welcome to nhk world "newsline." the conflict in syria is destabilizing the situation in neighboring countries including lebanon. clashes in beirut and other parts of the nation have led to the death of at least one person and wounded dozens of others. sympathizers of anti-government forces in syria have clashed with security forces in central beirut. fighting also broke out on sunday and monday in northern lebanon between groups that

support and oppose the syrian government of bashar al assad. local media reported exchanges of fire involving automatic weapons and mortars. the violence was triggered by the killing of a top lebanese security official last week. he was known as a lead og poentd of the syrian president. his death was seen as an act of retaliation by the pro-assad faction in lebanon. the tensions are driving a wedge between the people, mainly sunni factions opposed to the syrian president are fighting against the shia group hezbollah and other sympathizers of bashar al assad. a high-ranking syrian official says president assad welcomes in principle the cease-fire proposal by the united nations and the arab league. syria's deputy foreign minister faisal mekdad made the remarks on monday in an interview with nhk. president assad met with the united nations and envoy lakhdar

brahimi sunday in damascus. brahimi called for a cease-fire between government and opposition forces starting on friday, the first day of aislamc eid al adha, a muslim holiday. deputy foreign minister mekdad attended the meeting. >> the president said in principle we welcome all these ideas, but we should discuss them with the relevant parties. two or three days there will be a very clear position by the syrian leadership on this issue. >> mekdad stressed the port-au-prince of a commitment by opposition forces to stop the violence. he also criticized saudi arabia and turkey for supporting anti-government forces. he called on these nations to stop funding and arming the opposition. syrian's faced another flare-up of violence as those cease-fire talks went on. a car bomb exploded in damascus. it killed 13 people and it

underscored how life in the syrian capital is getting harder. nhk world's bep bep reports. >> reporter: many consider this to be a relatively peaceful place, a christian area that had escaped the violence. that changed when a cab rigged with explosives blew up outside a police station. >> translator: i drove my taxi into the square. the moment the door was opened a blast occurred nearby. >> translator: no place in syria is safe. terrorists can be anywhere. >> reporter: no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. opposition fighters have been pledging to target government nerve centers in damascus. they have taken their fight to the suburbs and into the capital itself.

we are now at the southern part of damascus. this is a residential area. even the school was a place of battles between the two forces. government commanders have mobilized all available troops. soldiers have set up check points along major roads to prevent opposition forces from getting in. residents have struggled with the limits on the security. and with the impact of that on the economy. only about half the gas stations in damascus are open for business, so drivers have to lineup to fill up their cars. the u.s. and the european union slapped economic sanctions on syria, including a ban on imports of oil. gas prices are about 50% higher than they were three months ago. >> translator: gas prices have

skyrocketed, and the quality is poorer. >> reporter: citizens long for a ceasefire that might bring them stability. government and opposition forces have been reluctant to lay down their arms. some are hoping they might start with a temporary truce and then build on that. sho beppu, nhk world, damascus. egypt's president mohamed morsi promised to tackle problems that affect people's daily lives during his first 100 days in office. now that he's passed that milestone, egyptians are paying close attention and assessing his performance. nhk world's yu kobayashi has more from cairo. >> reporter: this website shows the status of the new

president's program. it's become the most popular website in egypt. the site was set up by two egyptians in their 20s. members of the public use the site to evaluate the progress of morsi's policies. the site receives 6,000 to 10,000 hits a day. >> translator: under the previous government, no one would have imagined ordinary citizens commenting on what the president was doing. >> reporter: this man is a frequent visitor to the site. he posted a comment criticizing the president's failure to solve the programs. >> translator: president morsi could be worse than mubarak. if we don't speak out against

him, we might suffer for another 30 years. >> reporter: president morsi is keenly aware he is being watched. a team of police officers were mobilized recently to ease traffic congestion. they removed stalls set up on the roads by street vendors. but the vendors quickly returned. criticism on the morsi meter site came swiftly. just as swiftly, the muslim brotherhood and its political wing, the freedom and justice party, hit the streets. the groups form a large part of morsi's power base.

they began distributing garbage bins bearing the party's name. >> translator: people criticize us, saying we are not doing anything, so we decided to put out garbage bins. >> reporter: his group also patrols the street to see that garbage is being collected properly. a phone call to the garbage disposal company was all it took for the trash to disappear. but when he begins to defend morsi, people quickly voice their frustration. on morsi's 100th day in office,

people said he was performing far below their expectations in all categories except the garbage disposal. but hope seems to be on the rise. >> translator: when mubarak was in power, young people in egypt thought only about themselves, getting a job or getting married. but now people have begun thinking about how to make egypt a better country. >> reporter: the morsi meter is making people believe that keeping a close eye on the government will make it more accountable and that could help lead the country in the right direction. yu kobayashi, nhk world, cairo. tensions are rising from a

territorial dispute with china are casting a shadow over japanese trade. japan posted a record trade deficit for the six months to september as exports to china plunged. finance ministry officials also reported monthly trade figures. japan's deficit stood at about $7 billion, a new high. officials pointed to a steep drop in car exports to china. chinese demand for japanese goods has slumped due to the dispute over the senkaku islands in the east china sea. japan controls the islands. china claims them. the finance ministry says japan's deficit for the six months through september was about $40 billion. it was the largest half-year deficit since the government began keeping records in 1979. half-year trade with the european union fell into the red for the first time with a deficit reaching more than $1 billion. against china, japan's deficit for the period was $19 billion.

