fire in the sky. opposition fighters in syria claim they shot down a government jet. hello, welcome to this hour's "newsline." syrian rebels say they've done something they've never done before. they say they fired on a government war plane and brought it down. the jet crashed in the eastern part of the country. [ gunfire ] 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 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 are using fighter jets to support troops attacking cities including the commercial capital aleppo. 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" josho 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 in tree permits. -- 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 refugee 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 from muslim nations and territories are meeting in saudi arabia to discuss the crisis. they will decide whether to suspend syria from the organization of islamic cooperation. the leaders are gathering for a two-day emergency summit in mecca. saudi arabia, qatar and other gulf countries have been supporting insurgents and calling for president assad to

step down. they're in favor of suspending syria. leader from iran are owe posed, and president mahmoud ahmadinejad is expected to defend the assad regime. an envoy of president assad will visit beijing as early as today to ask for economic and diplomatic help. the chinese foreign ministry announced that syrian envoy will meet with chinese foreign minister. she's expected to ask the chinese government to provide economic assistance and to strengthen ties. western diplomats have criticized china and russia. delegates from both countries have vetoed u.n. security council resolutions that would impose sanctions on syria. chinese leaders say sanctions will not stop the fighting. survivors of twin earthquakes in iran are scram

b bling -- scrambling for food, water, and medicine. iranian leaders have begun coordinating relief work, but they have refused offers of foreign aid. magnitude 6.4 and 6.3 quakes hit the northwestern province of east azerbaijan on saturday, 11 minutes apart. government officials say more than 300 people died. more than 3,000 were injured. an estimated 16,000 survivors are living in tents. the governments of russia and neighboring turkey offered to send emergency aid. but a senior iranian official says the country has enough supplies. vice president mohamed reza rahimi visited east azerbaijan. he promised work would begin immediately to remove debris and rebuild houses. u.s. president barack obama has offered an aid package to cattle farmers in america's drought-ravaged breadbasket.

>> how are you doing? >> the president was making a campaign stop in iowa where livestock farmers are suffering from soaring grain prices. he said his administration would buy meat worth $150 million from breeders across the midwest and use it in food assistance programs. obama criticized his republican opponents for blocking a farm bill that includes emergency aid for drought-hit areas. >> unfortunately, right now, too many members of congress are blocking the farm bill from becoming law. [ audience boos ] i am told that governor romney's new running mate, paul ryan, might be around iowa the next few days. he is one of the leaders of congress standing in the way, so if you happen to see congressman ryan, tell him how important this farm bill is to iowa and our rural communities. >> agriculture department officials say corn production for 2012 to 2013 will likely plunge to a six-year low. last friday, corn futures hit a

record high, $8.49 per bushel. u.s. internet giant google is cutting 4,000 jobs at its recently acquired subsidiary motorola mobility. that's 20% of all staff at the telecom's equipment maker. google officials made the announcement 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 30 facilities. google executives say the payroll cut is aimed at row focusing the company on on more profitable smartphone and tablet businesses. motorola has long struggled with debt. google acquired the firm in may for over $12 billion. it was google's first foray into producing hardware. industry analysts saw it as a strategy to obtain motorola'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 manufacturer of d-ram memory chips. it filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year. in july, elpida board members decided to rebuild under leading u.s. chipmaker micron technology. but some elpida creditors are not happy with the plan. they announced on tuesday they will file a competing proposal in court. the creditors include foreign investment fund. the members say, elpida's sale price was unreasonably low. they say executived failed to explain why they picked micron as a partner. creditors under the rival plan say elpida can rescue itself. they would have executives seek new loans, find another firm to work with, and rebuild the business. elpida executives were to draft their proposals under micron by tuesday next week. the counterproposals may change that plan.

