common ground. arab league officials pressure syrian opposition groups to get together to rescue their country from crisis. opposition figures in syria have fought for more than a year to bring down president assad, but they and dissidents living abroad are divided by infighting. now syria's neighbors are urging them to unite. about 250 delegates gathered in cairo. members of the syrian opposition living outside the country joined ministers from cross the arab world. the arab league secretary-general told delegates they must seize the opportunity before them. opposition members called on all dissident groups to come together to bring down assad. representatives at a u.n.-backed conference in geneva agreed on a

call for a transition to democratic government. they said such an administration would include members of the assad government and the opposition. russian representatives blocked a clause that would have called for the president to step down. >> translator: we are disappointed with the agreement reached at the geneva conference. >> he said members of his group want to give top priority to bringing down assad. u.s. officials have come out with their interpretation of the agreement. they say assad will not be among syria's next group of leaders. >> we are confident if this and when this transitional governing body is formed up along the lines of this document that he's not going to be part of it. >> even if assad refused to leave, he would essentially be stripped of power. she said the transitional governing body will be responsible for running the

country. the head of nato says the international community has a duty to put an end to the conflict and do it now. but the secretary-general said the alliance has no plans to step in. >> nato has no intention to intervene in syria and as i will stress today i think the right way forward is to find a political solution. >> rasmussen called on the u.n. security council to speak with one voice to pressure syria. delegates from six world powers have been frustrated again and again. by a lack of progress on iran's nuclear program. they will get another chance when they meet their counter parts from teheran in istanbul. the seven parties met three times since april without a breakthrough. eu foreign policy chief catherine ashton says she hopes

the iranians take this chance to address concerns of the international community. western officials want iranian scientists to stop enriching uranium to 20% which can lead to the development of nuclear weapons. iranian leaders claim the program is for peaceful purposes. technical experts will decide? in is -- istanbul whether there is enough common ground for full fledge talks. but meetings are expected to be strange. -- strained. an eu embargo took effect sunday. eu and u.s. officials hope their embargoes will stop governments and financial institutions from doing business with iran. iranians are already feeling results of previous sanctions. now they are facing higher prices for food and medicine and risks to their safety. nhk's report from tehran.

>> reporter: an iran air passenger jet made an emergency landing at a tehran airport. the plane managed to land without its front wheels. it could have been a disaster. the captain told nhk what was going on in the cockpit. >> translator: i told the co-pilot to deploy the landing gear. the instruments showed something was wrong with the wheels. >> reporter: in january 2011 another iran air passenger plane crashed in the northern part of the country. 80 people were killed. both accidents last year involved planes made by boeing, the u.s. aircraft manufacturer. the economic sanctions are said to be behind the accidents. airline companies are finding it increasingly difficult to import essential parts.

they have no choice but to fly old planes that lack adequate maintenance. >> translator: the confrontation between iran and western countries is a political matter. it shouldn't put people's lives and safety at risk. >> reporter: the economic embargo is steadily undermining the iranian society. the latest round of u.s. and eu sanctions have begun to cause heavy inflation in the iranian market. chicken, for example, which used to be $2 a kilogram is now standing at $4. food prices have soared since the beginning of the year. the official inflation rate is 20%, but people say the actual figure is probably higher. >> translator: there's no way we

can make a living. >> reporter: the sanctions are even affecting people's health. the cost of medicine has risen more than 30% since the sanctions began. drugs to treat heart disease and high blood pressure are particularly hard to obtain due to restrictions on transactions with foreign firms. >> translator: this medicine costs about $6 last year. i had to pay twice as much today. >> translator: my mother used to take medication imported from overseas, but we can no longer afford it. it's just gotten too expensive. >> reporter: sanctions against iran show no sign of ending anytime soon. meanwhile, ordinary iranians are trapped in what they see as a political conflict in a daily struggle to survive.

nhk world, tehran. people in japan's northeast are focused on overcoming the challenges of the disaster. it won't beep easy they have to rebuild homes, businesses, entire communities. we'll show you their struggles and suck says wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. on the "road ahead." japanese officials say they want nuclear regulators to be free from industry influence. they will exclude anyone with close ties from the industry from a new regulatory body. officials will set up a new commission by september to replace the nuclear and industrial safety agency. the agency is part of the ministry which promotes nuclear energy. that relationship drew public criticism in the wake of the fukushima nuclear accident. the commission will consist of five aspects. government guidelines forbid

