hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo with the stories at this hour. ballot counting is under way in iran after millions of people voted for the new president. they're picking a successor to outgoing leader mahmoud ahmadinejad who's been in office eight years. so many people showed up they extended the voting. they include the mayor and the country's top nuclear negotiate.

those who want better relations with western countries are supporting a single candidate, hassan rohani. he was a negotiate under the former reform president. opinion polls shows hard liners leading the race. the moderate rohani closed the gap in the final stages of campaigning. election results will be found on saturday. if no candidate has majority, the top two candidates face a runoff vote in one week. u.s. president barack obama is changing his afroech the war in syria. he has concluded troops loyal to bashar assad used chemical weapons and will provide military support to opposition fighters. >> we have concluded assad used chemical weapons against the opposition multiple times in the last year, on a small scale.

>> ben rhodes says chemical weapons are believed to have killed 100 to 150 people. he says the aid to the opposition will include military support but he hasn't provided details. intelligence officials looked into suspicions about chemical weapons use in syria in march. those in britain and france said assad's forces had used the weapons against the opposition. syrian rebels have been urging the united states to provide them with conventional weapons. president obama is expected to discuss the issue with other world leaders next week at the group 8 summit in northern island. france supports arming the syrian opposition. turkey's prime minister is dialing down the heat in his effort to deal with protesters calling to save a park and his resignation. tayyip erdogan has shown more

flexibility in a meeting with the demonstrators. both sides met following similar discussions earlier in the week. the unrest started in istanbul late last month. protesters are opposed to a plan to redevelop a park adjacent to taksim square. the cause brought an end to an anti-government movement. police have resorted to force to break up the demonstrations. after the meeting, a senior official of the ruling party said that erdogan suggested he would partially suspend the redevelopment project until a court makes a ruling in an ongoing lawsuit. in an earlier meeting, a developer suggested holding a referendum on the project. some of the demonstrators are welcoming erdogan's latest proposal, but others say they won't back down until he resigns. hours before the talks, the prime minister threatened to forcibly evict protesters from taksim square and the park. now the park has become a home away from home for some of the

anti-government protesters. "nhk world" shows us around. >> reporter: colorful tents, blankets, and picnic sheets line walkways inside the park, along with the flags and pictures of the country's founding father. thousands of people, young and old, have been camping out here. students, workers and business owners have come together and secularists who fear the growing influence of religion and dislike the approach of prime minister erdogan. people have put up stands to distribute masks and helmets for the demonstrators. others have started an ad hoc library where people can exchange books. here in the park where the

protest goes on for over ten days, people have set up a playground for the children so their parents can go ahead and protest. >> translator: it's very comfortable here. i've come to leave my child at this nursery so i can take part in the protest. >> reporter: tro staged demonstrations day and night. it all started after crews took down trees in the park as part of a redevelopment project. he is a fashion designer who was one of the first protesters. he says the tree cutting incident triggered the release of pent-up frustrations over the prime minister. >> this country has owners. it doesn't mean that they are islam, they are christian, they are straight or gay. it doesn't matter they are communist or they are socialists or they are anti-capitalists.

this country is variations of colors and mosaics. and we want to keep it that way. >> reporter: erdogan has warned protesters to leave the park. they are staying for now in this makeshift community they have built, but they will eventually leave. and whether the park remains or is it redeveloped, it's clear something has changed in turkey. a part of the population has spoken, united in a way the country has not seen before. and a politician who has been in power for nearly a decade has been made to face a reality that he tried to ignore. nhk world, istanbul. united nations officials say they expect average life expectancy around the world to rise to almost 82 by the start

of the next century. and they say they expect the global population to reach more than 10 billion. the u.n. officials released their forecast in a report called world population prospects. they say they think people in east asia, europe, and north america in 2100 will have an average life span of nearly 100 years. they project life expectancy in japan of 94.2 years, and they say people in south korea will have the world's longest average life span of 95.5 years. the u.n. report says the world's population will grow from the current 9.6 billion in 2050 to 9.10 billion in 2100. >> it's important to plan for future population growth. it's important to see it as kind of a warning signal that we need to accelerate efforts to find ways to live that are more sustainable over time.

