fight for aleppo. syrian troops launch a ground assault against anti-government forces to try to take control of the city. syrian president bashar al assad is using the might of his miliry machine to try to take back the country's largest city.

thousands of soldiers are targeting anti-government fighters in the rubble-filled streets and alleyways of aleppo. the government reportedly sent 20,000 troops to the northern city. opposition fighters say assad's forces have launched fierce ground attacks using tanks in the selahadin district. syr syria's state run tv reports the troops have recaptured the rebel strong hold, but an anti-government activist in aleppo disputes that claim. the activist tells nhk that fighting is fierce, but the opposition continues to control more than half the city. syria's neighbor, turkey, is feeling the heat of this conflict on its border. officials there say more than 1,700 syrians sought refuge in the country on tuesday and wednesday. more of syria's residents are expected to flee their homes. egypt says its military has

attacked a suspected islamist militant sites in the north of the sinai peninsula. the strikes are in response to recent attacks by armed men in the area. the opposition began early on wednesday. egyptian helicopters struck at targets with missiles in the area of sheikh zuwaid near the border with the gaz za strip. the military attacks reportedly killed 20 militants an destroyed three vehicles. the opposition came after militants attacked several checkpoints to the north of sinai on sunday killing 16 egyptian soldiers. the attackers stormed through the border but were killed by israeli forces. more attacks later occurred on other checkpoints at a security and administrative center of northern sinai. islamic militants increased their activities in the region. they're taking advantage of the turmoil generated by the ouster of former president hosni

mubar mubarak. people are gathering in nagasaki to remember the day their city was all but wiped off the map. they're attending a ceremony to mark the 67th anniversary of the atomic bombing. a u.s. warplane dropped the bomb on the city at 11:02 a.m. on august 9th, 1945. survivors and relatives of the victims arrived at peace park ahead of the ceremony to offer prayers. nagasaki mayor is expected to call for specific measures to replace nuclear power are renewable energy sources. it's his response to the ongoing aftermath of last year's accident at the fukushima daiichi plant. mayor is going to urge countries around the world to ban the use of nuclear weapons which he describes as inhumane. representatives from 42 nations will be at the ceremony including u.s. ambassador to japan, john roos.

he's the first person in his position to attend the nagasaki memorial. a high school student from a city near pufukushima daiichi wl be at the ceremony. sakura takano is a peace ambassador. she spoke about her community since the start of the nuclear crisis. >> translator:s nuclear crisis is not over and the affected areas are still being devastated. please learn what is happening in fukushima and help us rebuild. >> takano later stood in front of nagasaki's main train station to collect signatures for a petition calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons. she's take that petition to geneva, switzerland, later this month when she visits the united nations european headquarters with other high school ambassadors. children born to south rean survivors of the hiroshima and nagasaki atomic bombings are joining a new

genetic study. it will investigate whether their illnesses are linked to their parents' radiation exposure. a group of survivors' off spring is working with a team led by taisei nomura, professor emeritus at osaka university. the studty will analyze blood samples from bomb survivors known as hibakusha and their children. >> translator: i hope this study will help second-generation hibakusha gain official recognition as victims of the atomic bombings. >> about 10,000 second-generation hibakusha are living in south korea. some claim their leukemia and arthritis are due to their parents' exposure to radiation. the group hopes the research will improve their lives. in japan, the off spring of hibakusha receive regular health checks. those in south crkorea are not entitled to such benefits. radiation effects researc

foundation in hiroshima say the genetic impact of the atomic bombings has not been determined. heiroshimahiroshima, nagasa. the atomic bombings marked a brutal conclusion to a brutal conflict. world war ii ended 67 years ago this month. "newsline" is looking back on the lessons of 1945. from the fight to abolish nuclear weapons, to efforts of younger generations to promote peace. our special coverage "war to peace: lessens of 1945" contues til friday august 17th. voters in japan could be heading to the polls this fall. prime minister yoshihiko noda will dissolve the diet and call a general election soon after lawmake lawmakers, financial reform package which would raise the country's consumption tax. he made the decision after striking an agreement with the two major opposition parties to

