fire in the sky. opposition fighters in syria claim they shot down a government jet. syrian rebels say they've done

something they've never done before. theyayhey fired on a gornment war plane and brought it down. the jet crashed in the eastern part of the country. an opposition member says they shot down the plane using weapons taken from the syrian army. state-run media said the jet crashed due to technical problems. rebels in the free syrian army are launching attacksution tanks and machine guns snatched from their opponents. the insurgents raided a military depot on monday in the southern city of daraa. government forces areution fighter jets to support troops attacking the commercial capital aleppo and other cities. tens of thousands of aleppo residents are fleeing the attacks and heading toward turkey. they are living in shelters and hoping to cross the border. nhk world's watanabe has more.

>> reporter: here, this is the entrance checkpoint from syria to turkey controlled by syrian opposition force. several hundred people waited at the checkpoint on monday for the turkish government to issue entry permits. the checkpoint is located about 50 kilometers north of aleppo and controlled by the free syrian army. refugees line up to receive water and baby formula from the opposition forces. children are playing with shells scattered around their shelter. a 48-year-old man told nhk his

house was burned down by government forces. he fled from the suburb of aleppo four days ago with his seven children. >> translator: i'm frustrated that my family has to live in a regee camp without our friends or relatives. >> reporter: the turkish government official said 10,000 people have fled to the border area over the past four days bringing the total to about 60,000. they are preparing more shelters to make up for shortages of temporary housing. josho watanabe, nhk world. >> the leaders of muslim nationand territories are holdg an ergen meeting to discuss a response to the civil war in syria. members of the organization of islamic cooperation have gathered in mecca, saudi arabia,

for two days of talks. saudi arabia, qatar and other gulf countries have been supporting syrian insurgents. they are calling for president bashar al assad to step down. iran is an ally of the assad government. president ma mumd ahmadinejad says income countries are trying to pit musm countries agast each other. says intferee from gul countries hamade things worse. survivors of saturday's twin earthquakes in northwestern iran are scrambling for food, medicine and water. the country's leaders have begun coordinating relief work but refused offers of foreign aid. magnitude 6.4 and 6.3 earthquakes hit the northwestern province of east azerbaijan shortly after dusk. the iranian government says more than 300 people died and over 3,000 were injured. the governments of russia and neighboring turkey offered to

send emergency aid, but a senior iranian official said the country has enough supplies. iranian vice president mohammad reza rahimi visited east azerbaijan. he promised work will begin immediately to remove debris and rebuild houses. an estimated 16,000 survivors are living in tents. the uncle and mentor to kim jong-un is paving the way for the north korean leader's visit to china. he's expected to hold meetings with hu jintao. he arrived in beijing airport on monday with about 30 delegates from pyongyang. north korea's state-run media said chang will meet with chinese leaders to discuss the joint development of economic zones. they'll discuss projects in a border area in northeastern china and in the port city of roson. china has been in charge of north korea's economic reforms and foreign investment. kim planned his uncle's trip in an apparent attempt to seek

assistance from china. he hopes to rebuild nor korea's economy bmovi foard th jnt economic projects. about 40 south koreans are swimming to a group of islands in the sea of japan. they are trying to show support for their country's claim to the territory. the islands are called takeshima in japan and dokdo in south korea. both countries claim sovereignty over them. the swimmers set out monday morning from gyeonsangbuk-do on south korea's eastern coast. singer kim jang-hoon is one of those taking part, along with those from the korea national sport university. they'll take turns swimming legs of the 220-kilometer trip. they aim to arrive on wednesday on the anniversary of korea's liberation from japan's colonial rule. the swimmers will stream video of their attempt on the internet. relations between the two countries have soured since

south korean president lee myung-bak visited the islands last week. some in his country are pushing him to strengthen south korea's territorial claim. japanese government oicials say they are considering taking legal action at the international court of justice. an nhk monthly poll suggests a majority of japanese worry about lee a visit to the islands. it could negatively affect japan/south korea relations. nhk surveyed 1,639 people aged 20 or over from friday to sunday. three-fourths said they're worried about the visit's impact. about one-fifth id they are unconcerned. on a different question about the diet's recent enactment of bills to raise the consumption tax and reform social security, 48% of the respondents said they approve. the same proportion expressed disapproval. the support rate for prime minister yoshihiko noda and his

cabinet stood at 28%, up 1 point from last month. the disapproval rate stayed at 56%. >> u.s internegianooe cutting 4,000 jobs at his recently acquired subsidiary motorola mobility. that's 20% of all staff at the telecom's equipmentmaker. google officials made the announcement on monday in a document submitted to the u.s. securities and exchange commission. google will also restructure one-third of motorola locations worldwide by closing or merging around 30 facilities. google says the payroll cut is aimed at refocussing the company on more profitable smartphone and tablet businesses. motorola has long been mired in the red. google's over $12 billion acquisition in may marked its first attempt at producing hardware. the move was also seen as a way

