welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some stories we're following this hour. japanese researchers have been given the go ahead to start the world's first human trials using ips cells as early as next summer. >> australian prime minister

gill ard has ousted. the three olympic cities held their breath as the ioc released their report. they will decide the host city of the 2020 summer games. a japanese health ministry panel approved the first trial using ips cells that can grow in any type of body issue. it could take place as early as next summer. researchers filed an application in february to use ips cells to cultivate ret nal tissue, hoping to restore sight from people suffering from age related macular degeneration. they met for the third time to screen the application and additional data. they evaluated both technical aspects and ethical considerations of the technology. an estimated 690,000 people are suffering from the eye disease across japan. laser treatment and medication

are currently being used to slow the worsening of the condition. there is no effective cure to help patients restore vision. a patient with the disease welcomes the news. all of the patients want to see the world around us so the news gives us a ray of light. >> the researchers will start selecting patients for the trial after receiving the final go ahe ahead. gillard will be stepping down. >> kevin rud has been elected as leader of the party. i congratulate mr. ruddon his election. i have written to the governor general asking her to commission rudd as prime minister of australia. >> rudd won the labor party ballot with 57 votes to gillard's 45 on wednesday night.

gillard promised to quit politics if she lost the ball ot. rudd was sworn in in september of 2007 but his support rate remained low and he stepped down in 2010. the shake-up follows a series of opinion polls suggesting gillard's minority government would suffer a devastating defeat at national elections to be held in three months. president barack obama laid out an aggressive action plan to cut carbon emissions and prepare the united states for the impact of climate change. he faced criticism in his first term for failing to live up to his promises on the environment. obama says 40% of all domestic carbon pollution comes from power plants and pledging to introduce federal limits for new and existing facilities. >> power plants can still dump unlimited amounts of carbon pollution into the air for free.

that's not right. it's not safe, and it needs to stop. >> the president is vowing to invest in clean energy. he says he wants at least 6 million homes to run on renewable power by 2020. president obama pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 17% from 2005 levels by 2020 in the beginning of his first term. but a recent report from think tank world research institute shows that the united states is not on track to meet the target. the professor is an expert on american climate policies and explains the significance of o bam am's action plan and whether it will help him achieve his goals. >> it's the first time for the united states government to regulate large images such as power companies. this regulation will help u.s. government to meet its own

emission target. and during his first term, he failed to introduce comprehensive climate bill that includes cap on the trade scheme due to the opposition from the senate members. but this time he is using the clean air act, the existing law. so he does not have to go through the congress. there are some difficulties that u.s. government has to deal with. first, the regulatory agency must work on details of the regulations, then state government must work on their own plan. and then, there is a possibility of litigations, power companies using coal may not be happy with this new regulations. so they may start some lawsuit against the u.s. government. so it may take several years and

i imagine that it will be 2018 or so at the earliest when the regulation is going to be in place. behind this action plan, there's a negotiation in the past few years, united states has been successfully exploring home grown energy, shale gas at reasonable cost. this shale gas revolution, makes the price lower than before. so many power companies actually switched from coal to natural gas. and natural gas has lower carbon content than coal. so by switching from coal to natural gas, power companies can reduce fuel emission by roughly 50%. so this shale gas revolution made the new regulation

politically acceptable. this new action plan is a strong message to emerging economies too such as china or india, rely on coal with oil technologies but the new action plan shows that u.s. government believes that emerging economies should also move to cleaner energy. >> the world has become very small for edward snowden. the former u.s. intelligence contractor has been hiding out in moscow airport as american authorities press for his extradition on espionage charges. if he can get on a plane, he has another possible place to go. venezuelan president ma dur ro said on state run tv that his government will consider offering him asylasylum. he would have to make a request.

the contractor revealed earlier this month that nsa agents collect private phone and internet data at home and abroad. snowden flew to moscow from hong kong. russian media report he's allowed to stay there as long as he has flight reservations. vad mir putin refused to turn snowden over to u.s. authorities saying the countries don't have an agreement to extradite criminals nch the pakistani taliban targeted a senior judge nn attack that killed several security officers. >> the judge was injured in wednesday's attack in karachi, the taliban targeted him for his role in special and terrorist courts. a bomb attached to a motorcycle exploded when he was on his way to court. at least seven security guards

