have given south korea's football association until thursday to explain why one of its players took the spotlift victory and shined it on a decades-old territorial dispute. football's governing body is expected to make a ruling on park jong-oo who held up a sign referring to islets south korea controls but japan claims.

he showed the sign friday as his team was celebrating a win over japan in the bronze medal game. it said in korean that dokdo is south korea's territory. the japanese call the islets in the sea of japan takeshima. members of the international olympic committee say political messages have no place at the games. the south korean football team spoke to the media after they arrived home. park was not there. and other players did not answer questions about what he did. but a representative of the korea football association said park had apologized for causing trouble. he said there was no political intent, and that the player did it on impulse. south korean president lee myung-bak visited the islets friday. japanese government official had asked him not to go. they are planning on taking the territorial dispute to the international court of justice. once fifa receives the report from south korea's football association it will rule on the issue. then officials at the

international olympic committee will decide whether park's action constituted a breach of the olympic charter. an nhk monthly poll shows a big majority of japanese worry about an unprecedented visit by south korea's president to disputed islets in the sea of japan. the respondents said it could negatively affect the two countries' relations. nhk surveyed 1,639 people aged 20 or over from friday to sunday. three-fourths said they were worried about the impact of lee myung-bak's visit to takeshima. about one-fifth said they are unconcerned. south korea calls the islets dokdo and claims them. and on a different question, when they were asked about the diet's recent enactment of bills to raise the consumption tax and reform social security, 48% of respondents said they approve. the same proportion expressed

disapproval. the support rate for prime minister yoshihiko noda and his cabinet stood at 28%, up one point from last month. the disapproval rate stayed at 56%. people in japan are holding on to their money. consumer spending has almost stalled. the latest gdp figures show growth in the world's third largest economy, but the pace has slowed to a crawl. the cabinet office says april through june quarter growth reached 0.3% or 1.4% in annualized terms. demand was down from the previous quarter. public investment rose by 1.7% helped by reconstruction in areas hit last year by tsunami. government subsidies spurred demand for eco-friendly vehicles. still, personal consumption only

edged up 0.1%. corporate capital investment increased by 1.5%, and housing investment was up 0.8%. the person in charge of economic policy says japan will likely remain on a gradual path to recovery. >> translator: we expect reconstruction demand will continue to support the economy and the situation will also improve for employment and corporate earnings. so we believe this gradual recovery will carry on. >> but he warned of the think it effects of the global economic slowdown. he said domestic growth needs to shift from reconstruction efforts to private sector demand. our business reporter spoke with junko nishioka, chief economist at rbs securities japan regarding the gdp data. she remains relatively upbeat about japan's economy, despite

the weaker than expected figures. >> the headline numbers at 1.4% on quarter on quarter annualized base was a little weaker than our expectations. but i think that given that first quarter gdp was revised uf to 5.5% and then the consecutive positive growth mark in second quarter should be taken very positively. i think that household consumption was boosted by the -- consumption, largely shored up by the car purchase. largely boosted by the fiscal measures. so i think that this kind of solid demand for the -- is likely to continue throughout third quarter this year. >> now there are concerns that external and domestic factors could weigh on japan's economic growth. how do you see the future of

japan's gdp? >> the positive factors for the household consumption is likely to wane for the latter half of this fiscal year. is said that the fiscal measures for the car, ecocar, is likely to decline from the first quarter gdp. so i think it's a little bit doflt expect the gdp to accelerate for the second half of this year. but if you think about the public investment to expand further from the third quarter this year, i still think that japan's economies recession risk is limited. major japanese steelmaker nippon steel will set up a joint venture next year with australia's bluescope steel. it's looking to capture growing demand for building materials in southeast asia.

nippon steel says it will make a groupwide investment of over $550 million to acquire a 50% stake in the new venture. bluescope has a construction materials business with a focus on the fast-growing southeast asian market. the japanesemaker will provide the new firm with steel produced at its domestic plants. the steel will then be processed into building materials that will be sold in southeast asia and other countries. >> we'll contribute our technical experpiece and unique products. down the road, we hope to capture market share in building materials and home appliances. the japanese government is planning to ask experts to analyze public opinions it has received on the nation's future dependence on nuclear power. the national pols minister suggested on monday that a panel of experts on opinion polling will be convened this week to analyze the responses.