members who worked for a utility company or other nuclear related businesses in the past three years. they also will allow anyone who received $6,000 per year from related businesses. japanese officials are trying to lure them back to disaster hit regions. foreign ministry officials have started with multiple visas for tourists visiting affected areas. tourists from china can show an itinerary that shows a visit it was one of the three hardest hit prefectures and need to have an income above a certain limit. the visas allow them to ent jerry pan as many times as they want over a three year period. the number of chinese tourists has been rising sharply since march 11 last year and dropped significantly after the disaster. ministry officials introduce aid

similar scheme last year for okinawa. the visa helped bring 20,000 chinese visitors to the southwestern prefecture. people in hong kong got used to having more freedom than mainland chinese while their home was a british colony. those in beijing let them keep their autonomy when the british left 15 years ago. they said they would keep a policy. one country, two systems in place for 50 years. but now they're making what they call patriotic education compulsory for hong kong children. some people are pro testing. what they see as propaganda. their teachers begin giving

them their education just after hong kong reverted to chinese control. ♪ >> reporter: the students begin each week by saluting the chinese flag. they only know what hong kong has been like since it became part of china. >> translator: raise your arms to 45 degrees. stand up straight. >> reporter: lots of students volunteer to raise the flag. >> translator: when i raise the flag, i feel chinese. >> reporter: the children also learn about mainland china's culture and customs. >> translator: we want children to be aware that they're chinese, feel proud of it and do something for the country.

>> reporter: leaders in beijing plan to start making patriotic education compulsory in september. the chinese president wants to make people in hong kong feel more chinese for the sake of national stability. >> translator: weep must put emphasis on patriotic education for the young. our compatriots in hong kong must inherit the tradition of loving china. >> reporter: some people in hong kong are speaking out against this policy. they say it's government pressure. these students mainland leaders

have a poor record on democracy and human rights. they worry the leaders will use patriotic education to censor what they learn. some teachers are also speaking out. they meet between lessons to discuss what they can do. high school teacher, says patriotic education threatens hong kong's democracy. >> translator: hong kong cherishes freedom of speech and other democratic values more than the mainland does. the chinese are trying to put a lid on these values with patriotic education. he is teaching his students about the army's crackdown on

protestors in tiananmen square in 1989. he wants to give them the plain truth about china. >> translator: we must enable students to consider what the country lacks so they can make it better. >> children who are born in hong kong just after the reversion are now 15 years old. they are continuing to explore ways to maintain democratic values and one country two systems policy. >> executives at a japanese semiconductor maker have watched their share prices slide over the past year. so the people that reassess electronics have cup out wiome a plan.

established in 2010 after executives decided to bring together their semiconductor divisions. but managers have struggled to rebound them from the tsunami and earthquake last year and the depreciation of the yen. the company posted net losses of 60 billion yen or $790 million for the business year ending march. the company will slash up to 14,000 jobs at head office and affiliated firms. that as it bout 30% of the payroll. managers plan to close or sell eight of 18 plants across japan and considering another two factories. executives are set to announce the plan within the next few hours. they're preparing to notify labor unions and municipalities that host the plants. the prime minister of finland says he disagrees with

using bailout fund to buy government bonds to rescue nations. people there are concerned that could lead to endless bond buying to prop up struggling economies. britain is not part of the euro zone. and prime minister david cameron said his country will not join an eu wide banking union. u the union is a framework for consolidating bank oversight and protection in the region. the new hea of the world bank says one of his top priorities will be to fight poverty. >> we will do our work at the bank with rigor, great compassion and most importantly with the people living in poverty we aspire to serve. >> kim was born in south korea but grew up in the u.s. he is expert in global health and directed the hiv/aids department at the world health organization. he was president of dartmouth

college before joining the world bank. kim is the bank's 12th president. kim its expected to help developing countries cope with rising prices for natural resources and food. at first glance the people on the russian east coast seem firmly rooted, they revitalized city turned it into an energy hub. but many young people feel wistful about a bygone area. >> reporter: the days of the czars return at this ball in russia. ♪ men and women perform the dance. the way it was done in the royal

court of 19th century russia. recently, many young russians have become keen on live as it was lived when the romanovs ruled. >> translator: i am wearing a silk hat and gloves. i came dressed in a costume from the time period. >> translator: the atmosphere, mood and costumes are all great. >> reporter: she learned the dancing in a college course and was charmed by its elegance. she was especially drawn to the images of court women in formal gowns. she said the world wasn't so frantic in the 19th century. to get an idea of what life was like, she started making her own period dresses.

so far, she has made more than 20. >> when you dance the court dance it feels so amazing. i think anyone would love it. women become ladies. men become lords. it's magical. >> reporter: for a hall to practice in she chose one built in the romanov dynasty. every week they practice in the hall's 19th century atmosphere. >> reporter: every dance they become romanov nobles.