the bank of japan downgraded its economic assessments of eight of nine regions due to sluggish production and personal consumption. it's the first time in three years and nine months that the central bank has lowered its assessments of so many regions all at once. boj branch managers say industrial production declined in these eight regions. they point to falling exports of cars and other auto-related products as a result of the global economic slowdown. they also note that personal spending fell in all the regions because government subsidies for eco-car buyers ended and winter clothing sales were weak due to the lingering summer heat. the boj managers also reported on concerns in their regions that the recent tour cancellations by chinese people over a territorial dispute could hurt the local economies. japan business federation chairman heerema sue chairman points to the country's tough economic conditions. he says business sentiment among corporate executives has been

cooling down. yonekura notes that slower growth in europe and china plus the yen's strength are taking their toll on japan's economy. >> translator: we don't expect the government to boost spending. i think re-regulation is the only possible way to restructure the economy without fiscal action. here are the latest market figures.

south korean authorities have stopped a protest against their neighbor from getting off the ground. they've banned activists from releasing 200,000 balloons carrying leaflets criticizing north korean leader kim jong-un. kim's military commanders threatened they would strike without warning if the balloons were sent. south korean police cordoned off the road leading to imjingak, a town near the demarcation line. they got into scuffles with activists who protested against the move. most of the activists are defectors from north korea. they started chanting slogans against the north once it was clear they would have to give up on their leaflet campaign, activists say they managed to release some of the balloons on monday eve frng an area not guarded by the police. the government's interventions in tensions like this one is

rare. relations with the north have been more tense than usual. north korean leaders have been making provocative moves ahead of south korea's presidential election in december. former chinese president jiang zemin has frequently been in the news in the lead-up to next month's key communist party congress. the congress will see current president hu jintao and many others at the pinnacle of chinese politics replaced after ten years in power. jiang is believed to wield significant influence in the selection of the country's leaders. he stepped down from china's top post ten years ago but appears to be making a show of his good health at the age of 86. chinese media reported over the weekend that the former leader had written a couplet in tradition of the liquor fee for his alma mater in yangzhou. jiang composed the poem to mark the school's 110th anniversary. on october 9th, jiang and his

wife met in beijing with officials of a university. jiang has reportedly said that china lacks resources and must enhance its maritime development. barack obama and mitt romney will face off late monday in their final debate of the u.s. presidential campaign. but already the president and his republican rival are trading attacks. obama criticized romney for shifting positions on tax cuts for the wealthy and abortion. the president made the comments while campaigning in the closely contested state of virginia. >> he's changing up so much and back tracking and side stepping. we have got to name this condition that he is going through. i think it's called romnesia. >> romney said obama has resorted to petty attacks. a romney campaign official said

it was silly for the president of the united states to begin uttering such words. a new poll from nbc news and the "wall street journal" suggest obama and romney are even at 47%. minsters from about 40 countries are meeting in seoul to discuss a new framework on climate change. they're trying to narrow the differences between developed and developing nations. the minsters are preparing for the u.n. conference on climate change next month in doha, qatar. >> we will start laying the groundwork to draw successful outcome. please show your commitment and leadership at the minster meeting. >> the kyoto protocol expires this is year. delegates at the meeting hope to agree on a time table to launch by 2020. >> translator: global warming cannot be prevented unless all countries take part in the effort.

japan wants to lead efforts to create such a framework. >> delegates from industrialized countries want all major emitters, including china and india, to be bound by reduction cuts. those from developing nations say they need more financial and technical support. people in japan's northeast are focused on overcoming the challenges of 2011 disaster. but it won't be easy. they have to rebuild homes, businesses, entire communities. we'll show you their struggles and their successes on "the road ahead" every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time here on "newsline." following the fukushima nuclear crisis last year, the town of naraha had to be evacuated as it was just 15 kilometers from the power plant. the students at the local junior high school were split up and found themselves in new schools, many far away. but this was not the final out

for the najera school's baseball team. this summer, the older players got together to take part in a national semihardball baseball tournament. nhk world was there. >> reporter: for the players on the nahara baseball team, this is the biggest day of their lives. they've been living far apart since last spring, but now they're back together and playing in a national tournament. although the team was officially dissolved, the third-year players were set on playing together again. wearing donated uniforms, they won the prefecture tournament and qualified for the national competition. keita niche macchi is the captain.

he loves playing baseball. even though it's been hard for players to gather for practice sessions, he's done his best to lead the team. following last year's nuclear crisis, nishimaka's family evacuated to a town 100 kilometers from nahara. at first he was worried whether he'd be able to play baseball at his new school. but the baseball team there welcomed him on board. >> translator: i want us to play all out, to show our gratitude to everywho supported us since we evacuated. in playing with my old teammates, this will be the peak for our junior high school baseball team. >> reporter: there are 28 teams at the tournament, all representing their prefectures. at the opening ceremony, nishimaki gave the fair-play pledge on behalf of all participants.

