glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi. tension continues in libya. rebels are pushing for comomete control of the capital tripoli and the capture of leader muammar gadhafi. many citizens have already gathered in a square in the city center. celebrating their freedom from gadhafi's rule. the rebel landed council chief jalil spoke to reporters say the northeastern city of benghazi on monday and saying that gadhafi's rule has ended. >> translator: we will capture gadhafi alive. and give him a fair trial. >> jalil says his forces plan to quickly win control of tripoli and set up government there. however, gadhafi's troops are continuing tuing to resist.

troops have gathered at a military facility that also serves as the leader's residence. he has not been seen since issuing a statement calling on people to fight back. the rebel forces have announced they detained gadhafi's son. the second son saif al islam is wanted on charges of crimes against humanity. the court has asked libya's opposition council to hand him over. now, united nations secretary moon has asked for a division of power. >> for the loss of life and retribution. i call on gadhafi's forces to cease violence. >> speaking to reporters in new york on monday, ban said the

u.n. stands ready to extend assistance to the libyan people. he will hold a meeting with libya with major organizations later this week. now, muammar al gadhafi has ruled libya for 42 years. >> reporter: gadhafi took power at the age of 27. when he led against the king. he was a fierce opponent of the west initially. and he's long been accused of repressing any opposition. in 1988, libya was blamed for the bombing of an airliner over the scottish town of lockerbie. the united nations imposed economic sanctions. in 2003, libya accepted responsible for the lockerbie bombing and said it would

abandon its plan to develop weapon of mass destruction. libya's relations with the west improved in later years thanks to its oil and gas reserves. gadhafi made his first speech at the u.n. in 2009 but he was still defiant. he criticized the u.n. and threw the charter to the floor. several days after the fall of egyptian president hosni mubarak in february, there were antigovernment demonstrations in libya for the first time since gadhafi took power. the protest gained momentum from senior military officers who had defected from the government. the government deployed foreign mercenaries to crack down on protesters.

>> reporter: in march, the u.n. security council approved a military intervention. multinational forces led by nato launched air raids against libya forces. meanwhile, antigovernment protesters gained new momentum helped by economic sanctions on libya they drove gadhafi into a corner. >> we asked the former japanese ambassador to libya about his perspective on the conflict. he says confusion will continue in the days ahead. >> translator: under gadhafi, libya did not have an official head of state or parliament. but now it will be like a normal country. the national council formed by antigovernment forces is now

united behind the goal of toppling the gadhafi regime. once the main objective has been achieved, there will be a certain amount of confusion. because different people have different ideas. tuesday marks one month since the fatal high speed train collision in china. the chinese governnt is trying to win back public trust by investigating the cause of the accident and conducting safety inspections to prevent a recurrence. the incident occurred on july 23rd when a high speed train crashed into another that had stopped on the tracks in the eastern city of wenzhou. 40 people were killed and more than 190 others were injured. investigators say they will publicize the cause of the crash by mid-september. they say the signal light should

have been red but it was green due to a flaw in the software. they also say the worker on duty at the time was not fully trained. he failed to notice the error and did not take appropriate measures. china's railway ministry says it has reached an agreement with the bereavements of the victims' families. but some families say they felt pressured into the agreement. it offered favors of employment and education in addition to monetary compensation. in the meantime, the ministry is specting high speed railway tracks across the country as well as the train manufacturers for proper safety. but the latest accident revealed sloppy safety measures. the inappropriate response from authorities also triggered deep public distrust. u.s. vice president joe biden arrived in japan on monday night for a three-day visit. it's his first trip to this country as vice president.

biden will hold talks with prime minister naoto kan on tuesday. to deal with the accident at the fukushima daiichi plant is also on the agenda. biden will convey his country's support for the reconstruction work. also on tuesday he will visit the northeastern prefecture of miyagi to deliver a message to disaster victims at sendai airport. u.s. troops helped remove debris from the airport which was badly damaged by the tsunami. biden has been on an asian tour visiting china and mongolia. in china he had talks with xi jinping. it's been more than five months since the tsunami and nuclear crisis in march. about 4,600 people are still

reported missing. now, the town of okuma is where the fukushima daiichi plant is located. because of the radiation levels, it is a no entry zone. one of the town's residents is among the messing. a 7-year-old girl. despite the restrictions, una's father never gave up the search. but recently he made a painful decision. >> reporter: desperate for news, one man searches for his family missing in the tsunami. this is norio kimura. he's una's father. he was looking for his family. three people from his family of six have not been seen since the disaster. kimura was unable to return to his hometown of okuma because of