>> reporter: about 100 people showed up for the ball. she never expected so many. everyone wore 19th century attire and competed to be the most elegant in the room. they behaved like peers, the way they held their gloves. and her dress took more nan two weeks to make. five years ago, she started hosting the balls. over the years more people joined in. >> i want to hold more events like this to convey to more people how important our history and culture is. >> reporter: royal dancing

glasses have sprung up all over the country. now there are thousand who relive the lifestyle of the rule class of 19th century russia. >> there is an old recipe in japan for fighting the summer heat. eating eel. but poor catches and high demand sparked higher prices. now japanese importers are tapping a far away source, eels from the african nation of madagascar. most important eel in japan comes from china and taiwan. but farms in those countries are catching fewer young eels to raise. one estimate says supplies have fallen near 18% from the peak. central japan its a main your eel sa mript upplier. importing eels from madagascar. another wholesaler followed suit. employees, sampled some of the madagascar eels before sending them to market.

>> price could be a selling point. eels from madagascar will cost about 40% less than ones caught in japan. wholesalers are betting that consumers will eat up the summertime delicacy. >> all right. time now to check the weather world forecast including the heavy rainfall in southern japan. here is rachel ferguson. >> hi there, yes, looking at quite a serious situation in western japan at the moment. flooding rains have been hitting the region. let's take a look at some video from this morning. and we'll show you what is going on there. it is a very active front that is delivering torrential downpours. it actually brought some very heavy rain on sunday. little bit of easing monday. and then again to day we are just seeing incredible amounts of rain. in oita prefecture, record

breaking amount of 110 millimeters fell in a one-hour period this morning. rutting in flo resulting in flooding and evacuating. landslides have occurred too. further flooding is highly likely as an additional 150 to 200 millimeters of rain is possible in the next 24 hours. in fact, an update on that figure in oita, more than 200 millimeters has fallen now in the space of three hours. this is extremely heavy rain. very dangerous stuff. now, that front is going to be extending up towards central japan during the course of the day. starting to see the rain falling here in tokyo now. it will get, steadily heavier as we head on through the night. the tail end of that active front is heading into the proch enproch -- proch ens. you could receive 100, 250 millimeters of rain in the next 24 hours. so we are looking at definitely a very high risk for flooding and landslides as we head on

into the middle of the week. let's go now to north america. where more severe weather is on the cards for wednesday. along the u.s./canada border here you can see the massive cloud. that is going to be severe thunderstorms today. another area to watch is going to be along the soutd eastern coast. carolinas, virginia, also expecting in d.c. sashevere thunderstorms. great lakes region. red hot spots. potential potentially, large hail, damaging wind. potential for tornados as well. widespread rainfall as the you can see. however not going to be enough to bring any comfort to, to much of the -- the u.s. central and eastern locations. experiencing this extended heat wave. take a look at temperatures expected on tuesday. 34 in d.c. 36 in chicago. oklahoma city as well. as the in denver. reaching up to 30 degrees in winnipeg as well. this its very intense heat. a lot of air as well with the power. which is going to exacerbate

that problem. let's go now to europe where we have more problematic weather today. the british isles. remember last week, dealt with some serious flooding. well we have more rain coming in. very unwelcome rain. a low just sitting off the atlantic. sending front after front across the british isles. we are seeing thunderstorms containing large hail. the storms have -- history of producing golf ball sized hail. that's heading up in towards norway. and then, once again, the same area of central europe from the alpine region up through towards poland and baltic states. suffering from severe thunderstorms. once again to day. they're pushing around the edge of a dome of high pressure that is keeping things very hot for the balkan peninsula. budapest, 3 degrees today. 30, warsaw. kiev. 32, vienna. 33 in athens. starting to see things warming up. iberian peninsula. madrid, 34. wet, cooler for you in london.

here is your extended forecast. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

our top story once again, head of the arab league has serious opposition groups to get together and rescue their country from crisis. about 250 gathered at an arab league conference in cairo. members of the syrian opposition living outside the country joined ministers across the arab world. arab league secretary-general

told the delegates they must setz t seize the opportunity before them. they called on dissident groups to come together to bring down al-assad. representatives at a u.n.-backed conference in geneva agreed on saturday to call for a transition to a democratic government. they said such an administration would include members of the assad government and the opposition. but russian representatives blocked a clause that would have called for the president to step down. >> translator: we are disappointed with the agreement reached at the geneva conference. >> members of the group want to give top priority to bringing down assad. >> that's all for now on this edition of "newsline." i'm yuko aotani in tokyo. thank you very much for watching.