game on. >> it is my honor to nominate mitt romney for the office of president of the united states of america. >> u.s. republicans put forward their challenger to barack

obama. the winds have calmed in tampa, florida, and delegates to the republican national convention are whipping up a frenzy. they've nominated mitt romney as the party's nominee for the president aial election in november. aa tropical storm curtailed the first day of the convention. now delegates are back selling romney to the american people. they adopted a platform to push for a smaller government. the plan calls for cutting the deficit, relaxing regulations and lowering taxes for all levels of income. the republicans criticize the obama administration for reducing the military budget. they say cuts to defense weaken the united stes' internaonal standing. the platform says the republicans are the party of peace through strength. police in beijing have gun investigating an incident involving japan's ambassador to china. two vehicles forcibly stopped the ambassador's car in beijing

on monday evening. a man got out of one of the vehicles. he ripped the japanese flag from the front of the ambassador's car and fled. the embassy provided photos of the vehicles and the man to beijing police. the images were taken by an official who was in the ambassador's car. the police reportedly told the embassy they have a keen interest in the matter and have launched an investigation. the embassy will strongly request that the beijing police swiftly arrest the suspect. ambassador niwa said the incident was deplorable. hillary clinton will visit china next week. the territorial disputes with neighbors are likely to be on the agenda for her talks. state department spokesperson victoria nuland said they will discuss issue in the east china sea. she indicated that one of the topics will be the growing tensions between japan and china over the senkaku islands.

she stressed that the islands fall under the scope of the japan/u.s. security treaty. she called on china, vietnam and the philippines it to find peaceful solutions to the territorial disputes. >> we don't want to see the disputes in the south china sea or anywhere else settled by intimidation, by force. we want to see them settled at the negotiati table. >> she said t u.s. is urging china to be more transparent about its military affairs. international aid workers are wondering what to do about a growing exodus from syria. the u.n. refugee agency says more than 210,000 syrians have escaped the fighting between government and opposition forces. the office the u.n. high commissioner for refugees said more and more people are fleeing across syria's borders. 74,000 have escaped across the northern border into turkey. some 70,000 refugees are now in jordan.

about 10,000 have crossed at that border in the past week alone. the number of arrivals doubled from the previous week. another 54,000 have arrived in lebanon. many are staying in schools. aid workers are pressed to find new refugee shelters. the school year will begin soon. officials with the unhcr initially estimated that 185,000 people would flee syria by the end of the year, but the number of refugees has already exceeded their projections. many fled into lebanooking ov their shoulders, but they're finding more dangers await them. nhk world has the view from there. >> reporter: lines of vehicles kaerg t carrying the syrian refuses block the border with lebanon. damascus is just a 14-minute drive away. the number of refugees rose dramatically after the discovery last week of a massacre in a suburb of damascus.

crossing the lebanese border provides little relief. people don't know whether they might run into those loyal to the syrian regime. the decision to flee could end dang in danger to relatives that remain in syria. >> reporter: the syrian government has deployed armored vehicles. the suburb is completely surrounded with more than 20 checkpoints spread over about three kilometers. yesterday an entire district was completely set ablaze. >>ranslator: the city of homs is 90% destroyed. there's no food or medical supplies. >> reporter: lebanon doesn't have established refugee camps like those in turkey or jordan. about 250 people have taken

shelter in this school, not far from the border. this man is a 30-year-old farmer. he arrived three months ago from the city of homs with his wife and their four children. their home was destroyed in the fighting. his 75-year-old mother was finally able it to cross the border a day ago. the family is running short on supplies and depends on meals provided by humanitarian groups. >> translator: the world has abandoned us. we don't have a home. we don't have any food, and we have no clothes. >> reporter: the refugees worry about the possible attack by pro-government militias. hezbollah is one of the most powerful political forces in