officials with the japanese government and ruling democratic party are wrestling with some tough choices. japan carries a greater proportion of debt on its books than any other industrialized nation. the government team has to weigh that in drawing up next year's budget. the government will stick to a spending limit of about $910 billion for the fiscal year beginning next april. this exclude costs for servicing bond. the government will limit the issuance of new bond to around $56 abillion. the team put priority on several industries -- energy, medical, welfare, agriculture, forestry, and fishery industries. the cabinet has already endorsed this strategy. cabinet members have identified these sectors as most important for revitalizing the japanese economy. government officials will review their budget in other areas too. they're expected to ask cabinet to endorse their budget guidelines for fiscal 2013 as

early as this week. china may not be the first place many think of as a great wine producing country. but consume now vintners are pu down their roots. scenes like this are common. the chinese are drinking twice as much wine as they did five years ago. >> translator: i love wine. i always drink it. >> reporter: amid the boom, some chinese have ben putting up their own version of a building, seen in france's wine-growing

areas. these chateaus, as they are called, indicate the owner has built a vineyard and facilities for processing wine. i am in the province, a coastal region of eastern china. wine pro ducts duction is incre. a strong demand from choinese consumers. china's biggest wine producer has a history of 120 years, owns the chateau. built ten years ago, it is the country's first. the chateau attracts tourists by the droves. last year, more than 120,000 people visited. >> translator: first you check the color of wine. please tilt your glass at 45 degrees. you can enjoy the ruby red

color. >> the tour ends with wine tasting. the guide explains how to drink it and what to appreciate. this helps visitors understand the wine culture. >> translator: this place made me feel like i am deep in wine culture. >> reporter: the company exports some of its premium wines to more than ten countries. the winemaker operates five other chateaus in china. and plans to build two more in four years. >> translator: by visiting our chateaus, tourists will understand more about the role of the chateau and wine culture. this will lead to further development of china's wine market. >> reporter: now companies are coming to china to grow wine. a french wine group that owns

one of the most popular brand among chinese consumers started planting this vineyard in the province in march. this man head the project. he also helped find the location. >> how long does it take for you to find thi place? >> three years, four years. >> reporter: he says the climate and soil are suited for wine production. the brittle soil does not lap up water and lets the roots grow deep. >> 15 years ago when i come in china, all my friend, said, you are crazy. you cannot make a good wine in china. now, he, all people come and we can make a good wine, sure. >> reporter: the owners plan to start selling locally made wine in four years.

they aim to produce quality wines. they also want to show chinese consumers how wine is made in france. >> chinese people understand how to and needed to understand huh to drink wine, how to know if this wine is good or not. and this in time. but we want, we want our vineyard also to explain. >> reporter: chinese and foreign winemakers work hard to spread wine culture among the chinese. hoping to encourage them to buy more wine. in other news, south korean president myung-bak stirred up tensions last week by visiting islets in the sea of japan. he's now offered a reason for

his trip. he says he was prompted by japan's reluctance to address the issue of so-called comfort women. the south koreans call the islands dokdo, the japanese call them takeshima. lee told leaders of the national assembly he had been planning to visit them since 2009. he said bad weather prevented him from doing so last year. lee said he decided to go ahead with the visit after a meeting last december with japanese prime minister yoshihiko noda. noda demanded the removal of a monument to south korean women forced to work in brothels during world war ii. the monument stands in front of the japanese embassy in seoul. lee said he was unhappy with noda's reluctance to resolve the issue. he said he had anticipated the japanese react tuion to his vis. a poll in south korea suggests 85% of the public approved of the trip. 12% disapproved. some south koreans are showing their support by swimming to the islets.

about 40 people set out on monday morning from south korea's eastern coast. rock star kym jang-hoo is taking part, along with students from the korea national sport university. they'll take turns swimming legs of the 220 kilometer trip. they'll aim to arrive wednesday on the 67th anniversary of korea's liberation from japan's colonial rule. the swimmers will stream video of their attempt on the internet. an nhk monthly poll suggests a big majority of japanese worry about lee's unprecedented visit to the islets. the respondents said it could negatively affect, japan's south korea relations. nhk surveyed 1,639 people aged 20 or over from friday to sunday. 3/4 said they're worried about the visit's impact.

about 1/5 stead they're unconcerned. on a different question about the diet's recent enactment of the bills to raise the consumption tax and reform social security, 48 perz of the respondents said they approved. 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 remained at 56%. the uncle and mentor to kim jung-un. north korea state run media said he will meet with chinese leaders to discuss joint development of economic zones. they'll discuss projects at a border area in northeastern china and in the port city.