were killed. the pakistani taliban claimed responsibility. they say he was targeted for making decisions that contradict sharia law. he served as a judge in special courts used to pass down quick judgments to convicted terrorists. thailand's anti-drug authorities on wednesday set fire to more than three tons of illegal substances. it was a symbolic show of force to mock well drug day but came as a united nations report said drug use in the region continues to spread. narcotics with a street value of more than $330 million went up in flames at the ceremony in central province on wednesday. contained mostly methamphetam e

methamphetamines and heroin. >> translator: i have no idea when we'll be able to solve our severe drug issues in thailand because this is becoming a regional problem. we need cooperation with neighboring countries such as myanmar. >> the united nations on wednesday released its well drug report 2013. the document says that global drug situation is stable but it adds that southeast asia has witnessed an increase in usage of methamphetamine type substances. it has a large dynamic young population and crime groups are targeting this region with increased supply because they know they can grow the market. >> the u.n. report says afghanistan remains the world's largest producer of illegal opium accounting for 74% of

global supply in 2012. myanmar comes second accounting for 10% of opium production. the u.n. agency warns that illegal drugs pose an ongoing threat to public health and security in the region. the world's appetite for thai food seems to be insatiable. how can they be sure what they are eating is the real deal? the thai government cooked up a campaign to urge restaurants to follow a standard recipe but not everyone can stomach the plan. nhk world has more. >> reporter: there's no other way to say it, thai food is hot. there are more than 20,000 thai restaurants serving consumers in nearly 100 countries. but how can everyone be sure what they are eating is the real

deal? the thai government is working on a campaign called thai delicious and was to standardize recipes and order restaurants to follow them around the globe. >> translator: every time we and the government travel abroad, we notice the thai food we eat doesn't taste the way it should. if we can provide a standard recipe using scientific testing he we would be able to monitor the taste and aroma and all around flavor. >> reporter: i'm here at one of the laboratories and today they are working on how to make the most famous soup taste universally good with all of the right flavors. the test isn't based only on taste. experts here take a scientific approach. this machine checks whether the soup is the correct color.

and this one measures whether it contains all of the necessary ingredients releasing the right aroma. next comes the taste test. at least 400 people rate the dish entering feedback data into a software program. thailand's top chefs are also taking part. he is a contestant on the tv show "iron chef" and samples the final product. >> translator: as a chef, i've been thinking about developing a standard recipe for a long time. but the question was always would it be acceptable to everybody? now we have a recipe chosen using modern techniques.

>> reporter: exports of thai food products are on the rise. in 2012 the food industry generated about 27 billion u.s. dollars accounting for about 12% of gross domestic product. though the thai government believes the campaign will raise the quality of thai food and push international demand, business operators have mixed feelings. >> the standard written by the government is good as a guideline but should not limit creativity like creating fusion food and limit exports. >> in my opinion it's very good because in europe we have many of for example, thai restaurant or thai food which are quite different but i can make here in thailand. >> reporter: thai delicious is at the early stages of developing perfect recipes but they are hoping the project can

help the thai food industry taste a stronger flavor of success. nhk world, bangkok. >> that wraps up our bulletin. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. the people who run the olympics have announced their evaluation of the candidate cities for 2020 summer games, the report on tokyo and is stan bull and madrid lists each city and the challenges it faces. >> reporter: the governor of tokyo is having a hard time hiding his excitement. >> translator: i'm so happy that the ioc generally gave a high evaluation for our proposal. >> reporter: members of the

evaluation commission for the international olympic committee carried out inspections in march in the three cities vying to host the 2020 games. they looked at 14 criteria, such as security, economy, and venue. the report says tokyo has the necessary financial resources to host olympics for a second time. it praises the city's safety and security. but it says some venues would present operational challenges because of the limited space around them. >> translator: our bid is now in its final stage. and we will expend every effort to be chosen. >> reporter: istanbul in turkey is trying to become the first city in an emerging economy to

host the olympics. its rich history would be positive factors in promoting the games. and he notes the economy is growing fast. but evaluators warn, future investment could vary depending on how the economy performs in the coming years. the ioc report points out that the civil war in neighboring syria presents security risks. it doesn't mention the recent anti-government protest that have spread across turkey. >> translator: the race has entered its divisive period. if it continues, the 2020 games will be nothing but a dream. >> reporter: the evaluators

noted that each committee reached gains. almost all venues will be located within a 10 kilometer radius of the city center. the report says that madrid is proposing a balanced budget. but it also says that the organizing committee may face some risks because of spain's fiscal situation. madrid mayor says she's happy with the report. she's pleased it evaluates previous investment on infrastructure. ioc members are prohibited from visiting candidate cities. so they'll use the report to make their decision although evaluators didn't give the candidates scores. the ioc will announce the winner on september 7th. nhk world, tokyo.