for the company to obtain motorola mobility's approximately 17,000 patents. some creditors of bankrupt japanese chipmaker elpida memory are submitting to court their own business restructuring plan. elpida is japan's sole manufacturers of dra memory chips. it filed for bankruptc protection earlier this year. in july, elpida board members decided to rebuild under leading u.s. chipmaker micron technology. however, some of elpida's creditors are not happy with the plan. they announced on tuesday they'll file competing restructuring proposals with the court. the creditors, including foreign investment funds, say elpida's sale price was unreasonable low. they also jay the japanese chipmaker failed to explain why it picked micron as a partner. creditors under the rival plan say elda can rescue itself. they would acquire a new s of

loans and find another firm to work with and rebuild the business. elpida was to compile its restructuring proposals under micron by tuesday next week. a change of plan is now possible. well, investors in china snapped up condominiums years ago, then smiled as prices rose. they took in tenants, then put the condos on the market when they figured prices were near their peak. but the market has cooled. now many are buying condos as their homes. and that has prompted japanese manufacturers in china to change strategy. >> reporter: china's condo market is changing dramatically. nobuhiko saito works in china for a major japanese condomaker. his company started in the country five years ago. back then, the so-called skeleton-type condos with no interior finishes were in the

mainstream of the industry. many chinese people bought them for spelative investment. >> translator: when condo prices went up, they would ask their tenants to move out and then put the places on the market. >> reporter: but those days are largely gone. more people are now buying condos to live in them. japanese housing manufacturers didn't miss the changes. they have switched their folk taos interior designs. their company is building 2,000 condos in the city of dalian. unlike the old skeleton-type places, these condos come complete with interior finishes. and all furnishings are made in

japan. >> this sink is made by japan's toto. the toilet is also made by toto andomes withhe washlet cleansing system. and this fan is made by panasonic. >> reporter: his company is trying to play up the quality and performance of japanese products. but the interior designs also reflect chinese consumer preferences. >> translator: for japanese people, the wallpaper designs are a bit flashy, but many in china love them. >> reporter: the housing area even comes with a park where chinese people can practice tai chi. the ground is made soft and easy on their feet. the condos are priced between $128,000 and $1.5 million, and their sales have been rising

since early this year. >> translator: a well-equipped condo is better because it makes life more convenient. >> translator: we'll build a great place in the end. that's a minimum requirement for a company tosurvive. >> reporter: in the midst of china's rapidly changing real estate market, japanese housing developers are seizing shifting trends and continuing to explore new business opportunities. hiroshima. nagasaki. 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 the efforts of unr genetions promote peace. our special coverage "war to peace: lessons of 1945" continues until friday, august 17th.

this summer, "newsline" is presenting a two-week series on "war and peace." we focus on a doctor from hiroshima. he and the group he works with are specially qualified to promote the end of nuclear weapons. nhk world's shoyokoas more. >> reporter: gitsiro is a deputy director of a hiroshima hospital. he's also chairman of the world convention of the international physicians for the prevention of nuclear war. ippnw has 100,000 members. they meet every two years. they pressure the nuclear powers and the united nations for the abolition of atomic weapons. they received a nobel peace prize in 1985.

>> translator: i believe doctors know more about the dangers of radiation and people in other professions. so it's important for us to speak out about the inhumanity of nuclear arms. >> reporter: yanagita is in a special position to talk about radiation. both of his parents were hiroshima a-bomb survivors. his mother died five years ago. he attends the death beds of others who lived through the blast andeelsore driven to honor them. he's been lecturing as a doctor on the dangers of radioactivity. he joined ippnw in 1989. later, he started examining victims of radiation exposures in north and south america and other countries. >> translator: as a child of a-bomb survivors, i probably

understand the reality of raation exposure more than the average person. i feel it's my duty to continue my activities. >> reporter: as the convention draws near, he connects with delegates around the world. he hears different opinions about what the group should be. he wants to keep the focus on weapons, but ever since the fukushima nuclear disaster, he thinks more people may be worried by power plants than t world's nuclear arsenal. at a meeting to decide themes for the convention. members say they want to include the issue of nuclear power. but the convention is only three days long. and for the first time in 23 years, it's being held in hiroshima where an atomic bomb

was dropped. yanagita wants to stick with the issue of weapons. >> translator: hiroshima is the starting point for overseas members, too. i want to invite them back here to think again about ways to eliminate nuclear weapons. >> reporter: over 200,000 people died when the two bombs fell on hiroshima and nagasaki. >> translator: we have to abolish the weapons. nuclear war should never happen again. why should the elderly worry that after their grandchildren grow up, a nuclear war could kill them. what i do is part of a doctor's job in a broad sense. >> reporter: people's awareness of radiation dangerouses has risen since fukushima. but it's not only power plants that pose a threat. activists like yanagida are part

of a vast global movement trying to ensure a movement. with 200 delegates from around the world attending this august conference, the message from hiroshima should be clr. abolish nuclear weapons. the world's youngest nation, south sudan, celebrated last month the first anniversary of its independence. but one year on, the country remains in a fragile situation. nhk world's kauri nagao reports on how it's affecting the lives of the country's youngest generation. >> reporter: on july 9th, 2011, south sudan achieved independence from sudan after

more than two decades of civil war. the capital was soon abuzz with nation building projects, but the long drawn conflict completely disrupted the central services and infrastructure. the representative of unicef jasmine hack explains the impact on children. >> south sudan has had very little development. so systems that we take for granted even in developing countries nowadays, south sudan is decades behind those countries. we don't have the regular systems for even something as basic as vaccination. if we look at the children who are completing primary education, it's still around 10%, 12% of those who go to school. >> reporter: unresolved territorial disputes with sudan escalated earlier this year in serious military clashes along theborder.