save package. >> translator: we have confirmed two things. firstly, we will quickly pass the financial reform package based on the three-party agreement. and secondly, we will go to the people soon after the legislation is enacted. >> the prime minister held an evening meeting with the leaders of the liberal democratic party and its partner, new komeito. the ldp refused to help noda pass legislation if he didn't set an election date. noda wouldn't do that, but he did say once the bills are enacted, he'll be ready to go to the polls. the prime minister and his ruling democratic party are trying to raise the consumption tax from 5% to 10% by 2015 to finance japan's debt and aging society. they also plan to modify the social security system. he technically doesn't have to hold an election until next

summer, but he had staked his political career on hiking the tax. and the opposition forced his hand with threats of no confidence and censure motions. earlier, "newsline's" gene otani spoke with nhk world's senior political commentator on this issue. >> tell us a little bit more about the meaning behind this agreement. >> well, i think with this, prime minister noda will be able to pass and enact his tax hike bill, and legislation soon as scheduled with the help of the major party ldp and the new komeito party. the ldp once agreed to enact a bill, but later, its leaders changed their minds because noda tried to delay calling an election. so his ruling dpj could stay in power longer. the dpj has a low public approval rating and they believe it would be able to defeat the

party if noda calls an early election. but in the wednesday meeting, it seems that noda did not fully compromise with the opposition leader. he only said an election would happen soon. he didn't give an exact date, although voters could head to the polls some time this fall. >> the ldp agreed to cooperate even as noda didn't give in to their demands. why was this? >> well the opposition leader, tanigaki, has to be seen as acting in the best interest of the country. you know, japan is facing -- japan is in a dire situation. it carries a greater proportion of debt on its books than in any other developed nation. experts point to greece as a warninof the need to get t naon's financeinrder. debt as a percentage of gross domestic product in japan is

higher than any other industrialized nation. on top of that, japan has one of the highest proportions of citizens older than 65. paying for social security is putting an increasing strain on national finances. it has been a promise to the world to raise the consumption tax, which is relatively low among wealthy nations. for all ese reasons, the main opposition ldp has to make compromise, and i think prime minister noda saved face. and this country, japan, would be able to avoid losing trust from international society and investors. toyota motors says it will build a plant to make auto engines in the brazilian state

of san paulo. the firm aims to cut costs by using more locally made parts. toyota announced the new plant will begin operation in the second half of 2015. it will produce 200,000 engines annually. these will be for corolla sedans already being manufactured in brazil and for etias compact cars. the etios will be put on the brazilian market next month. toyota officials say the new plant will allow the automaker to increase its local parts procurement ratio. this will be raised to 85%, up from the current 70%. global automakers are scrambling to increase production of sales in brazil as u.s. and european markets remain sluggish. u.s. and european carmakers account for nearly 80% of the brazilian auto market, the world's fourth larger. however, toyota's market share in brazil was only 3% last year. japanese automakers are stepping up efforts to develop fuel efficient gasoline

vehicles. suzuki motor recently developed a new technology to generate electric power. the system uses the energy that gasoline engines produce when the brakes are applied. the power is then used for the air conditioner and lights to get better mileage. cars with the new system have a 20% higher fuel efficiency than those without. suzuki plans to install the system in a new mini vehicle to be released next month. meanwhile, mitsubishi motors plans to put on sale its new fuel efficient gasoline compact. that's later this month. the car maker says it reduced the weight of the car body to achieve a mileage that is the same as a mini car. and nissan says it will release a new compact car that is equipped with a new gasoline engine. it has a 40% higher fuel efficiency than conventional models. the car will be offered in the japanese and other asian markets from next month. industry sources say japanese makers will continue their efforts to improve fuel

efficiency, as environmental awareness is on the rise also in emerging markets. gasoline cars are cheaper than electric or hybrid models. china and malaysia have announced planso jointly build an industrial park in each country. firms that invest in the project will be offered tax breaks and other incentives. china's government said on wednesday that the parks will be located in china's guangxi zhuang autonomous reason and in pahang. products and parts made there will be exported to each country. >> we decided this strategy because we want to strengthen economic ties with malaysia in various ways through this new partnership. >> china's economy has recently slowed due largely to europe's credit crisis. observers say the government hopes for steady growth by tapping into the relatively stable southeast asian region.