lebanon and a traditional ally of the syrian regime. several members of the shia groups serve as ministers in the lebanese government. so those who have fled the violence in syria live in fear, even far from home. nhk world ileban. many drivers don't like the prices they're seeing when they roll past a gas station. we have the business. uko, what's happening at the pump? >> we're keeping track of gas prices, and in the u.s. it hit a three-month high yesterday. it's not just the drivers worried about gas prices. it's posing a serious risk for the global economy. the group of seven finance ministers said on tuesday they may ask oil-consuming nations to relee their strategic resers to help sbilizeil prices. crude oil prices have been on the rise due to mounting tension

over iran and a huge blast at a major refinery in venezuela. the benchmark crude oil futures rose to almost $100 per barrel in overnight trading in the u.s. the seven said we remain vigilant to the risks of the global economy in this context sxhindful of the substantial risks posed by elevated oil prices. we are monitoring the situation in oil markets closely. the statement also said the g-7 members are, quote, ready to call upon the international energy agency it to take appropriate action to ensure that the market is fully and timely supplied. the agency consisting of oil-consuming nations. g-7 finance ministers hope to prevent crude oil prices from rising further, as their advance would have a negative impact on the global economy. the world is already suffering from the european debt crisis and an economic slowdown in emerging nations. now let's get you a check on the markets. u.s. stock prices ended mixed yet again as positive housing

data was soured by poor consumption data. to see how stocks are trading this wednesday here in tokyo, we go to rameen. confusing signals for the markets, but how are markets here in tokyo kicking off? >> a lot of confusing signals. we were talking yesterday about the fact that markets need to see more economic data, and then we had the s&p home price index for june coming out yesterday in the u.s., which actually showed home prices in the u.s. rose for the first time sce 10. then we also had consumer confidence numbers for august, which dropped to its lowest level since 2011, so mixed signals indeed. let's have a look at how all of that is actual lay effely affec open here. both indices barely in the positive. 9,059 for the nikkei and 746 for the topix. the nikkei managed to close

above the 9,000 level yesterday, which it has managed to do since the middle of august. however, ccerns about slow grow inhinas we as euro zone debt crisis and mixed signals in the u.s. economy have not really left very much room for japanese stocks here to move in either direction. no real clear signals and a little bit of worry there for investors. in fact, shares of machinery construction as well as commodity-related shares, shipping as well as auto shares all linked to china's economy have not really had a very good few sessions. in fact, the likes of komatsu have been down for seven straht sesons in aro and a lot o oer shares hitting year lows in the past few sessions. now measures by central bankers, of course is a big focus with the jackson hole, wyoming meeting kicking off on friday. interestingly the european central bank president mario dragge pulled out of the meeting, and the markets really

trying to see or read into that speculation, of course. now it does, in fact, have a meeting in early september, and the markets may feel that they may be keeping some keep announcements that they don't really need to reveal a the meeting in jackson hole. yuko. >> along with the bond markets, currency markets give an early indication of what market reactions are. where do we stand this wednesday morning here in tokyo? >> let's have a look at some of the currency pairs. dollar yen currently unchanged, but having a look at the euro yen at the bottom of the streen, 898.75 to 76. that was trading at the lower level when is tokyo stocks closed yesterday. in fact, dipping below 98. traders may bet that the ec might be waiting to make some announcements at its meeting next week. we'll see how all of that pans out. back to you, yuko. >> thanks, ramin. honda motor is considering

building a motorcycle factory in myanmar. it aims to capture growing demand in the emerging economy of southeast asia. sources say honda will set up an office in myanmar, the first ft country. the staff will conduct a feasibility study for plant construction. they look at the potential of the motorcycle market and analyze the country's infrastructure and labor situation. honda also plans to start selling motorcycles made in china and thailand by the year-end. that's after the maker concludes an agreement with local sales agents in myanmar. the country is said to be moving towards a full-fledged democracy, and the leaders are going ahead with economic reforms. japanese automakers hope to benefit from this new growth market. looking at other japanese competitors, suzuki plans to build a car factory in myanmar. that is all r me for now. i'llea youithhe recap of the markets.

chinese are going through a boudreaux wine bubble. the price of the french wine is on the rise, so some business people from china are buying boudreaux wineries and sinking lots of money into production. the boom is also attracts criminals as well. >> reporter: this summer chinese tourists have been showing up all over boudreaux. at the same time the finance wine setting for more than $1300 a bottle have been flying off the shelves.

