cycle of violence. human rights activists detail the latest fallout from the fighting in syria as u.n. monitors leave the country in frustration. welcome to nhk world "newsline." people in syria have spent the past year and a half watching their country descend into war. they live with the threat of air strikes, bombings and gun battles. human rights activists say the latest fighting between government troops and opposition forces has claimed the lives of dozens more civilians. spokespersons for the london-based syrian observatory for human rights say more than 100 people were killed on sunday alone.

they say about half of the victims were unarmed civilians. they got caught up in fierce battles in the capital damascus and in the southern city of daraa. president bashar al assad's forces have been carrying out air strikes in some places. they have warned opposition fighters in the commercial capitol aleppo to surrender or face full-scale attacks. the escalating violence prompted u.n. officials to end their observer mission in syria. monitors pulled out of the country after failing to get both sides in this conflict to stick to a cease-fire. things are just as bad if not worse than when they arrived four months ago. nhk world's yujiro fotori got into damascus and filed this report. >> reporter: we entered damascus

for the first time since forces broke out in july between president bashar al assad's troops and opposition forces. historically, syria developed as a trade hub between the east and the west. the old town of damascus is on unesco's list of world heritage sites. the violence that spread to damascus has left its mark on the city's beautiful streets and building. in this residential area the buildings have been scored with bullet holes from the recent fighting. the area looks deserted. fighting between government troops and opposition forces continues to break out in the outskirt of damascus. i saw smoke billowing from a few sites. the u.n. monitors started their

mission in april, but they have now ended their mission and have started leaving the country without bringing any major results. this means the international community has again failed in its effort to bring peace to syria. the head of the u.n. mission admitted the monitors were frustrated during their mission. >> by the middle of june it was clear that the parties were no longer committed to the cease-fire. the result has been escalation in violence. >> reporter: the syrian government troops have deployed tanks on the major roads to stop the opposition forces from entering central damascus. tension remains high, and there are no signs of an end to the violence.

yujiro futori, nhk world, damascus. a chinese court has handed down a death sentence to g gu kailai. the court found the wife of the former communist party leader, bo xilai, guilty in the murder of a british businessman. the threat of execution could be lifted after two years and the sentence reduced to time in prison. nhk world's makoto oda reports. >> reporter: gu was sentenced in the eastern city. they remained tight security around the court. prosecutors charged gu with conspiring with an aide to poison neil heywood.

prosecutors say the two got heywood drunk and poured poison in his mouth. the murder occurred in the city of chongqing. the local court said gu had many travels with heywood. they say she wanted to kill him because she was worried the problem could endanger her son who was studying in the u.s. >> reporter: the court sentenced the aide to nine years in prison. a court official said the two had decided not to appeal to a higher court. party leaders suspended bo from his positions starting in march. he's under investigation for violations. political analysts said bo was

up for position in his party. political analysts want to know how the verdict will affect bo's fate. they are also watching to see how it affects the communist party's choices of leaders later this year. makoto oda, nhk world, china. japan is feeling the impact of an economic slowdown in china. its exports to the giant market next door fell between january and june for the first time in three years. the japan external trade organization or jentro says exports to china totalled about $73.7 billion in the first six months of this year. that's down 5.7% from a year earlier. shipments of steel, construction machinery and semiconductor equipment showed declines. that reflects flagging demand in

china due to the effects of europe's debt crisis. jetro officials say the imports from china hit a record $91.3 billion showing a 7.5% year on year gain due in part to rising smartphone imports. as a result, japan's trade deficit with china grew to a record high of about $17.6 billion. officials say exports to china are expected to continue to fall as production in the country is likely to remain sluggish. they also predict the bilateral trade deficit for the entire year will also set a record. toyota motor has rolled out a new model to try to boost sales in the european market that's been hit hard by the credit crisis. toyota started selling the you auris in japan on monday ahead of its european debut later this year. it's a hatchback popular in europe. toyota's ex-europe-based designers took part in the production of the model,

incorporating designs toicater to the taste of europeans. it has better mileage and its low body gives it a stable ride and an ability to make tight turns. when the auris was introduced to europe back in 2007, sales exceeded 180,000 units. >> translator: the european credit crisis is likely to continue to influence the market, but we will try to increase our sales by releasing good, new models. japanese households and companies slashed the use of electricity in july. that's in response to a government call to save power after most nuclear plants were shut down. the federation of electric power companies says the country's ten regional utilities sold 68 billion kill watts of electricity last month. that's down 6.3% year on year and the second largest drop on

record. the biggest plunge ever came in 2009 when businesses were hit hard by the global financial crisis. sales of electricity to households declined to 12.4% in july while sales to stores and offices fell 3.2%. government said a power-saving policy in motion beginning in july. nuclear power plants have been closed after the fukushima accident in march last year creating the possibility of electricity shortages. federation officials say lower than average temperatures in early july also tempered demand. here are the latest market figures.

the top spokesman for the japanese government is shrugging off a protest from china over the latest development in a territorial dispute. chief cabinet secretary osama f fujimora says a visit to islands in the east china sea is purely a domestic issue. the group planted sunday on one of its islands. japan incorporated the islands into its territory and calls them senkaku. china and taiwan have been saying their land is theirs since the 1970s. fujimora expressed regret over the visit. he said the government only allows some of its officials to go to senkaku and this group didn't have permission. but he dismissed china's diplomatic protest.