>> translator: we will listen to the opinions of experts. they will get together and study appropriate ways to sort out various opinions from the standpoint of ensuring fairness, neutrality, and transparency. >> the government has held public hearings and asked for opinions nationwide. that's part of an attempt to review its energy policy following last year's nuclear disaster. members of the public were presented with three options for the country's dependence on nuclear power. 0%, around 15% or between 20% and 25% by the year 2030. the cabinet office says it has received more than 80,000 opinions since early july. the expert panel is expected to conclude its analyses by the end of this month. let's take a look at the latest market figures.

iran's president has strongly criticized saudi arabia and other nations that support anti-government forces in syria. ahmadinejad was speaking to reporters in tehran before leaving for mecca, saudi arabia, and he went there to discuss the syrian crisis with leaders in the state of islamic cooperation. ahmadinejad said the world is in a dangerous and sensitive situation. he said enemy countries are

trying to get islamic states to fight each other. iran has repeatedly criticized saudi arabia, qatar and other arab nations for arming and funding government forces in syria citing close tiesh the u.s. iran supports bashar al assad's government. egyptian president mohamed morsi has made a political purge. he pushed out holdovers from the time of former president hosni mubarak. he ordered the chief of the general staff and the defense minister to retire. a presidential spokesperson announced the retirement of chief of staff sami anan and defense minister mohamed hussein tantawi. they said tantawi was dismissed of the head of the supreme council of armed forces. the council governed the country temporarily after the fall of mubarak. morsi kept both men on as advisors. the president also voided interim constitutional amendments that gave the military power to enact laws.

morsi said he was not trying to embarrass the military or the leaders. he said he was acting in the best interests of the nation. government officials are shifting from rescue operations to rebuilding after two earthquakes hit iran. the first struck saturday afternoon. the second 11 minutes later. authorities believe nearly 300 people were killed. the magnitude 6.4 and 6.3 earthquakes hit the northwestern province of east azerbaijan. they devastated 20 villages in the mountainous areas. about 16,000 people are living in tents and feeling the aftershocks. president ahmadinejad ordered officials to start rebuilding immediately. but the work is expected to be difficult because of the widespread destruction. wildfires in the canary islands have forced at least 4,700 people to evacuate their homes. the flames are now threatening a national park on unesco's list

of world heritage sites. one fire started nine days ago on the island of lagomera. it's already burned through 3,500 hectares of land. the flames are spreading toward a national park in the central part of the island. the park's unique environment as a humid subtropical forest at 1,000 meters above sea level earned it a spot on the list of world heritage sites. another fire is also spreading on the island of tenadrefa prompting more evacuations. frrtsers won't be able to count on any respite from the weather. forecasters say hot, dry, and windy conditions will continue to prevail until the end of the week. people in remote parts of india are abandoning old ways of

life as they reap the benefits of a growing economy. they are also abandoning their material beast of burden, the donkey. nhk world reports on a rescue program for four-legged labra r labradors who have become unemployed. >> reporter: nestled in the himalayan mountains, this region rises to about 6,000 meters above sea level. the people here still maintain traditional activity and culture. farmers in this mountainous area have always relied heavily on the labor of donkeys. in this village, an hour drive from central -- they continue to be an important part of the workhorse. but in towns, the animals are simply abandoned. areas in the region have been

connected by big roads in recent years and farmers find it easier to the replace their beast of bn with trucks. as people seek a lifestyle, many of the working animals are left to fend for themselves. the donkeys walk through the streets paying no attention to people or traffic. moving in groups, they disrupt the vehicles that are replacing them as means of transport. >> translator: the donkeys roam around loose. they could cause an accident as they suddenly appear from nowhere. neglected by their owners, the animal animals look for food. they resort to eeth cardboard boxes or starve to death. some are attacked by dogs.

but some locals are trying to help. this is the leader of a group rescuing the animals. the group asks the town residents to call them if they spot stray donkeys. they then round up and take care of the animals. he finds a donkey in the center of town. it's a female. the collar indicates she used to have an owner. he calls for a truck and takes the animal into his care. this facility offers protection for abandoned donkeys. volunteers work around the clock to care for about 20 animals, including ones that are pregnant or have been rounded in traffic accidents.

