welcome back to "newsline." i'm yuko atano in tokyo. u.s. republicans opened their national convention in tampa, florida. then called a recess. tropical storm isaac churned through the gulf of mexico. organizers cut the four-day schedule down to three. they will nominate for mitt romney to the presidential challenger to barack obama. romney will make a speech to accept the nomination on thursday, the final day of the convention.

delegates will nominate congressman paul ryan as his running mate. the most recent washington post abc news poll suggests romney has overtaken obama. the poll puts him ahead by 1 percentage point. the once moderate politicia can count some influential conservatives among his supporters. >> a group of voters with an unusual name could determine who will occupy the oval office next year. they are called teavan ge gelic they want smaller government. they have joined forces with the conservative christian evangelicals. all you have to do is vote. and vote christian. guess what, we the people will have a christian nation whch. when you stay home, we don't have a christian nation. >> 25% of the vote in 2008 came

from evangelical voters, largest single voting block with tea party libertarians, and you put them together you have a huge political movement in america. they narrowed the field during primary elections. romney won many of them over earlier this month when he announced his runningmate. >> and to help lead the nation to better days, it is an honor to announce my runningmate and next vice president of the united states, paul ryan! >> congressman paul ryan is the author of a series of budget plans that would alter government spending, tax policy, and social programs including medicare. tea partiers have long supported

him. >> wow. >> i am deeply honored and excited to join you as your runningmate. teavangelicals responded to romney's choice almost immediately. they started printing leaflets sane port of the ticket. then they delivered them through their network of churches. >> when you saw then the addition of paul ryan as the the vice president, i think it solidified a very strong evangelical base and social conservative base that will, will go for mitt romney in november. >> romney has voted against abortion, same-sex marriage, and still evangelicals in the faith and freedom coalition are trumpeting his name.

>> i'm ready for a president who lead from the front of the pack instead of leading from the back. >> the voters who make up the group, turned out in the midterm election two years ago. romney hopes they turn up agend aagend -- up again and their faith in him takes him all the way to the white house. nasa mars rover curiosity is bringing back new tow tphotos f the red planet. this photo shows layer of strata. they say it resembles the grand canyon in the western united states. they drew dots to indicate the different strata. officials say the layers above

and below the marks are different. lower ones appear the same type as in the grand canyon formed by water. nasa officials say images show a previously known unside of mars. they plan to send curiosity toward the canyon to search for signs of life. japanese prime minister yoshihiko noda hopes a letter to chinese president can calm relations between the neighbors. government officials say he wants to explain his position over a dispute over the senkaku islands. china and taiwan also claim the territory. noda is expected to stress the importance of strategic mutually beneficial relations. japan and china will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties in september. noda is expected to call for talks among senior officials on a range of issues, including trade and north korea. senior vice foreign minister tsuyoshi yamaguchi will deliver the letter during a visit to beijing that starts during the day. japan's ambassador to china has been caught up in an unusual incident on the streets of beijing.

ambassador uichiro niwa was traveling without a security escort on highway in the chinese capital. two vehicles forced his car to a stop. then a man got out of one of the vehicles. he grabbed the national flag attached to the front of the ambassador's car. ambassador niwa was not hurt in the incident. the japanese embassy has launched a strong protest with the chinese foreign ministry. the japanese embassy says it took note of the license plate numbers of the two cars and a photo of the man who stole the national flag. they say they have passed on this information to chinese authorities. chinese officials say they sincerely regret the incident. they say they'll take measures to ensure the safety of japanese nationals in the country. u.s. state department spokesperson victoria nuland reacted with caution. >> that would be extremely concerning, particularly given his diplomatic status. we have regularly, including last week, i think, every single day of the week, urged the two countries to work this out peacefully.

>> nuland said the u.s. doesn't take positions on territorial disputes between japan and china. french president francois hollande has warned the syrian government not to use chemical weapons against insurgents. >> translator: we remain vigilant to prevent the use of chemical weapons. for the international community, that would be a legitimate reason for direct intervention. >> hollande urged opposition groups to unite. he said france will recognize a provisional government as soon as it is formed. syrian government forces have mounted an offensive around damascus after the departure of u.n. observers. human rights activists based in the uk say about 160 people were killed on monday alone. a military helicopter crashed in the eastern part of damascus on monday. rebels from the free syrian army

claim to have shot it down in retaliation for government massacres. hundreds of people were found dead over the weekend in daraya, a suburb of the capital. government and opposition forces are blaming each other for the killings. an iranian official says leaders from non-aligned nations are ready to release a statement denouncing u.s. economic sanctions on syria. delegates from the nations are meeting in the iranian capital, tehran. the conference of the non-aligned movement is held once every three years. delegates of more than 100 mainly developing countries are attending. a two-day summit starts on thursday. working level officials are drafting a declaration for a summit. an iranian spokesperson says they have broadly agreed the statement will criticize u.s. sanctions on member states,