>> the report says india's population will likely surpass china's to become the world's largest by around 2028. and it says china's population will start shrinking after 2030. the report says most population growth in the immediate future will come in asia.ca wl have ra growth in the latter half of this century. chinese authorities are calling for rules and cooperation in the online world in response to the u.s. government's surveillance scandal. a whistle-blower revealed the u.s. national security agency has been hacking into computers in china among other countries. edward snowden worked at the nsa as a contract employee. last week, he told "the guardian" newspaper the agency has been collecting internet and phone records in its fight against terrorism. a chinese foreign ministry spokesperson says the allegations underscore the fact that china is one of the biggest targets of cyber attacks.

>> translator: china resolutely opposes any form of hacking. what is needed in cyberspace is not war or hegemony, but rules and cooperation. >> the spokesperson says china will set up a special group on cyber security under the authority of the foreign ministry. she says chinese officials will promote talks on the issue through diplomatic channels. u.s. commanders are increasing their military presence in the asia pacific as part of a strategic redeployment. they plan to raise the number of marines stationed in australia by nearly six times next year. australian prime minister julia gillard announced 1,150 u.s. personnel will be deployed in darwin. the six-month rotation started last year. 200 marines are involved in joint drills with the australian military. the exercises take place during the dry season between april and september.

darwin is located on the northern tip of australia. it's a strategic location because it puts within reach areas where china is stepping up military activities. u.s. commanders plan to increase their presence in australia to 2,500 personnel including aircraft units and the command staff. the south korean president is trying to get other foreign leaders to come to the table. she has asked other foreign ministers to try and persuade them. officials in south korea's presidential office said she expressed regret that talks were canceled because of disagreement over who led the delegations. pak told tong she wants chinese leaders to persuade north koreans to come to the table. he said he wants to see more exchanges and cooperation between the two koreas and said

he's concerned about north korea's nuclear weapons. he said chinese leaders have told north koreans they don't recognize their country as a nuclear power. the japanese government has officially decided to go ahead with its growth plan. it is the third pillar of prime minister shinzo abe's economic policy following the first two pillars, aggressive monetary easing and flexible fiscal policies. opinions are divided on how the growth plan can lift the economy. nhk world's chie tanaka has more. i >> reporter: cabinet ministers gathered on friday to give final approval on the new economic growth plan. its purpose is to make japanese

businesses more competitive and to bolster the country's economy. the plan includes tripling the value of infrastructure exports by 2020 to over $300 billion. it also calls for establishing special economic zones to provide tax incentives and permitting sales of medicine online. abe also wants to promote the export of medical services and technologies to a market worth over $50 billion by 2030. some private firms welcome the new growth plan. japan's the leading manufacturer of medical image equipment is one of them. >> translator: we are looking forward to promoting our high quality medical products with government support. >> reporter: one economist says

a growth plan with specific goals bodes well for the economy. >> setting a new target over prime minister's abe's growth strategy is very easy to understand, what trend of the policy measures that prime minister is going to be thinking about. so i think that is a very positive thing for japanese economy. >> reporter: but many market players aren't convinced. they say the plan lacks new ideas and concrete steps to boost the economy so that the private sector are missing. one manufacturer is the medical use is disappointed in the plan. about 60% of their sales are overseas. the firm is facing price wars with local companies in the chinese and southeast asia

markets. the firm's president yoshi takahashi was hoping for a corporate tax cut which would have given him a competitive edge. >> translator: if the corporate tax is reduced by 5% or 10% we'll have more options with allotting surplus funds. we may have to look at the option to move our headquarters to places with low corporate tax rates like singapore or hong kong. >> reporter: another economist says the plan didn't go far enough in deregulation which would have encouraged companies to enter new markets. >> it would be better for the government to deregulate the economy and let private sector to take more risks by themselves rather than supported by the government. >> reporter: some market participants are already urging

arrow to follow. chie tanaka, nhk world, tokyo. >> meanwhile, abe's cabinet also approved basic economic and fiscal policies and agreed to have the deficit reduced and slowly reduced debts after 2020. the plans include social security costs to help in fiscal consolidation. toyota motor executives will be getting bigger pay and bonuses this fiscal year. its shareholders have approved plans to boost top management compensation by more than 30%. the carmaker held a shareholders at its head office in toyota city. the 13 board members will be paid a total of $13.5 million in wages and bonuses in fiscal 2013. that's up 32% from the fiscal year that ended in march.

toyota reported a 270% operating profit increase for that year. >> translator: i think the improved performance is a result of their daily efforts. >> toyota president akio toyoda told the shareholders that the automaker will not build new domestic plants in the coming three years, but will do its utmost to improve productivity in the country. check out the latest market figures.

