welcome back to "newsline." opposition fighters in syria are trying to resist a government onslaught in aleppo. they built up their forces in the northern city. but the government inside it has too. residents fear again they'll be call the in between. government forces are trying to flush the rebels out of their positions.

human rights activists based in the uk say government fighter jets have not let up in their attacks. they say 14 people were killed tuesday including women and children. an opposition member in damascus told nhk government troops are redeploying tanks, artillery and ammunition from the capital to aleppo. opposition forces are frying to stop them with guerrilla attacks. the rebels are recruiting young people around aleppo to join them in their fight. the violence in seige yeah may have spilled over into neighboring lebanon. sectarian clashes have erupted in the northern city of tripoli. gun fights broke out between the city's groups. supporting anti-government forces. the others back bashar al-assad. the two factions live in tripoli, the lebanon military has sent tanks to contain the fighting. reuters news agency says seven people have been killed and about 100 wounded.

the european union is investigating whether a business deal violated sanctions against syria. a foreign unit of japan tobacco is accused of sending cigarettes to a company with ties to the syrian leadership, the eu placed sanctions on relatives of president assad may last year. "the wall street journal" says the eu anti-fraud office is questioning the business. members of the anti-fraud office told nhk they're conducting an investigation but they did not provide details. the syrian come of pane w-- com pane was owned by cousins of president assad at the time of alleged trade. the assad regime is reselling the cigarettes at high prices. it says the profits are being used to finance its crackdown and the paper says government officials are using tobacco to pay members of militias fighting on their side.

and the journal says people in, at japan tobacco international deny breaking any sanctions. the paper quotes a spokesperson saying the firm has not sold cigarettes to the company since assad's relatives were placed on the sanctions list. ethiopian prime minister has died of an undisclosed illness. he ruled the east african country more than two decades. his death raised fears of a political vacuum. state run television reported that the prime minister died monday at a hospital in belgium. it says he had been undergoing treatment there for two months. the hospital has not revealed what he was suffering from. he became president in 1991 after his guerrilla group ousted the colonist junta of the opposition party. he became prime minister in 1995 and maintained strong executive control. meles brought economic control

to ethiopia by inviting foreign investment. he was a major supporter of the u.s. counterterrorism efforts. human rights groups accused his government of repressing opposition parties and restricted the media. the deputy prime minister is expected to serve as acting prime minister. russia is joining the world trade organization, the only major economy operating outside the group. the country agreed to loper barriers and face international competition. members of the organization agreed last december to accept russia. wto membership will make the country more attractive to foreign investors. >> so agreed.

trade officials will cut import tariffs from more than 10% to 7% within seven years. exports of oil and natural gas have helped propel the economy. but government leaders want to reduce the dependence on natural resources. they hope to revitalize the manufacturing sector with foreign investment. they'll have to address a range of issues including complicated and corruption. russian officials began negotiating for membership in 1993. protectionist policies in the energy and agricultural sectors were among the factors that delayed its entry. executives in japan hope russia's membership will provide them with some new business opportunities. they hope to boost car exports and investment. the global financial crisis prompted the russian government to raise tariffs on imported vehicles three years ago. japanese exports dropped.

still, automobiles account for about 60% of the country's exports to russia. russian officials promise they'd will lower import duties on used cars from 35% to 20% by 2019. they say they will cut tariffs on new pas vehic vehicles immediately from 30% to 25%. and they'll cut further, to 15%, in the next seven years. government officials say they will ease restriction foreign companies, stakes in russian firms. but a japanese expert fears russian officials might not honor their obligations. >> if russia breaks the promise, japan and other. wto members need to urge it to keep its pledge to lower import tariffs. he says russian officials could change course if state revenues fall or if membership in the wto hurts domestic

industries. japanese exporters have had a tough time of late, the debt crisis in europe has been on drag on exports. the deficit last month was $6.5 billion. exports fell 1.8%. that month the second straight monthly decrease. shipments to european nations tumbled, 25%, exports to china dropped 12%, the economy there has slowed under the weight of the debt crisis. growing demand for liquefied natural gas used in power generation drove an increase in imports. they were up 2.1% to about $74 billion. finance ministry officials say they will keep a close watch on how the trouble in europe affects china. they say the relationship with

their largest trading partner is the key to achieving a trade surplus. and south korea too, relies on china, for the bulk of its trade. so it is not insulated from the slowdown there. the rough patch in the economy is changing consumers' attitudes. many south koreans are shifting their focus from owning to sharing. nhk world's sue choy explains. this is a hot rental item among job seekers. these second-hand suits have been donated. here in the seoul studio, they are taking pictures for posting online. open closet launched its web site last month. job hunting students can select a suit they like and rent it with a click. the fee is about $10. they are only charged for delivery and cleaning. compared to buying a suit, it's dirt cheap.