>> translator: this is the $1400 bottle of chateau rothchild. they purchase it more for the name than the wine itself. >> reporter: the area's 8,000 wineries or chateaus make wine with grapes from their own vineyards. now some owners are setting the wineri wine wineries to chinese business people. four years ago the chinese bought this one. the french owner hadn't been able to afford the equipment to keep making good wine, but the new chinese owner poured money into the business. the result? a superior wine. she replaced all the bad

grapevine grapevines because newer vines improved the wine's quality. the chinese owner replaced it. >> translator: the chinese investments have become the standard for us here. everything is good. >> reporter: but the chinese interest in wine has attracted counterfeiters. this chateau has been exporting wine to china for five years. now criminals are setting a counterfeit version of the wines. >> translator: the real one is on the left, and the fake one is on the right. they look exactly the same. >> several details separate the authentic brand from the counterfeit. the local wine is planted each other, but on the other bottle

the design is on it. the chateau's owner was shocked to discover that a kit it to counterfeit is sold in china. now for just it criminals have make a counterfeit bottle and sell the bottle for about $1500. >> translator: our wine isn't even the most expensive, so i can't believe that they are counterfeiting our wine. >> boudreaux's wine community is fighting back. they developed a system to identify a bottle authenticity. all you have to do is snap a picture of a label with your smartphone. >> translator: this app can analyze distribution information. if you take a picture of the label and the app cannot recognize it, the wine isn't

ours. >> we hope that our chinese customers will be satisfied with the quality and that they will want to try other boaudreaux wines. >> boudreaux wine makers are trying to develop a good relationship with the chinese. like fine wine, it may take time to mature, but they continue in efforts to protect their industry. nhk world, boudreaux. a report says 200,000 bottles of the high end boudreaux are produced each year, but in china more than 2 million bottles are sold. wine counterfeiters pay $400 to $500 for empty bottles of genuine product and refill them with inferior wine. japan's ground selfefense force has conducted a drill to evacuate a remote island in the event of an emergency.

participants played out a scenario in which the island of okushiri had come under military or terrorist attack. about 30 personnel and 50 residents took part. the residents took a bus to an airport. a helicopter air lifted them from the islands. local governments conduct emergency drills involving civilians. they're leading this kind of exercise for the first time. >> translator: it was our first experience. we were nervous. >> translator: i'm confidence the sdf will evacuate us if there's an emergency. >> reporter: the ground self-defense force plans to carry out similar drills during the course of the week on four other islands. athletes from around the world are resting up in london ahead of wednesday's start to the paralympic games. a pakistani man has a chance of bringing home his country's first paralympic gold medal. pakistan failed to win a sgle

mel atheolympics, so success at these games could help challenge deep-rooted prejudice back home. nhk world reports from islamabad. >> reporter: he's a long jumper. one of his legs is shorter than the other because of cerebral paralysis that afflicted him as a small boy. >> translator: i put a cushion in one of my shoes when i run. i can't keep my balance without it. >> reporter: he won a silver medal in beijing four years ago. he attends a camp in islamabad shortly before departing for london. he wakes up at 4:30 a.m. for intensive training. his goal is to stand atop the podium with a gold medal around

his neck, but he has another aim as well. to help eradicate prejudice against disablepeople in kistan. >> translator: in pakistan there is deep-seated prejudice against people with disabilities. they often receive verbal abuse. i want to show them that if you do your best, god will help you, and you'll be successful even with a disability. >> reporter: he hopes success in london will bring rare, good news to neem papeople in pakist. the economy is weak and violence widespread. more than 30,000 people have been killed across the country over the past decade. >> translator: i want to prove that young people in pakistan can be active members of the world community. we are not inferior to other

nationalities. i want to show that we can do anything if we put our minds to it. >> pakistan failed to win a medal at the recent olympic games. his fellow countrymen look to him to represent pakistan and give hope to everybody, no matter their ability. nhk world, islamabad. thousands of residents and visitors are waiting for the games to get under way. some have already found the city is easier to get around. nhk world erica stevenson has that story. >> reporter: musicians from around the world perform, and they come from britain, india and japan. all of them have disabilities.