june 26th marks the international day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking. combatting traditional drugs is no longer the only global challenge. a new focus is now on uncontrolled substances whose effects can be as harmful of those as classical drugs. here's the report. >> a new type of drugs is driving demand worldwide. they are called new psych co-active substances or nps, other common names include designer drugs. also, technically legal the effects mimic those of illegal drugs. the united nations warned of a spread of nps. in a report issued in march, nps are spreading in 87% of the

countries and territories and no one is spared from americas to europe, to asia pacific region. they are subject to control by specialized agents, but demand is growing for what people call -- >> reporter: it shocked many people when it emerged to some children as young as 13 are consuming new psychoactive substances. one of the most common types of nps found in japan, a mix of herbs laced with chemical powder, users use it in cigarettes and can produce hallucinations as as long as as in the real product. one packet costs about $40.

>> translator: this gives a certain piece of mind because it's not illegal like actual marijuana or other drugs. you can't be arrested for possession. all you have to do is go to a shop. and it's not that expensive. >> reporter: but users underestimate the impact of substances can have on their health. >> translator: i had a really scary experience once. i smoked more powder than usual. and right afterwards, even though i was at home, i could no longer tell where i was. i didn't even remember my name. >> japanese police say the consumption of nps is behind a growing number of traffic incidents. in may of last year, a young car driver who had smoked fake marijuana was arrested after

running over a female in osaka. the japanese government respondeded in march by designating several hundred types of these substance as a drug. producers can easily escape the restriction by altering the substances. >> translator: the situation could get worse. cracking down on drug use is difficult. for now all we can do is let as many people as possible know how dangerous drugs can be. and how they can undermine our health. >> reporter: the process to designate a substance as a controlled drug takes time. this allows producers to stay ahead of the game by continuously introducing in types of drugs. consumers looking for borderline substances can still buy them on the streets of tokyo.

in japan as in other countries, the change for authorities will be to find more effective ways of limiting their spread. nhk world, tokyo. heavy rain in japan as well as in china. rachel ferguson joins us with the latest. >> it has been a day of heavy rain for many places in the southern half of japan. thursday looks more promising. we'll see this low and frontal system moving away further down towards the south. let me show you the totals from the last 24 hours. many areas picking up in excess of 100 millimeters in parts of kochi, more than 200 millimeters. now down in kyushu, 4 millimeters fell because it wasn't just a day of rain, the rain band has been sitting stationary across western japan for the last couple of days. although it will be improving on

thursday for japan, not so unfortunately for china. the tail end of this rain band will be stretching down along the river basin and falling this heavy rain on already saturated land. along the rain band, expect 100 to 200 millimeters of rain on a daily basis and this will be continuing for the next couple of days. flooding and landslides definitely going to be of very high concern. here are the temperatures across asia, looking at a lot of heat towards the north. 34 degrees in beijing. all right, on we go into the americas. a quick look at the hurricane down here in the pacific. it's continuing to move away from mexico. and it is expected to weaken. so two pieces of good news there. up towards the north we go, not much change here. it has been a week so far of some severe storms for the great lakes region and upper midwest.

it is starting to push further east but you're still in danger for flooding from north dakota down into illinois. as for the west, things look very dry here but it's the heat that's going to be the really big news into saturday and sunday. we see temperatures approaching record highs, 52 degrees in death valley. not the hottest that you have seen. but in the las vegas, 46. that is a daily record tie for this time of year and 48 degrees in phoenix as well approaching that record breaking level. so do take care, make sure children and pets also are looked after in this extreme heat. on we head into europe, it's been very unsettled here across central and eastern locations. for the last several days, starting to move out. you could see good spells of sunshine here but it will stay quite unstable for the next couple of days. in terms of temperatures after

you remember last week we had the heat approaching the 30-degree mark, it's been rainy and about 15 degrees for places like vienna and berlin, into thursday a little improvement, 21 degrees and sunshine in vienna. unfortunately 19 in paris and london with that drizzle as well. down towards the southwest, you'll see things really warming up and madrid as well as lisbon, approaching the upper 30s. we have 38 degrees and sunshine in athens and still seeing 30s low 30s in moscow and kiev. here's your extended forecast.

that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

from the four winds and the scent of the earth come the color of the seasons. exploring the four seasons of japan. mount fuji has always fascinated the people of japan. throughout the changing seasons