summer is usually a good time for beer makers, but markets in europe and the united states are drying up due to the prolonged impact of the eurozone debt crisis. and that has prompted global breweries to turn to asia and fight over what's called the last frontier of their industry. nhk world in singapore has more. >> reporter: asia is already the biggest beer market. accounting for over 30% of global consumption. demand is brisk in emerging economies like china and vietnam. but beer sales in europe and north america weakened. major breweries are stepping up marketing efforts in asia, fueling competition. the focus is moving to southwest asia, where there's huge

potential for expansions and also more room to grow compared to other regions. the southeast asian market got a jolt last week. that brewer announced it reached an agreement with a major singaporean-based beer maker for $4.1 billion. they are acquiring a stake of about 80% in asia-pacific breweries or apb. it's known for the popular tiger beer brand. the acquisition will open the way to advance deeper into southeast asia. apb runs 30 breweries in 14 countries in the region and also maintains strong marketing networks. we asked an analyst what's so attractive about the southeast asian beer market and what we can expect ahead.

>> the brewery market, there's been consolidation. today i think there are few big players. i think there will be more to come as existing players increase their share in emerging markets. so southeast asia will be a big battlefield because of the 600 million population. the chinese market or even the african market. >> reporter: as the southeast asian beer market keeps on growing, so does the competition among global breweries trying to conquer the beer industry's last frontier. nhk world, singapore. >> following hinakin's

announcement, a thai corporate group this week offered a buy a stake in apb. competition overinning share in t soueastsian be market is expected to escalate. the association of southeast asian nations has celebrated its 45th anniversary. the celebrations have been marred by disharmony in the ten countries. envoys from japan, u.s., and eu joined member countries at the ceremony monday in jakarta, indonesia, home to the secretariat. thailand, indonesia, philippi philippines, malaysia and singapore launched asean august 8th, 1967. cambodia was last to join in 1999 giving the 10 members a total population of more than 580 million. the organization wants to create a regional economic community by 2015. >> i think it's also a day to look into the future. to recommit ourselves to our own

goals. >> but asean is struggling to get back on track following an uneasy meeting of foreign ministers in cambodia last month. the ministers failed to reach agreement on territorial disputes over isldsn the south china sea. interpol is asking its member nations to consider arresting the head of the marine wildlife conservation group, sea shepherd. the international police organization has put out a red notice for paul watson. he's wanted in costa reica for allegedly interfering with a shark fishing boat. watson had been out on bail in germany in connection with the 2002 charge. authorities there arrested him in may. he was supposed to appear before police every day, but he fled the country in july. interpol is calling on member nations to determine whether they can detain or arrest watson based on their national laws and standards so costa rica can seek

his extradition. sea shepherd spokesmen are criticizing the move. interpol has had a separate notice out for the sea shepherd founder since 2010. it made the decision after japanese authorities issued an arrest warrant f watson for allegedly ordering sabotage activities against japan's whaling fleet. the third japanese ever will soon take a walk in space. nasa has scheduled an astronaut and an american colleague to do some repair work on the outside of the international space station. began a four-month mission to the iss last month. he has been installing new equipment on the japanese experimental module using a robotic arm. he is on his second space mission. he'll follow in the footsteps of his japanese predecessors when he steps out of the iss on august 30th. space walks have generally been

restricted to u.s. and russian astronauts. ninja, the traditional martial art practiced by ninjas. although ninjas are best known for their appearances on films, their fighting moves are finding fans far from tokyo or hollywood. a growing number of women are taking up ninja in iran. nhk world has the story. >> reporter: once a week, as many as 200 women gather in a park on the outskirts of tehran. in their regular lives, they are housewive housewives, office workers, or students, but for now, they are ninja. >> translator: don't take your eyes off your opponent, even when drawing your sword. >> reporter: ninja was introduced from japan about 20 years ago.