conductor charles hazelwood founded the british paraorchestra. he wanted to showcase the talents of these musicians to a global audience. >> here we are in london. we're going to play very highly publicized concerts. >> reporter: barriers that once blocked the way have come down across the city. the london underground is no exception. most stations had long steep stairs or escalators, but transit officials made them more accessible as london won its bid for the olympic and paralympic games. 66 of the 270 stations are now barrier free. passengers can now ride elevators down to the platform, and the platforms no longer have bumps and gaps. people with disabilities can now access a new internetervice at tourist information centers. they can enter the name of an

attraction, restaurant or hotel. the website tells them the best way to get there depending on their disability. they can access the site from mobile phones, and the number of monthly users has topped 1 million. >> it allows you to make changes. it's about much more than sport. it's about inclusion. it's about an entire society. >> reporter: the paralympic ma o motto is experience in motion. erica stevenson, nhk world, london. people along the u.s. gulf coast are bracing for an approaching hurricane. saki joins us now with the world weather forecast. >> good morning, katherine. people in the central gulf coast are bracing for the arrival of hurricane isaac.

because isaac h bee moving at a quite slow pace, the outer band of the storm has been producing stormy conditions. let's go to some video from mississippi. this was the scene on tuesday as isaac moved further towards the gulf coast. storm surge and flooding along with damaging winds will pose an increasing threat to communities along the coast from louisiana to the florida panhandle today. residents have all been advised to prepare for the coming storm. let's pull you back and show you the projected path of hurricane isaac. isaac is projected to mak landfall in southeastern louisiana within the next couple of hours, probably as a category 1 hurricane and then move towards the north. once it makes landfall, it will gradually weaken, but heavy rain will continue and move along -- move parallel to the mississippi river valley over the next several days. tropical storm conditions are occurring along the central gulf coast.

that means fierce winds are blowing and heavy rain is going to pound. we're anticipating as much as 500 millimeters or more i southeaste louiana and or 400 millimeters in the surrounding areas. so very heavy rain is on the cards. in addition to heavy rain, storm surge, dangerous surf as well as dangerous rip currents are going to be a major concern along the coast as the system gets closer. now, on the other side of the world we've got two tropical systems which were once typhoons. let's talk about this bigger one. right now at tropical storm. yesterday it made landfall in north korea as a strong typhoon, devastated the area, and then it's now moving towards the northeast. right now sustained winds are 82 kilometers per hour. still bringing windy conditions within this yellow circle. it's on a weakening tract, but heavy rain will continue as much

as 100 millimeters is likely anywhere in the path of this storm. the korean peninsula is getting drier as they pull away from the region, but it's not out of the woods yet because sevea severe tropical storm is approaching. it's situated close to the islands still producing stormy conditions, gusts of over 100 kilometers per hour and waves up to 6 meters is likely through ut this morning. it will move parallel to the east coast of china and then make landfall in south korea tomorrow as a severe tropical storm status. so things will remain quite critical across the korean peninsula for the next several days. down towards the south a tropical low pressure enhancing the monsoonal flow over the indochina peninsula producing increasing showers. torrential rain is likely throughout the day. as for temperatures then, it's been on the hot side in tokyo.

another hot day for us with a high of 34 degrees. 34 degrees also in beijing and the same goes for chonching on your wednesday. here's your extended forecast.

that concludes this edition of "newsline." do join us again.