western diplomats say their state of civil war. western diplomats say their fight for syria may be entering a new phase. and foreign powers are taking sides. government and opposition forces in syria are showing a side of resolve. both side are drawing on heavy weapons as they fire at each other. united nations leader say it has developed into a civil war. the opposition free syrian army has staged revenge attacks on government troops. they believe forces loyal to bashar al-assad carried out a series of civilian massacres. state television reported that government troops had what it

called cleansed the northern town of haffa of terrorists and restored calm. it said the soldiers seized large quantities of weapons. the city has been under siege for several days. human rights activists say civilians have been killed. government forces have launched air attacks. on opposition strong holds in central and eastern syria. they are adding fire power by attacks by ground troops. activists say at least 100 civilians were killed over the last two days. french leaders are echoing the notion that the situation in syria is now a civil war. foreign minister fabru says they will urge the united nations security council to tighten sanctions. >> translator: this time we need

sanctions which will touch not only bashar al-assad and his entourage, but also army officials and all of al-assad's support. >> fabru said he will propose his plan to the u.s. and european diplomats. he says he would call on the security council to invoke chapter 7 of the u.n. charter. chapter 7 includes and authorizes sanctions that include the use of force and deal with acts that threaten peace. the provision would enforce the plan by u.n. and arab league kofi annan to end the violence. russia and iran have long-standing friendly relations with syria. leaders in both countries have rejected any foreign intervention. russian foreign minister met with his iranian counterpart salehi and other officials in tehran.

he sthad do he said they cannot back foreign intervention to bring stability to the country. russian officials have proposed an international meeting to discuss the crisis, salehi said he had accepted an invitation to attend. >> the iranian government has announced many times the issue of syria which needs to be dealt with in syria and syrians and not through the interference of others. >> salehi criticized western diplomats. for their efforts to remove assad from power. u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton is sticking to her claim that russia is sending attack helicopters to syria. clinton accused russia on tuesday of helping the assad regime crack down on civilians. lavrov denied the accusations the following day and clinton came out with more criticism. >> we have repeatedly urged the russian government to cut these

military ties completely and to suspend all further support and deliveries. obviously we know because they confirm that they continue to deliver. >> clinton said it is time for everyone in the international community, including russian officials, to speak to al-assad in one voice and insist the violence stop. u.s. treasury secretary timothy geithner says there is little time to act on the crisis over european debt. he urged our zone leaders to come up with new solutions to calm markets and to do so quickly. geithner called on them to come up with concrete plans and they will gather next week at a g-20

summit in mexico and then later this month at an eu summit in brussels. >> if you wait to move on these things and you let the market get ahead of you then you increase the costs of the solution and make it harder to get there. >> geithner also commented on speculation about a possible exit from the euro zone by greece and some other countries. >> they considered this very carefully. they decided it is in their interest to hold it together. and what they say to us privately is they will do whatever is necessary to hold it together. >> geithner said u.s. officials do not need to play a bigger role in solving the problems. he said europe is a rich continent and european leaders have the capacity to deal with the issues. the president of the european commission has suggested some solutions. joseph manuel baroso called for integration within the euro zone. baroso made the comments in an address to the european parliament in straussburg and said the euro zone has reached

the decisive moment that will determine its fate. >> our economic relations with euro members and non-euro members alike. our futures are linked. >> he said member countries must acknowledge the structural flaws th prohibit integration and come up with a framework. >> we advocate the further integration. within the euro arena. it is now evident that this is dispensable for the sustainability of our current currency. >> barros said they should propose measures for the banking union that will centralize the banks within the eurozone. that is on the agenda on the summit in brussels later in the month. he said they will discuss introducing common bonds or jointly issued eurozone debts. analysts at u.s. credit have highlighted some of the challenges euro zone leaders are facing. credit rating agency moody's are

downgrading bonds. their analyst lowered their level to just above speculative status. the analyst said they had lowered spain's sovereign debt to b-aa-3, down three notches from a-3. they said they could further downgrade government debt within the next three months. they cited an outlook that spanish debt could balloon. the government is set to borrow 100 billion euros in bailout funds from the eu. the price on a ten year spanish bond plunged. it set a record low not seen since the country introduced the euro in 1999. moody's downgraded the government bonds of cypress which already speculative status. the rating is now b-a-3, that's down two notches from b-a-1. it has strong economic ties with greece. analysts said commercial banks in cypress are suffering losses

from the greek government bonds they held and from loans they extended to greek firms. japanese companies are seeing glim ears cromers across water. shrinking demand at home and the yen are increasing demand in the market next door. japanese firms spend $6 billion investing in china, up 50% from the year before. the chinese are eager to have them. nhk reports from shanghai. mari yamada reports. >> reporter: this industrial park near shanghai is crowded with japanese companies. a passion for doing business in china has prompted some of them even to relocate their head offices. this auto parts maker is one of them. it moved its headquarters to hong kong in 2010. the company operates factories

here and in another part of china. together, they employ about 400 people. the manufacturer left a four-member managing staff back in japan. it makes all important decisions in china. the company says it has tax and financing advantages in the country. in addition, the head office has more flexibility because it's closer to the customers and plants. the firm has been aggressively developing new customers in china. not only among japanese companies, but also chinese and western businesses as well.