costing a fraction of the retail price. about 1 million south koreans look for work every year. many pay more than $300 for a suit they wear at job interviews lasting a few minutes. that's where open closet spotted a business opportunity. yoon visited the company to donate her suit. she wore it two years ago on her first day of work. the manager of open closet says that renter and donors can share suits, but also tips and values through their service. he asked yoon to leave her message. >> translator: this suit is special to me.

it reminds me of the excitement and passion i felt on my first day. i hope it can transfer that positive energy to everyone who wears it and i hope they land those jobs. >> reporter: you can share kids toys. here in seoul, close to the subway is something called a toy library. you can borrow kids toys and bring them back when you finish playing with them. let's take a look. the library is run by the municipal government. there are 24 locations throughout seoul. this one has about 6,000 toys. an annual fee of $9 let's you rent two toys for ten days. more can be rented for a longer

period if you have a good track record of returning them. >> translator: we come here a lot because it's cheap. toys are expensive and kids have so many other needs. >> reporter: about 3,500 people use the toy library now and 40,000 transactions were made last year. >> translator: the toy library is getting attention from other local governments in korea. we hope this kind of service expands across the country. we are happy to work with other governments to make it happen. >> reporter: the concept of sharing isn't just taking off in the realm of goods, but it is changing the way people connect. these people have gathered for so-called social dining at a restaurant in seoul. they are meeting for the first time. this 29-year-old man made an online call for a lunch discussion about travel. social dining is becoming a growing trend.

eating as a group costs less than cooking for yourself and social dining also helps those living alone meet new people. >> translator: at first, i was worried i'd feel embarrassed eating with strangers, but i actually found it comfortable. sharing a meal with people who have the same interests is really fun. >> reporter: this communal attitude may be helping people stay positive under tough economic conditions. analysts say the decision may have been prompted by anti-japanese sentiment over the senkaku island. the storyteller had been scheduled to perform friday. the event was supposed to

celebrate japan-china friendship. this year marks the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties. the chinese sponsor of the performance told nhk that preparations hadn't been completed in time. they said they're still translating their stories. but the association of japanese residents says the sponsor gave them a different reason. they were told it was due to security concerns amid souring relations between the two countries. anti-japanese sentiment has risen in china since a group of hong kong activists landed illegally on one of japan's senkaku island. the islands in the east china sea are also claimed by china and taiwan. people in japan's northeast are focused on overcoming the challenges of the 2011 disaster. it won't be easy. they have to rebuild homes, businesses entire communities. we will show you their struggles and their successes on the road ahead. every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time. here on "newsline."

authorities in central japan have been rehearsing their response to terrorist attacks on a nuclear power plant. nearly 20 organizations took part in a drill at the government office. the participants included police and self-defense force personnel. the drill sa ncenario had terrorists using explosives to attack the plant causing power outages and possible radioactive leaks. participants practiced gathering information to assess damage. they also practiced helping residents leave. officials say the prefectural government hopes to strengthen inrmation between organizations. radioactive cesium above the government safety limit has been found in a fish caught off fukushima prefecture. tokyo electric power company

detected 38,000 becrels in a rock trout caught this month one kilometer off minamisoma city. at 380 times the safety limit, the highest level of radiation detected sdiation exposure in f shell fish caught within 20 kilometers of fukushima daiichi since march. fishing is basically banned off the shores of the prefecture. fish and shellfish were caught between july and early august. the company found radioactive cesium exceeding the safety limits in nine kind of fish and shell fish. tokyo electric will survey the same area from next week until the end of september. they will study rock trout as well as their prey including shrimp. play is as much part of a childhood as going to school or getting into trouble. but it is something many children in japan's northeast haven't been able to do. the tsunami damaged parks,

playground and forced families into temporary housing. now an american expat is trying to give kids a break. the story on this week's "road ahead." >> michael is a man in a hurry. >> kids are kids a short time. we can't wait. >> he can't wait to build more places for kids to play in japan's devastated northeast. he has lived and worked in the country for the last 20 years. he has two children, aged 4 and 6. he visited the northeast as a volunteer to deliver supplies. but he soon realized children there needed something else. >> they actually need to play to -- to get out their stress. and not, you know, not

necessarily, stress from having gone through the tsunami, but kids have natural stress. so they play it out. >> the tsunami destroyed playground, parks, and schools. government officials have turned school yard into temporary housing sites. where kids have little room to run about. the reconstruction effort makes it difficult for dangerous for them to go elsewhere. michael was determined to make the situation better. he negotiated with a u.s. playground equipment maker and got a discount on supplies. then, he recruited a team of volunteers. >> playground bring people together. i think it is wonderful.