more animals are brought to the facility on regular basis. they eat a total of 80 kilos of grass every day and their food alone costs as much as $750 a month. to cope with the financial burden, the group came up with the foster family program targeting tourists. foster families choose an animal and pay its food expenses. in return, they receive monthly updates and photos of the animal they are sponsoring. >> they go through a difficult time, and they are not stray, actually. they are owned by someone. i wanted to save as many donkeys as possible and keep our eyes always open to bring them here.

give them the right atmosphere, right food. >> reporter: donkeys have been supporting the lives of local people for centuries as rapid modernization puts these animals at risk, some humans are stepping in to return the favor. jahangi batari, nhk world. it's been a nice day near tokyo. for a look ahead we've got meteorologist robert speta. robert? >> nice for the time being, but thunderstorms are already on the horizon. off towards kyushu in the past 24 hours, some reports per hour have actually been upwards of 50 to 55 millimeters of rain. even off towards the north in central honshu, reports of 40 to 50 millimeters per hour for rain here. accompanied by some 86-kilometer-per-hour winds in these thunderstorms flaring up. this is push off toward the east throughout the remainder of

monday going into tuesday. expect severe weather. talking about frequent lightn g lightning, hail and tornadic activity cannot be ruled out across much of japan. not just the west coast but even toward the northeast the kanto area. heavy rain showers, upwards of 50 millimeters plus an hour causing localized flooding. very well could be on tap. definitely going to continue to watch this here. let's pull back the picture and look toward the south. this is our other severe weathermaker out here. kai-tak moving off toward the northwest. expected to become a severe tropical storm by midweek but along with that is going to be bring something heavy rainfall. talking about 200 millimeters plus along the east coast of luzon. not just here. the west coast really a double-sided storm here. that's going to be pulling in moisture from the south china sea, adding up here along the western portions of luzon and then you'll be seeing flooding because this area is already saturated. last week we had that 1 meter-plus of rainfall that hit the manila metro area.

any rain is going to exasperate the situation. temperatures, you have a high in hong kong of 32. 35 here. some sunny skies for your tuesday. beijing at 28. and ulaanbaatar, you are the cool spot on the map with 22 for your high. over towards the americas, severe weather moving through the ohio and lower mississippi river valley. this is all due to a low pressure area that's pushing off toward the east. all along this cold front attached to it. that's where that rough weather is going to be expected. talking about thunderstorm activity with frequent lightning once again. hail is not going to be ruled out and some very strong and severe and damaging winds along this front as it continues to cruise off toward the east. also damaging winds could be seen around the four corners regions. actually going to be expecting maybe 65 kilometer-. h per hour winds.

heat warnings are in effect. phoenix, 44 for your high on monday. houston, 32. and oklahoma city as well. now over towards europe. a low pressure area moving through the british isles. this is bringing rough weather as well. talking about thunderstorm warnings across ireland here today. now good news. expect that to taper off on monday into tuesday. unfortunately all the way on the side of your screen here, see this front moving in from the west? that's going to be bringing in some more wet weather. definitely some rough weather going through the midpart of your week. over here towards eastern europe, ukraine, you've seen about 56 millimeters in the past 24 hours due to this low pressure area. look toward the west of it. this is indicating strong winds here. and bulgaria, you saw a wind report of 86 kilometers per hour, damaging in fact, out here, as the low continues to linger, expect those continues to continue to prevail. now those winds streaming in from the north are causing cooler temperatures. warsaw with a high of 17.

a little warmer toward the south. rome 29 and madrid up to 34 to start off your week. now here's a look at your extended forecast. the defiant silhouette of a single pine tree standing among

the rubble brought inspiration to the survivors of last year's tsunami in northeastern japan. many are lining up to pay their last respects before the tree is taken down and made into a monument. of the 70,000 pine trees that lined the coast of rikuzentakata before the tsunami, only one was left standing, naming it the miracle pine. it survived the initial onslaught of water but the salt and the ground was killing its roots. local authorities have decided to cut it down in early september. they'll treat the wood against decay and re-erect it as a monument by february. >> it feels like we're losing the last remaining piece of our hometown. i'm glad i could see the miracle pine one last time. it makes me feel stronger. we'll be back with more updates in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

from all of us here at nhk world, thanks for joining us.