>> translator: over the past year and a half, we have lost the time and the memories we were hoping for. we pledge to do our utmost and play with smiles so that every minute we are alongside our teammates is an irreplaceable treasure for each of us. >> reporter: nishimaki's teammates from the town he evacuated to are also there to cheer him on. as a cleanup batter, nishimaki gets two hits. and as catcher, he also plays a key role on defense. all his teammates give their everything.

but in the end, they can't overcome their opponents. the tournament is over for them in the first round. >> translator: even though we didn't practice enough, we always looked forward to the sessions, and we really enjoyed playing the games. we have so many good memories. thank you so much for everything you've done for us. everyone all together, thank you very much. to all my 15 teammates, i just want to say thank you. playing alongside them was really great. >> reporter: the players go their separate ways to their new homes, but they take with them the memory and pleasure of

playing one more time alongside their teammates. mariko sato, nhk world, fukushima. the bells of notre dame cathedral in paris have marked the passage of time for hundreds of years. now artisans are casting replacements using traditional techniques so future generations can hear the sound of the past. the bells ring every 15 minutes. they rang for the end of world war i and the liberation of paris in 1944. [ bells ] craftsmen are creating new bells using time-honored techniques. they are making molds from clay and horse dung. they polish the bells to make sure they sound just like the originals back in the 17th century. parisians will hear the new bells for the first time next march, the cathedral's 850th anniversary.

>> zombies invaded the australian city of brace bane over the weekend. they terrified residents and brought traffic to a halt. but they say it was all for a good cause. the annual zombie walk supports medical research. >> we are raising money for the brain foundation. >> the concept for me is to be as gross and bloody and gory as possible because i want to be that disgusting zombie that everybody remembers. >> 15,000 zombies took part last year. they raised about $25,000. organizers say they think more walked this year and collected more money. some say they should try to get this year's zombie walk recognized as a guinness world record. good weather continues until today. that is in tokyo, according to meteorologist robert speta. robert? we are seeing sunny skies

over much of japan, but we have this low-pressure area bringing heavy rain showers to the korean peninsula here, and now it's pushing off towards the east. first it will start to impact western japan and eventually into tokyo by about tuesday in your noon hours. with that, some heavy showers going to be seen here. thunderstorm activity, hail could even be seen with some of these. but then you mention the fact there could be a tornado here in some of these stronger storm systems so, definitely a very severe system. also these heavy rains, about 50 millimeters per hour, could be seeing about 100 to 120 millimeters throughout the duration of your tuesday. but good news into the afternoon hours, as this continues to push east, western japan, first you'll see sunny skies, then east in tokyo, and even off towards the north, rain throughout your day on tuesday in hokkaido, but you could see some snow showers on wednesday into the higher elevations, so you definitely want to bundle up here. it's going to be a very chilly one across much of eastern china, the korean peninsula also

seeing cooler temperatures, about midteens for your highs here on your monday. and then into tuesday. but also on wednesday into the latter part of the week, starting to see it warm back up here. down farther towards the south, we have a little spinning area here just towards the east of the philippines. this is now a tropical depression expected to become a tropical storm sometime on tuesday as it slowly works its way off here towards the west. very warm sea surge temperatures here, so definitely a lot of energy for this to develop. so a lot of rain showers going to be coming out of it, and that's really the main threat with it at this time, not so much the winds but these rains upwards of 100 millimeters or more could be seen here even into the earlier areas. is a bu could be seeing some of that. as that slowly moves off towards the west, that will bring the risk of flooding and mud slides. may want to watch this into the latter part of the week as it re-emerges back out to the south china sea. temperatures shape up like this. shanghai with a high of 22, seoul at 15, ulaanbaatar only 9

on your tuesday. overnight hours it will get down well below freezing as well. over towards the americas, also seeing some cold temperatures into the rockies. we have a low-pressure area popping some moisture onshore here. it's going to bring some snow showers up to 37 meters high in some of the higher elevations accompanied by 80-mile-per-hour wis. you see the lines here. even some thunderstorm activity into the western great lakes, around chicago. none of these are going to become severe, but you want to watch out for a flash of lightning or two across this area. temperatures on decent side across much of the southeast, oklahoma city at 27, winnipeg, the gold spot on the map, only 8 on your monday. now over towards europe, we are seeing some rain showers across italy over towards greece. these are not going to be too severe. really the main thing across much of europe here is sunny skies in central europe. some fog is going to be expected there across the uk, but really nothing too severe until this low-pressure area just off the

coastline slowly stars to move onshore across portugal into spain. by the latter part of the week, ubd be seeing some rain showers with that as well. london with a high of 16, paris at 20. look at this, though, moscow, only 3 here for your high. the low will be down to right around minus 5 to minus 6. it will be very chilly to be expected here throughout the day on tuesday. here's your extended forecast. ♪

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

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