the sudden influx of 400,000 returnees after independence is also sparking tensions among the population. how do these conflicts affect people's life? >> the fact that there is insecurity along the border means that people's livelihood is affected. it means that people are still not putting the time in, say, putting their lives back together where it leads to agriculture and livelihood. it also means that we still have hundreds of thousands who are turning from sudan to south sudan. they are ghcoming to a place where, as it is, we have very minimal basic services. >> reporter: another factor has aggravated the situation. the government suspended in january the production of oil due to a dispute with its northern neighbor over the distribution of revenue. >> it definitely affects people's lives in many ways. it is 98% of the revenue

earnings for the government of south sudan. the general impact on the economy is going to have an impact on the average people and on the teachers and the health workers, people who are already struggling. we've seen inflation going up to about 80%, food inflation. >> reporter: haque says a large portion of international assistance is channeled toward humanitarian aid leaving too little to develop the education and health care sectors. >> humanitarian funding is alys ort. for neons to a year. it's limited in size and scope and doesn't go toward building systems. what we really need for south sudan is money that is predictable and longer term. the investment that we make in the first few years of a child's life will determine how the nation develops. and nation building -- core to

nation building is making sure the children are invested in. >> south sudan has one of the world's highest rates of child mortality. about two-thirds of children are unable to atten primaryhool people across japan are dealing with heavy rain. sayaka mori joins us with the weather picture for here and elsewhere. >> that's right, catherine. thick clouds are blanketing much of japan, bringing widespread heavy showers. the kinki region is experiencing the worst of it. osaka has received as much as 110 millimeters of rain in zuju the span of one hour. tremendous amounts of rain are falling right now. over the next 24 hours, we'll likely see an additional 100 to 120 millimeters of rain for the southern half of japan. that will be accompanied by thunderstorms, gusty winds and even tornado is not out of the question. out towards the west, similar situation will be found across

the korean peninsula. looking dry at this moment but as you can see, another round of heavy rain is on its way to impact the same area within the next 24 hours. down towards the south, we can see a cluster of clouds right here. this is tropical storm kai-taek hovering to the north of the philippines. sustained winds 72 miles per hour with gusts of 108. it will likely move towards the northwest and hit the northern islands of the philippines or taiwan by tuesday or thursday morning local time as a severe tropical storm status and then make landfall in southern china by friday. strong winds haven't reached luzon yet, but heavy rain is already coming down on the path of the storm. we'll likely see upwards of 200 millimeters over the next 72 hours. such as the northern islands of th philippines and southern taiwan. so the risk of flooding and landslides are going to be very high over the next several days.

we will certainly keep you posted on its progress. as for temperatures, 31 degrees in tokyo. about four degrees cooler than yesterday. and the same goes for seoul on tuesday. okay. heading into the americas, we've got a tropical storm hector west of mexico that will continue to pull away from the country. and as for mainland u.s., this is the system responsible for spreading thundershowers from the lower great lakes region down towards texas. some areas may be seeing a risk of severe thunderstorms. over the next 24 hours, the heaviest severe weather should be shifting in towards the northeastern states. but out towards the west, monsoonal moisture is creating scattered showers for parts of the southwestern corner of the u.s. and very heavy rain is coming down in parts of central california -- southern california, i should say, and central nevada raising the risk of flash floods. temperatures are shaping up like this. nice and comfortable in

ncour wi aigh of 24 degrees. and the same temperature for seattle. but heat is still hanging on in los angeles getting up to 32 degrees on your tuesday. all right. finally, let's go over to europe. slow moving and strong low pressure system is still sitting over eastern europe producing severe thunderstorms, damaging winds and even a risk of hail. good news is that it's going to be weakening off but unstable weather here will likely continue throughout the day. out towards the west, a massive low pressure system is creating scattered showers through the british isles and western portions of france and the western side of the iberian peninsula. okay. temperatures are looking like this. 25 degrees in london and 28 degrees in paris on your tuesday. here's your extended forecast.

our lead story this hour -- syrian insurgents say they've shot down a government fighter jet. the war plane crashed in the eastern part of the country. an opposition member says they brought down the plane using weapons taken from the syrian army. state-run media said the jet crashed due to technical problems. rebels in the free syrian army are launching attacks using tanks and machine guns snatched from their opponents. the insurgents raided a military depot on monday in the southern city of daraa. government forces areution fighter jets to support troops

attacking the commercial capital aleppo and other cities. that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.