on this day, company director visited the auto parts maker for the first time. >> translator: our quality control system is good. we will be able to produce the kind of parts you need. >> reporter: the meeting did not lead to a deal, but he said he will continue to try and build good relations with this company and other potential business partners. >> translator: we are becoming increasingly conscious that we need to regard ourselves as an asian company in order to survive away from home. >> reporter: expectations are growing in china for small and mid-sized businesses because of their technologies and skills. this province is a major producer of eye wear frames and lens. this city has a population of 1

million people and is not far from shanghai. it's now building an industrial park. that's mainly for japanese auto parts makers. it has also left the management and operation of the industrial park in the hands of the japanese auto industry experts. to help cut costs, the operator of the park buys raw materials and handles all of the logistics on behalf of the companies there. it also finds workers for them so they can focus on production. >> translator: even small companies like us can do business here. the industrial park has been really helpful.

>> translator: we believe it's extremely important to transform the city's industrial structure. we'll put all available government resources to make sure that the industrial park will succeed. >> reporter: the strong yen and falling domestic demand have been driving japanese companies overseas and that works fine for china, which is happy to get its hands on their technologies and expertise. mari yamada, nhk world, shanghai. sentenced ousted ben ali to prison. the move comes after the egyptian court also handed down a life sentence to former president hosni mubarak. a court in the northeastern province found ben ali guilty for his role in the deaths of the protestors.

more than 200 people were shot and killed by security forces during their protest that toppled the government of ben ali in january of last year. the protest touched off the arab spring uprising which spread across north africa and the middle east. ben ali was tried in absentia since he fled and remains in exile. prosecutors have demanded the death penalty. ben ali lawyers, denied any involvement by the ousted president in the killings. the u.n. human rights counsel is studying the impact of the nuclear tests in the marshall islands. leaders carried out the experiments during the cold war. u.s. officials began the tests in the pacific islands in 1946 and tested 67 nuclear weapons over 13 years. the government of the marshall islands requested members of the human rights counsel, assess the human rights situation there. a number of residents still suffer from effects of radiation

exposure. some had to relocate and have never returned to their homes. a u.n. special reporter on human rights visited the islands in march. he found many islanders have been forced to abandon fishing and rely on food provided by the u.s. government. he also inspected decontamination work. the counsel its expected to release its report in september. u.s. government officials hope a new environmental impact report will ease opposition to the deployment of a controversial aircraft in okinawa. u.s. marines plan to deploy 24, b-22, ospreys in their southern prefecture. but residents aren't happy with the idea. the report delivered to the okinaw government concludes the short takeoff and landing aircraft poses no significant environmental threat. it says the osprey can climb quickly and it is quieter than

ch-46 helicopter except when landing. pilots will train on simulators to reduce test flights and said the osprey suffered fewer accidents in the nine years up to 2011 than the helicopters currently in use. japanese defense minister has asked for a final report on the osprey crash in morocco. two u.s. soldiers were killed in a drill in april. morimoto tookover this month. he held his first teleconference with -- with leon panetta. morimoto wants the crash report soon. he wants to provide the people of okinawa with a detailed explanation. panetta understands the delicate situation there. morimoto reiterated the government's position on relocating the air station. the minister said, relocating the base functions to nago city

is the only solution. morimoto acknowledged this will not be easy, but expressed his resolve to press ahead with the plan. many young asians spend hours listening to k-pop, they love the style and sound of korean pop music. now people around the world have joined the subculture. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: many fans don't just love k-pop, they live for it. they are dropping into store shops along this busy street in do do downtown seoul. lots are foreigners who want to feel closer to their favorite stars. at the k-story cafe, customers buy all kinds of pop star

souvenirs including copies of the outfits the stars wear on stage. 70% of the shoppers come from other countriecountries. >> as soon as i got in, i was like, wow. and k-pop is a big part of my life. ♪ >> reporter: the cafe is definitely on the k-pop tourists map. its profits have shot up 25% each month since it opened last october. what makes people so keen on k-pop? >> i am a training studio for future k-pop singers in seoul. all the trainees here are highle school students. they heard about the studio on the internet. they have to practice singing and dancing until 10:00 every night even on weekends. >> translator: i want to go to

europe and debut there. i think i can because nowadays korean culture is very popular in the world. >> reporter: this producer has helped make k-pop what it is today. he has developed a lot of global k-pop stars. >> translator: k-pop singers are well trained. we improve the quality of the product. because of advancements in digital media, k-pop videos have been posted on youtube and so on. so the performers gain popularity around the world. >> in south korea, government its getting in on the act. it's using the k-pop boom to enhance the country's image. the government invited foreign k-pop fans to a tree tour free