he has been in charge of north korea'sic nomi in korea's economic reforms and investment. he hopes to rebuild north korea's economy by moving forward with joint economic projects. doctors, medical students and health care workers from 63 countries have joined a campaign. international physicians for prevention of nuclear war won the nobel peace prize in 1985. the parents of one member of the group survived the atomic bombing of hiroshima. >> reporter: he is deputy director of a hiroshima hospital

and international physicians for 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 nuclear weapons. >> translator: i believe doctors know more about the dangers of radiation and people in other professions. so it is important for us to speak out about the inhumanity of nuclear arms. >> reporter: in a special possession to talk about radiation. both of his parent were hiroshimaa-bomb survivors. his mother died five years ago. he attend the deathbed of others who lived through the blast and

feels more driven to honor them. he has been lecturing as a doctor on the dangers of radioactivity. he joined ippnw in 1989. latehe 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 radiation exposure more than the average person. i feel it's my duty to continue my activities. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> 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 think more people may be worried by power plants and worthe world's nucle arsenal. at a meeting to decide themes for the convention, some members say overseas chapters want to increase 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 the atomic bomb was dropped. he wants to stick with the issue of weapons. >> translator: hiroshima is the starting point for overseas members too. i want to in street them back here to think 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 groi grow up, a nuclear war could kill them. what i do is part of a doctor's jobben ein a broad sense. >> reporter: people's awareness of radiation dangers has risen since fukushima. but it is not only power plants, activists are part of a diverse global movement trying to ensure a safe future. with 200 medical delegates from around the world, attending this august's conference, the message from hiroshima should be clear -- banish nuclear weapons. >> announcer: hiroshima. nagasaki. the atomic bombings, marked a brutal conclusion to a brutal

conflict. world war ii ended 67 years ago this month. and "newsline" is looking back from the fight to abolish nuclear weapons to the younger generations trying to promote peace. our special coverage "war to peace:lessons of 1945" continues. i am going to hand you over to sayaka mori who will tell us what is cooking in weather. >> thank you, the frontal lane has been pounding much of japan. this morning, the regions have experienced the worst of it. let's go to some video to show you the situation. parts of western japan have had over 100 millimeters of rain in the span of just one hour this morning. that breaks previous record. extensive flooding has occurred in kyoto and neighboring prefectu prefectures. houses, alleys, cars have been in undated. land slaslides have occurred.

one house was swept away. leaving two people still missing. torrential rain has eased. however, locally heavy rain and thunderstorms will likely continue in parts of western and central japan through out the day. as for tokyo, getting drier and we expect sneunny skies with hi of 33 tomorrow. turning wet. very heavy rain. heavy rain will also spread to the northern half of japan as we head into tomorrow. we are monitoring a tropical storm east of the philippines. right now, sustained wind are 72 kilometers per hour. gusts of 108 kilometers per hour. it will move toward the northwesterly direction and could hit the northern island of the philippines by wednesday and then reach taiwan by thursday morning. local time. as a severe tropical storm status. before making landfall in southeastern corner of china by

friday. strong wind, gale-force wind starting to impact the coastal areas. very heavy rain is already affecting the eastern and northern portions of, and on the path of the storm, like the northern island of philippines, and southern taiwan, we are expecting upward of 200 millimeters of ran over the next 72 hours. that's certainly enough to cause f flooding and landslide. high waves. rough seas will be a beg concern over the next several days wechl's kewech'll keep you posted. tropical storm hector stays over the walters. bringing msture to the southern half of mexico. up toward the north. a low pressure system bring in widespread thundershowers from the great lakes region down through the southern plains. that will be shifting towards the east. and will like low see -- an area of severe weather in parts of the northeastern states, on your tuesday. out toward the west, monsoonal

moisture is creating scattered showers in the southwestern corner of the u.s. and very heavy rain is falling in parts of the southern california and central nevada that is leading that could lead to flash floods. heat is still continuing in los angeles. 32 degrees expected on your tuesday. that is about 7 degrees hyperthan where they should be time of year. up toward the north. nice and comfortable. 24 degrees expected in vancouver and seattle. and out toward the east. looking seasonalen washingt ein d.c. as well as new york city. that's it for me now. here is your extended forecast around the globe. ♪ ♪

and from a cloudy to partly

wet tokyo, i'm asking you to stay with us here on "nhk world." thank you for watching.