>> translator: it is a fact that the senkaku islands belong to japan. history and international law back up japan's claim to the islands. therefore, there can be no dispute over the territory. >> fujimora says the tokyo metropolitan government has applied for permission for a number of its official senkaku. tokyo's governor is considering purchasing some of the islands privately owned by runted by japan. fujimura says the visit application will be viewed in line with peaceful and stable management of the territory. south korean's ruling party is primed and ready for the country's upcoming presidential electi election. members of the party picked park as their presidential candidate for the december poll. she's the daughter of a former leader, and she's popular with voters. nhk world's anna jung reports. >> reporter: members of the

ruling senary party came together in a convention hall on outskirts of seoul to choose their leader. five candidates made last-minute appeals to the crowd. then officials announced the result. >> reporter: park set the tone for her campaign in her victory speech. >> translator: suspicions of wrongdoing and corruption are mounting. citizens could not even imagine the extent of the problem. i will expose anyone who is engaged in this wrongdoing. i will be sure to make a new south korea.

one full of dreams and hope. >> reporter: park won 84% of the vote. ballots cast by saenuri party members and randomly picked citizens resulted in four-fifths of the result. an opinion poll made up the rest. this is a long-awaited victory for park. current president lee myung-bak beat her five years ago to become the party's leader. she waited and won. now she must unite her party and convince voters she's the one who will help the country overcome the social problems it faces. anna jung, nhk world, south korea. nhk world's kengo komomoto

is also covering south korea's upcoming election. he spoke earlier with shery ahn. >> what more can you tell us about park geun-hye. >> park is popular in south korea, much more popular than any rivals within the party. this result was expected. she has achieved much more politically than any other candidate. park is a daughter of south korea's late president. he led the country's economic boom in the 1960s and '70s. he was assassinated in 1979. his daughter is 60. she husbaused her theme to beco full term member of parliament. an opinion poll before the party's vote suggested that she would be the favorite in the presidential race if she ran. >> now that park is in the race, do we know who she will be running against? >> the opposition parties have not selected their nominees yet. members of the main opposition

democratic united party picked five finalists in july. they will choose their presidential nominee at a convention in september. >> so, kengo, which party do you think has a better chance of winning the election? >> yes, the poll i just mentioned suggests park geun-hye is much more popular than any of the five candidates of the democratic united party. park has an approval rating of about 50%. in contrast, the front-runner for democratic united party has a rating of 38%. >> would it be safe to say that park could be south korea's next president? >> yeah, maybe, but the situation is not so simple. seoul university professor hinted at a presidential bid last month in a book he published. he used to run a software

company hoop nose --. he's not affil with any party but opposition groups may get him to be the candidate. some polls suggest his supporting rating is higher than park's. >> higher than park's. why is he so popular? >> many people have come to dislike the current generation ever politicians. they are disappointed with social problems such as the widening wage gap and high unemployment and not a politician. but many say he's trying to listen to what young people worry about. so he's attracting younger voters. the contest between them could be a close one. analysts say the legacy of park's father could both help and hinder her. he developed a country but also suppressed democratic movements and abused human rights. he used to be an officer in the

former imperial japanese army. so other candidates might see these facts as a problem and accelerate criticism of her. especially now because a relationship between japan and south korea has soured over territorial dispute. however, if park wins, she will be the south korean's first female president and the first female leader in east asia. >> kengo, thanks as always. >> relations with japan are also becoming an important theme of south korea's presidential race. park explained to reporters her stance on a group of disputed islands at the center of a diplomatic row between seoul and tokyo. the island are called takeshima in japan and dokdo in seoul. >> translator: this territorial dispute will only be resolved once japan accepts the islets are south korea's territory and should be fully prepared for this issue. >> japan launched a strong

protest after south korea's president lee myung-bak visited the islands on august 10th. south korea's red cross says it will give $100,000 in aid to north korea. thousands in the country are reportedly suffering after recent heavy rain and floods. the funds are for tents, food and sanitation. north korean state-run media say heavy rain from june to july caused floods in many parts of the nation. they say 169 people died and 400 are missing. downpours have been affecting pyongyang and other areas since last week. south korean government officials say they've yet to decide on aid to the north. they say they are confirming the extent of flood damage. people across japan were glued to their tv during the london olympics. the country had its most successful games with 38 medals, including seven golds. now the medalists are home and they paraded through tokyo's