south korea. the guests came from asia, pacific region, europe and the u.s. >> i love k-pop, that's all i really listen to. i listen to it all the time. even if we don't understand the language, it is such, really good muse tubing listen to. i really like it a lot. >> now, the moment these fans will never forget. >> ready, one, two, three. >> ah! >> reporter: they will soon chat in person to some k-pop stars. >> whoa! >> reporter: the group enjoyed a dreamy day with their favorite stars. they also sampled korea's traditional culture. ♪ >> translator: if we promote korea's favorable image to young people, they'll stay interested in the country and come back some day. that is why we focus on tourism campaigns in cooperation with

k-pop stars. >> reporter: and the beat goes on. k-pop promoters won't rest until they make k-pop a global sensation. anna jong, nhk world, seoul. people in japan's northeast are focused on overcoming the challenges of the 2011 disaster. but it won't be easy, they have to rebuild homes, businesses entire communities. we'll show you their struggles and their successes on "the road ahead" every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time. here on "newsline." students were buzzing this week at a junior high school in northeastern japan. they're excited about the return of a long-lost friend. a basketball swept away by last year's tsunami. the ball's journey across the pacific ocean took several

months and washed up on the beach in the u.s. state of alaska in march. two fed-ex pilots delivered the ball to the students. a high school student in alaska discovered the ball. it is inscribed with the school's name. everyone at the junior high school survived the tsunami but the building was destroyed. the students now use another school's building. school officials say they may display the basketball for everyone to see. all right. sunny skies here in tokyo, but there is a severe tropical storm in the pacific. let's now turn to rachel ferguson for the updates and the rest of the world weather forecast. >> that's right we have a severe tropical storm heading towards

the philippines right now. this massive cloud you can just see to the bottom of your screens. this is severe tropical storm, currently moving west at 25 kilometers an hour, wind speeds sustained at 20 miles an hour with gusts over 120. it looks like it will be heading towards luzon, possibly making landfall here if it does so on your sunday/monday overnight. and then perhaps heading towards taiwan. however, it could actually veer further toward the east and head up towards okinawa. now it will continue to intensify becoming a typhoon saturday morning. that will be local time. whichever way it moves, we will be looking at an intense system bringing strong winds and heavy rain. that is a particularly of concern to -- these islands here up, up near -- the south of china. we are talking taiwan. and then japanese southern islands as well. because they have been seeing sustained heavy rain for quite some time along the seasonal

front. parts of taiwan have seen it more than -- a meter of rain in just the last come of days. as you can see -- not much of a change today. we are still seeing a lot of heavy rain across taiwan and again okinawa as well. southern china is also seeing a lot of heavy rain. that front has the started to move a little bit. we are still pulling in hey lot of moisture from the bay of bengal across places like guondong, 250 millimeters of rain in some areas. up towards the northeast. another potent low is bringing thunderstorms and short-time heavy rain. that will just linger there for the next couple days into the weekend. temperatures to the south of the system will be bidding. -- building. in the beijing area you are getting up to 34 degrees on your sunday. heading on into north america -- severe storms erupting through central canada at the moment and into the northern plains. now this is the low responsible for the storms. we've had reports of hail, as well as the -- destructive

winds, through saskatchewan and alberta. and in fact the storm is just going to be moving along the u.s./canada border in towards the great lakes region ac. along the front more storms through the southern plains, texas, oklahoma, into kansas, you will see continued severe weather on your thursday. clearing up in terms of rain across the east. but we will see more showers spread out along the gulf coast. and lots of heat to the south as well. 41 degrees in phoenix. 33 in houston. and 32 in oklahoma city. seeing the 29 in denver. a little bit cooler to the north. so, just in the low 20s in new york city. toronto, winnipeg. and the mid teens for you unvancouvunva in vancouver. to europe we go. another storm about to run into the british isles. also skirting the top of france coming into the low countries. now this one is bringing some very intense wind and heavy rain. we really don't need any more heavy rain in parts of the british isles.

serious flooding situation. unfortunately this storm is going to be avoiding the iberian peninsula which is very dry and dealing with wildfires at the moment. another storm system dashing across the east. but it is going to be leaving sunny spells across much of central and southern europe. and temperatures will be widely reaching the 30-degree mark as we head into the weekend. i'll leave you now with your extended forecast. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

before we go our top story once again. syrian government forces have retaken one of the strong holds of the opposition north of the country. un cease-fire monitors say the crisis in syria now resembles a civil war. [ explosion ] >> the free syrian army has resumed attacks on government troops. while in the series of civilian massacres blamed on the regime of al-assad.

the state television wednesday said government troops had cleansed the northern town of haffa and restored calm. they claimed weapons had been seized. the town has been under siege for several days resulting in many civilian casualties. meanwhile air raids have continued at opposition strong holds in central and eastern syria with tanks firing on the ground. a human rights group in syria says more than 100 civilians were killed between tuesday and wednesday alone. and that's all for now on this edition of "newsline." i'm aotani yuok. we' we'll be back at the top of the hour. until then, thank you for watching.