the accident. so he put up notices at convenience stores and gas stations hoping for a lead. >> translator: i'll do anything i can to find them as quickly as possible. >> reporter: four months later, kimura lives with his mother at a hotel in fukushima. kimura sent his 10-year-old daughter to live with relatives in western japan to escape the radiation. two members of his family are now confirmed to have died in the disaster. the bodies of his father and wife were identified with a dna test. but his younger daughter una is still missing. because of the radioactive leak at the power plant, he's unable to go to the area to search for

her. >> translator: i want to go out looking for her, but i'm not allowed to. i'm just so sorry that i can't do it. >> reporter: okuma was declared a no entry zone due to the high levels of radiation. and residents are not allowed to return. but on july 12th, kimura was granted position to enter the area. he was one of the volunteers to organize items pulled from the rubble by the south defense forces. kimura found his family photo album. there are over 200 pictures inside. one from his wedding. and others taken when the children were born. milestones in the life of his family.

unfortunately, the precious memories were contaminated by radiation. despite wiping many times, he couldn't get rid of all the radioactive dust and had to leave some of the photos behind. this is one he could bring back. it was taken on a family vacation when una was six years old. seeing his two daughters together, the photo has given kimura some peace. >> translator: everything was washed away. these mementos, reminders put my heart at ease. >> reporter: finally kimura had found something connecting him to his daughter. however, the photo is still slightly radioactive. and he started to worry about whether it was safe to keep it. kimura is thinking about leaving fukushima and starting a new

life. but he doesn't want to take anything with him that might be contaminated. >> translator: they said to be safe. but the radiation may be too high. i don't want my daughter to touch them. i think i have no choice but to burn them. >> reporter: letting go of the photos, kimura wants to record everything he can about his daughter's life. he started writing down his conversations with una and all the things she did. >> translator: all of the friends are just seven years old, so over time they will start to forget her. i want her existence to be recorded in this world in some way. >> reporter: at the end of july, a joint memorial service was held inside the no entry zone. kimura has now decided to leave

fukushima. he'll be leaving his missing daughter behind, but in his eulogy, he makes a promise. >> translator: life is supposed to be the most precious thing for all of us, but some people risk that in order to obtain affluent lifestyles. they put others at risk for money. some don't even realize the risks they're taking. as a result i was unable to search for you, my beloved family members. i promise to devote my life to protecting the loved ones you left behind. >> kimura plans to write a memorial book about his missing daughter una. it's due to be published next spring and proceeds will be used to support earthquake and tsunami victims. "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post-march 11th.

we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline. we switch gears now and go to our bureau in bangkok. patchari raksawong has the latest. former prime minister shinawatra is on his first high profile trip since his sister's leadership last month. thaksin arrived at tokyo's airport on monday. he is the elder brother of thailand's new prime minister yingluck shinawatra.

>> giving some speech and then visiting site. i'm very happy that i come to japan again. >> after being ousted in a coo in 2006, he went into exile. supreme court found him guilty of corruption and sentenced him to two years imprisoned. despite that conviction, the japanese government gave thaksin special permission to visit following a request from the new thai administration. in thailand, pro and anti-thaksin groups remain at odds. critics say the new government is supporting thaksin's unofficial diplomacy. thaksin is scheduled to speak to the media on tuesday when observers will be looking for any indication of how he intends to get involved with the government in thailand.

in india, pressure is mounting on the government as a hunger strike by anticorruption activists enters its seventh day. the protest has resonated with millions of indians fed up with the country's apparently indemmic culture of bribery. asarri has lost five kilograms since the protest started. it's designed to pressure the government to pass a tougher law to fight corruption. the non-violent campaign galvanized people to hold on sunday. more demonstrations across the country are reportedly being organized for later this week. india has been rocked by a string of high-profile

corruption cases this year. in february a minister was arrested on suspicion of causing the national treasury to lose out on income worth $40 billion. in thailand, obesity is a growing problem as people's diets become less healthy. as more thais look for ways to lose weight, here's a solution with a twist. >> reporter: edipar in bangkok. people are walking and doing yoga. and in the middle of these people working out are others doing the hula hoop. in fact, the are all over the park. >> translator: it's good for your health and a way to lose weight. >> reporter: on a dirt road in