ginsa district to show their appreciation for their supporters. nhk world's susuma kojima was there. >> reporter: crowds of shoppers flock to ginsa every day to check out the latest in luxury. a different type of crowd packed the streets today to see something else that's shiny. they came for a glimpse of athletes just back from london. and the medals around their necks. >> translator: they are so cool! >> translator: this is really exciting. >> reporter: the japanese olympic committee organized the parade to celebrate the medal haul. athletes beat the record set in athens eight years ago. uchira won a gold in all-around gymnastics.

they captured a silver. the parade ran just one kilometer. it lasted only 20 minutes. still -- >> translator: it's thrilling to see the athletes from the olympics. >> reporter: some people say the medal rush inspired hope as the country recovers from the disaster in march of last year. >> translator: this has lifted people's spirits. >> reporter: tokyo failed in its bid to host the 2016 olympic games. criticked cited a lack of public support. now the city is compete with istanbul and madrid for 2020. the international olympic committee will announce the winner next year. >> translator: it's very rare for japanese people to feel united like this.

getting the olympics in tokyo would make us feel even closer and give us a big lift. so i hope we can host the games in 2020. >> reporter: tokyo hosted the summer olympics in 1964. many say japan was embraced again. 20 years after the second world war. some say bringing back the games would also be symbolic. a chance to highlight japan's recovery. susuma kojima, nhk world, tokyo. for an update on the weather forecast, here's mai shoji. mai? >> now we have a couple of storms to talk about here in asia. one is over here. this just became a tropical storm. and this is now a typhoon. it's actually a very strong typhoon status. this is tenbin heading towards taiwan, possibly making landfall by the end of this workweek.

possibly about thursday afternoon, evening hours. it will be heading towards the southwestern islands of japan before that. and looks like it will be maintaining its intensity so people in these vicinities should be braced for very strong winds as well as heavy rain. now take a look at that. that's 234 kilometers per hour wind gusts. so that's going to be picking up the waves along the coastal areas, even here in the philippines. still, about 5 meters high. so that's going to be closer towards more land masses. now the rainfall accumulation will be some hefty amounts as well. 250 millimeters could be piling up in the next 48 hours. and that will be moving towards southern okinawa islands. looks like it will be moving towards taiwan as well, and that's really not welcomed. and we do have another one to talk about. this is the tropical storm bolaven. it looks like it will be

intensifying into a severe tropical storm by wednesday, and this could actually become bigger than the typhoon tenben and it looks like it will be faring towards the southwestern islands of japan and taiwan. we'll keep a close eye on these couple of storms. now elsewhere here, we have a pacific high that dominates much of this country. we had a very sunny and hot day here in today across much of the country. we saw about 30s with the high temperature. and that's going to be continuing until tomorrow into the midweek. by wednesday, this high pressure will be moving in -- excuse me, moving away from the land masses. and this rain band will come in. so we're going to be having unstable weather in towards the weekend. but this rain band is actually bringing hefty amounts of rain into south korea and central parts of china. we have 134 millimeters of rainfall that has reported -- we

have a report of 134 millimeters in and around southern parts of northern korea that has fallen over the past 24 hours. the additional amount could be as much as 250 millimeters produced from this rain band in and around chongqing especially. this could also associate with some thunderstorms which could be severe, so we should really watch out for that. tokyo looking at 33 on your tuesday. ulaanbaatar really chilly out there at 17 degrees for the high. moving over to the americas now, around the four corners, especially in and around colorado, you may see some few strong thunderstorms that will be moving in towards the texas panhandle. still this stalling front will be lingering in the similar areas so the southern gulf states. do be aware of a few thunderstorm activity. new york, washington, d.c., you are a little bit in the lower than average temperatures so a taste of autumn there.

but still sizzling hot here in oklahoma city at 31 degrees. in europe, while things are still very hot across the south and the temperatures are reflected there, budapest at 37 degrees. and we're looking at vienna still at 32 and madrid, 39 degrees. here's our extended forecast.

once again our lead story --

human rights activists say the latest fighting between syrian government troops and opposition forces has claimed the lives of dozens more civilians. spokespersons for the london-based syrian observatory for human rights say reports suggest more than 100 people were killed on sunday alone. they say about half of the victims were unarmed civilians. they got caught up in fierce battles in the capital damascus in the southern city of daraa. president bashar al assad's forces have been carrying out air strikes in some places. they have warned opposition fighters in the commercial capital aleppo to surrender or face full-scale attacks. 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.