>> this is the result of some of their hard work. the colorful playground in the city is drawing crowds of children and their parents. this playground instrument was installed in late may and is reuniting the local community. michael and his volunteers are trying to reunite other communities. they are braving the blazing sun and 40 degree heat to build their fourth playground. it's located in the kindergarten in the town. the tsunami destroyed the original kindergarten. more than half of the 52 kids who go to the school live in the temporary housing.

4-year-old is one of them. the tsunami killed her mother. her grandmother raises her now. >> i feel sorry for them. they have no playground or park nearby to play in. >> but that its about s about t. back at the kindergarten, michael and his team are putting the finishing touches on their playground installation. then -- it's ready! >> now, the children rush to try out the equipment. they smile. they laugh.

they delight in doing what kids do best. play. >> i think it's good. because they look so happy. this never happens at temporary housing. >> wow! >> old people can come and sit and watch the kids play and gather. that is sense of community. instead of having it be -- led by the adults, it is a children first community building. anop hopes to have set up 12 playground. his enthusiasm to cheer up children in the northeast will likely last much longer than that.

one man says there is an obvious way to beat the heat and halfhe population is missing out. >> the sun beats down on osaka. women have their weapons, the parasols to protect them from the sun light. but what about men? they can only avoid the sun with what they have. >> parasols are for women, aren't they? >> an umbrella maker is trying to change that perception. the staff headed out to the business district to drum up interest in a parasol for men. some businessmen stopped by to give it a shot.

>> translator: the parasols make a lot of difference. >> the company's president has been intent on improving designs. he says what men see on the streets might convince them that parasols are for them. >> translator: i think more men will use parasols if they see other men using them. >> reporter: this man doesn't need any convingcinconvincing. he walks around five hours a day in his job. he says he got more energy since he started using a parasol this summer. >> translator: i don't have to worry about sweating or smelling anymore. and my parasol makes a good impression for my business. >> reporter: it may take a while to persuade everyone. but the people who make them.

hope more and more japanese men will drop their old notions and pick up a parasol. >> all right. well we can certainly do with a parasol. sizzling hot day in tokyo. in taiwan, people will be bracing for a typhoon. here is rachel ferguson with the latest in her weather world forecast. hi there, yes. we are expecting a hot day tomorrow across much of japan. but first of all we want to take a look at what is going to be happening with -- typhoon tembin. it is moving very slowly at the moment. wind are at 126 kilometers, gusts at 180. so this is a strong typhoon, expecting it to make landfall in taiwan between thursday noon, and friday morning, local time. and we are now starting to see those wind picking up. for okinawa, waves up to 9 meters between now and into

around noontime tomorrow. that's thursday. we are also going to be seeing the rain start to come down. so, anything in excess of 350 millimeters of rain is possible in the next three days. as i say this is a very slow-moving system. that means heavy rain -- over prolonged over -- you know, a longer period. that's going to be raising the risk of flooding and landslides too. now there is not only tembin to worry about. you can obviously see here this big streak of heavy rain coming in fairly rapidly. it seems. this is typhoon bolaven. it has sustained wind of 126 kilometer an hour. with wind gusts at 180. as you can see it is following much the same path as the preceding storm. it is expected to become a very strong typhoon by friday. at which point it should be close to okinawa. more heavy rain. and it looks like well are going

to see a double whammy, very serious situation altogether. with one and then, a second, very powerful storm coming in right behind it. this situation will be following right into the beginning of next week. i should think. all right. heavy rain once again today for southern china. that is going to be moving further toward the coast. and clearing up, for you, into thursday. likewise, the korean peninsula has been seeing heavy rain. that will continue to sink to the south. should be a bit of a brighter and clearer day for you in south korea tomorrow. however, thunderstorms are going to be moving across much of japan. down to the west, it is very unsettled here. we have got this big flow of moisture coming up, helped by these storms to the south. we also have a front moving across northern japan. so, very wet and unstable. very hot across much of the country. let's go to our tropical storm isaac now. just getting ready to move across the lesser an tilllies, which is expected to do wednesday night, local time. moving across into the eastern

caribbean sea, then is going to be moving towards the south of puerto rico, and beyond that, cuba. it doesn't look like it is going to be missing anybody out on its path. unfortunately this one is also going to be, becoming a more severe system, a hurricane status is likely by thursday. at the moment, the wind gusts are 83 kilometers an hour. sustained wind at 65. and for parts of the lesser antilles, you should expect anything, 100 to 200 millimeters of rain in the next 24 hours. okay. let's go now to europe. extreme high temperatures have been -- continuing since the weekend, across much of southern and central europe. now, we are seeing some, really severe thunderstorms, erupting across germany. it's because we have seasonal cooler ear air colliding with t surge of heat from the south. creating an unstable environment altogether. temperatures are going to continue to sizzle across much of central and eastern europe

for the next couple days. should be getting better for you out toward the west. here is your extended forecast now. ♪ ♪

that's all for now on this edition of "newsline." thank you very much for watching.