these days around 3,000 womenn iran are learning it as a method of self-defense or as a sport. >> translator: i like throwing stars and practicing self-defense techniques. >> translator: i used to watch ninja movies when i was a child, so i was keen to learn it. i found it's very good fun. >> reporter: one aspect of ninja stars that appeals to women is the uniform. in iran, women are required to wear head scarves and loose fitting clothes when they are out in public. the ninja garments meets iran's dress code. they are also consider rred stylish. she is one of the instructors. she teaches.

she was first introduced to ninja stars ten years ago and was captivated by the elegance of the various moves. it was thanks to ninja stars that she met her husband. the walls of their apartment are lined with ninja weapons. for them, it's not just their physical escape, they're also fascinated by the underlying history and culture. >> translator: since i started practicing ninja star, i have greater endurance. i hope to visit japan someday. >> reporter: she is keen to teach ninja to her 2-year-old son as soon as he is big enough. far from japan, a new generation of ninjas is emerging in iran.

nhk world, tehran. we've been following the storm in eastern china bringing heavy rain to the area. rachel ferguson gives us an update in her world weather forecast. >>ll right. wellthe storm has now moved further inland and has downgraded to a tropical storm. you can still see the cloud there. this is the mass moving further toward the west at 50 kilometers an hour right now. gusts are still up around 90 kilometers an hour. it's still a very windy, potent system. the last 24 hours have brought in the region of 250 to 300 millimeters of rain. you can actually add to those totals into the next 24 hours. there's still a lot of moisture th this system. and you will be seeing maybe locally up to about another 250 millimeters of rain for parts of those provinces. we've also been dealing with

heavy rain down toward the south. western luzon, of the philippines, has continued in the last 24 hours to see additional heavy rain and there's just a very serious flooding situation there at the moment. into the next 24 hours, those monsoon rains will keep coming and we could see an additional 50 to maybe even 100 millimeters for the western coast of luzon here. it's another spot to watch. heading to our temperature chart, west of that storm system, coming in through eastern china, it is going to be very hot. 37 degrees in chongqing. rising up to 39 for you on saturday. all right. let's go to the americas and to ernesto. you'll remember this is the hurricane that made landfall yesterday in the yucatan peninsula. it is just about to move over the water into the gulf of mexico right now. moving west at 20 kilometers an hour. the wind speeds are at 85. so there will be stronger gusts with that as well. it doesn't look lik is going to energize to a hurricane

status again. just staying a tropical storm and making a second landfall in the next 24 hours on the southeastern coast of mexico. rainfall totals in the last 24 hours have been around 70 millimeters of rain. we're going to be adding to that into the next 24 hours. northern belize and northern guatemala, as well as parts of the southern yucatan peninsula still dealing with heavy rain. in the mountainous regions, you could see totals up to about 300 millimeters and that spells real danger for mudslides. all right. in terms of the big picture here, canada and the u.s. we're going to see some potent storms moving through the great lakes region and up toward the northeast over the next 24 hours. you could see damaging winds as well as hail with that. down toward the south, it will stay very wet and unsettled as well. now, the heat is going to stay for you in the desert southwest. unfortunately, no good news here. l.a. getting up to 36 trdegreesn friday. las vegas, 34 on thursday. in yuma, you're steady seeing those mid 40s as well. so intense heat heading on into the weekend as well.

let's go to europe next. heavy rain has been impacting parts of scandinavia. finland, in particular, dealing with heavy rain. cooler temperatures up to the north. however, down to the south, intense heat for you in the southeast. 39 degrees in athens. and the iberian peninsula also heating up. madrid, 40 degrees for you. london, getting up to 25 as well. let's take a quick look at your olympic forecast. and we have some sunshine. looks pretty good for the next three days. even getting up to 26 degrees on friday. okay. i'll leave you now with your extended forecast.

as we've been reporting, thursday marks the 67th anniversary of the u.s. atomic

bombing of the city of nagasaki. at 10:30 a.m. japan time we'll break from our regular programming for live coverage of the peace ceremony in nagasaki. that concludes 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.