the countryside, even an 83-year-old woman is joining in. hula hooping is becoming popular nationwide. it looks easy, but the hoop has you use the stomach muscles. it's a good exercise. an increase in obesity is one reason hula hooping is becoming so popular. thai people love sweets. >> translator: we always eat sweets after a meal. >> reporter: they also put lots of sugar into thai noodle. the thai public health ministry says the amount of carbohydrates and sugar the average person consumes each year has nearly

tripled over the past two decades. surat has been hula hooping for the past six months to try to lose weight. >> reporter: he loves sugary drinks. he suddenly began gaining weight. >> translator: he used to be skinny and handsome. >> reporter: his family is encouraging him to get thinner. to burn more calories, he tries spinning a hula hoop while walking. his goal is to walk one kilometer. he has a hard time keeping the hula hoop up.

>> reporter: after about 30 minutes, he finally reached the finish line. >> translator: my wife never thought i could do the hula hoop. i am determined that i'll be skinny six months from now. >> reporter: as thailand's economy grows, its waistlines are expanding too. now they're offering a way to turn things around. nhk world, bangkok. >> fun and slimming at the same time. and that wraps up our bulletin. i'm dhra dhirakaosal.

let's take a look at the market figures now. welcome back to your weather update. now, for east asia we're still keeping an eye on an active frontal boundary that ends up in central china. its been active the past few days. it continues to dump plenty of

rainfall. it's been focusing its energy along southern japan. but now towards south korea as well. it's going to be wet all along this area throughout today. of course, the tail end of that also impacting central china. china will see shaufrs spread along the southeast corner of the country. and heavy pockets of rain is going to be possible. some areas could see as much as a hundred millimeters in the next 24 hours. tropical showers and thunderstorms widespread across the philippines as well as throughout the indochina peninsula. let's get a look at the temperatures. 31 the high in manila. 32 in hong kong. 31 in chongqing. and 28 in tokyo. definitely warmer than yesterday, but still not quite that strong heat. now for the americas, we're keeping an eye on the caribbean of course. here are the clouds from hurricane irene. it is now a hurricane just north of the dominican republic.

category one right now but forecasts are calling for it to strengthen in the next couple days becoming a major hurricane as it enters northern bahamas. we're keeping a close eye on this system over the next few days. right now, though, of course the relly heavy stormy weather is impacting hispaniola. looking into enter turks and caicos over the next couple days. things are going to be really stormy here. you can see the core of heavy rain moving right through these islands. so you can expect quite a bit of rainfall here. and of course along with that, we will be talking about the strong winds as well as, of course, storm surges too. so flooding of areas, mudslides, landslides also possible. keepn eye on that. now, for north america we have this well developed low heading out of eastern canada tonight.

behind it showers will linger on the gulf coast states and looking to spread along the mississippi valley. out west looking largely dry as showers across the pacific northwest are starting to taper off. here's a look at highs. still hot for the mid-section of the united states. 37 in denver. 39 in oklahoma city and houston too will be steamy at 38. as for europe, activity starting to ease off across the northern tier here at least the scandinavia peninsula. still looking to ease gradually. things get more active on the northern tier of continental europe. showers and thunderstorms are going to be possible here. then looks like another round of showers are going to be impacting ireland first off as we head through tuesday. still very dry here for the southern tier of continental europe. and still very hot too. 32 in rome for tuesday. 34 in vienna.

and budapest could see temperatures soar at 35 degrees. definitely hotter than average. now here is your three-day outlook.

our lead story this hour, tension continues in libya. rebels are pushing for complete control of the capital city and of muammar gadhafi. the rebels have already gained control by monday. many have gathered in a square in the center celebrating their freedom from gadhafi's rule. mustafa abdul jalil spoke on nday and declared that gadhafi's era has ended. >> translator: we will capture gadhafi alive and give him a fair trial. >> jalil says his forces plan to quickly win control of tripoli and set up a provisional government there.

troops have gathered at a military facility that also serves as the leader's residence. gadhafi has not been seen since issuing a statement calling on supporters to fight back. his whereabouts are unknown. the rebels have contained gadhafi's son. the second son saif al islam is wanted on charges against humanity. asked libya's opposition council to hand him over. that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. we'll be back with more of your updates at the top of the hour. we'll see you then.