a high ranking myanmar politician says they're considering a constitutional amendment. the constitution includes a restriction that makes the opposition leader ineligible for the presidency. >> the comment was made by the third highest-ranking official under the former military regime, currently speaker of the lower house. the politician appeared on a program by the radio station "voice of america" during a visit to washington. he says he is aware of a constitutional restriction that blocks the possibility of su ki becoming president. he notes a panel is now in place in parliament to investigate what parts of the constitution should be changed. the current constitution prohibits any politician with a foreign national as a family member from becoming president.

her two sons hold u.k. citizenship, so she would not be able to take the top office even if she won the next election by a large margin. but a constitutional amendment would be far from easy. it would require support from at least 75% of parliamentary members. nepal's interim government announced on thursday that the national election scheduled for this month is postponed until november. the election has been delayed several times. political discord has continued in the himalayan country since a decade long civil war ended six years ago. nepal abolished its 239-year-old monarchy in october 2006 to become a republic. an assembly was elected in 2008 and tasked with creating a constitution for the himalayan nation. the assembly disagreed on issues such as how much power to grant

the president and was dissolved in may of last year, before it drafted a constitution. the main political parties agreed to establish an interim government headed by supreme the court chief justice. he said this month as a schedule for the election to nepal's constituent assembly which will also double as parliament. however, the registration of eligible voters has not been completed. some political parties object to the planned election. they say it should be held when a politician and not a supreme court justice is serving as prime minister. they claim his role is a violation of the separation of legislative and judicial branches, and he should step down. the thai government and a major islamic insurgency group agreed on thursday to curb violence during ramadan. the deal follows the third round of peace talks brokered by malaysia. according to a statement issued

by the government and the brn, both sides agree to reduce violence during the islamic holy month of ramadan which starts in july. however, the statement does not go into details of how they will ease violence. the population of thailand is predominantly buddhist, but three provinces in the south have muslim majorities. islamist separatists in the area are fighting for autonomy. more than 5,300 people have been killed in the conflict since 2004. the government and the brn started official peace negotiations in march, but violence continues, and it is not clear if the brn is able to stop it completely as the militants seem to be decentralized. the next round of talks is scheduled after the end of ramadan. and that will wrap up our bulletin. from bangkok.

nomads have roamed the grasslands of northern china for centuries. these herding communities have always lived close to nature. now, the governments promoting economic growth are changing their lives and being pressured to settle down in designated area areas. >> their city is free of trees and this is the traditional home of the nomads.

>> reporter: some of the remaining nomads roam around the vast grasses with the border with russia. >> they and other minorityies ae herding livestock. but change has arrived. coal mines are opening and urban development is spreading. government officials say they want people to give up their nomadic existence to improve their lives. some have done so. several are working for tourist facility that promotes mongolian culture, music and food. a traditional tent made of felt and lamb is in most dishes. >> we got to try some of the local alcohol and get close to nature out here. yeah.

i have to say it's amazing. >> reporter: oolan runs the restaurant with her family. she quit her nomadic life two years ago.all the ingredients c from the farm. ♪ >> she says that she likes working in the tourist industry because it's a way of preserving her cultures, traditional food and clothing. >> translator: that life, back in the old days, was tough for our parents. i don't think people my age want go back and be herders. i want to keep on working on my tourism business and live a more comfortable life.

>> reporter: many tourists only visit places close to the cities. most of the land the government gives to the nomads is in remote areas. this is the only house here. the government subsidies the buildings. people's nomadic lives change. farming cows and sheep. he and his wife say that they don't make much from selling hey and milk. their three children study in a city 100 kilometers away. the couple wants to live with them but they say that farming is their only option. >> translator: tourists would never be interested in coming here. the only thing we know is farming.

i don't think we could ever live in a city. this is the life we're used to. and we have to keep living this wa way. >> some nomads say the resettlement policy has made their lives better, but at the same time, more and more people are finding the sudden change a shock to their traditional way of life. "nhk world," china. britbritain's duchess of cambridge could have made what could be her last solo appearance before she gives birth. she christened a cruise ship. >> i name this ship royal princess. may god bless her and all who sail in her. >> she honored the tradition of smashing a bottle of champagne

on the hull and spoke to cruise officials and listened to a brass band. officials revised the rules so even if it's a girl, it can assume the throne. she hinted her baby may be a girl. >> here this is weekend weather forecast.

that is all we have this hour on "newsline." thank you for watching and have a good day.

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