including syria and iran. the delegates also agreed to call for the right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. an iranian official has suggested inviting summit participants to a nuclear facility that some experts believe is being used for weapons development. japan's government downgraded its economic assessment in its monthly report for august. the report released on tuesday said the economy is recovering, but there have been recent weak movements. a downgrade from a july assessment which said it was on moderate recovery path. the government lowered its assessment of exports to weakening. and for industrial production, the government has lowered its assessment from rising modestly to flat. for the economic outlook, the report cautions against a strong yen and further deterioration in

the global economy in the whack -- wake of the european debt crisis. apple continues its rise with share prices top thaping their record high in new york. won massive damages against south korean rival, samsung over pat enterfor smartphones and tablets. apple's stock temporarily jumped 2.7% overnight from friday's close to a high of $680. a jury in california federal court ruled for apple on most counts in its case against samsung. the court ordered the korean firm to pay over a $1 billion in damages. meanwhile, samsung's stock monday briefly tumbled 8%. google's share price dropped 3% at one point. the u.s. internet firm supplies samsung with android operating system for smart phones. appl and samsung have taken their fight to courtsn ten countries. last week a south korea court

ruled both companies shared the blame for the dispute ordering them to stop selling certain products and pay each other compensation. the tokyo district court is scheduled to hand down ruling this friday. a massive explosion at one of the world's largest oil refineries, forced u.s. gas prices to their highest level in 3 1/2 months. the huge blast on saturday at the amway oil refinery in north western venezuela killed at least 39 people and injured more than 80. gas prices have been on the rise in the u.s. since july, due to rising tensions over iran. the venezuela blast, and further fears over gasoline shortage. the u.s. energy department said monday the average u.s. gas price rose to $3.70 per gallon. up more than 12% from early july. the price hikes could make for double trouble as crop prices

have also been rising due to the serious u.s. drought. analysts fear a plunge in consumer sentiment if gas prices stay high. japanese chemical firms are plugging into the market for batteries, making parts for lithium ion batteries in appliances and vehicles. the corporation and company will jointly start manufacture later this year in western japan of components from coconut shells. the plant based materials, reportedly last longer than the more common graphite. mitsubishi plastics developed omponents, with a high heat models. and planning to double its production capacity by next year for high tech material called carbon nanotube. when mixed in to electrodes, it can extend a battery's performance t japanese university graduates are having a hard time trying to land a good job. a government survey shows that

more than one out of five fresh graduates didn't find full time work. the education ministry survey shows that 357,000 out of a total of some 559,000 graduates found jobs this spring. the rate of employment was 63.9%, up 2.3 percentage points from last year. but the data also showed that some 22,000 students who have found jobs are nonregular employees. also about 19,600 are part-time workers and more than 49,400 are still looking for work. when those students who are not trying to fiend wond work or no grad school are included, 128,000 students or 22.9% find themselves in a tough job situation. shanghai, china's most

dynamic city, behind the city skyscrapers, city scape, and futuristic towers, some districts see them little changed from a century ago. the buildings are small and cramped but have a distinctive old-time feel that some love and residents are refurbishing them. in the heart of shanghai you can find traditional districts. these areas or from another time when shanghai was an international settlement with western and japanese peasants. there are still many people living in these old neighborhood. around 40% of the city's designated historic buildings are in the districts. many residents also want to preserve the distinctive feel of

their neighborhoods. so when they refurbish their homes, that leaves the jut sides untouched. >> now the children have left home. she is keen to continue living in the neighborhood. but she also wants to make some improvement. >> translator: i want my house to suit my modern lifestyle. but i don't want to change my appearance. >> this was built in the 1920s as housing for workers. and the house is designated as an historic building, as it still has original japanese features.

but they have been removed, leaving it across the room. the kitchen is narrow and dark. and there are many drawbacks to living here. and preserving the best features of old houses. >> translator: i love the old historic pieces of the house. i want to retain its original structure. the exterior can be changed. so the work is done with the utmost care.

the kitchen is wider and much brighter now. as for the living room, upstairs, there are no abstractions across the floor. the stairs, banisters and wall panels have been kept intact. and they have been repainted in their original colors. the cost of the work, about $15,000. she has invited them over to show of their renovations. >> it's not easy to renovate an historic building like this.

and did a great job. >> shanghai remains china's economic engine, but the growing number of people now have the money and the will to preserve these old districts. parts of the route were abandoned after the war. now workers will lay new tracks. >> reporter: it would take five years to build. however it was completed through the use of forced labor from

prisoners of war and local residents. it was also known as a way that so many lost their lives during its construction. the town was the starting point of the railroad. a tower built to console the souls of those who lost their lives during the construction and remans to this day. >> the camp for laborers was in an area with a malaria epidemic. in the north, each village had to offer ten laborers. >> the railroad was decommissioned after the end of

war. however, myanmar's transition to democracy has increased the need for improved infrastructure in the country. as western nations lead, the country is becoming a popular destination for foreign investment. to make the best of this opportunity, myanmar's government is eager to aid the movement of people and goods in the country. and neighboring thailand. >> myanmar and thailand have decided to work together to rebuild the railway. the government of myanmar, by the end of this year.

the new railway is expected to enkcourage japanese companies, mainly because of the lack of transportation infrastructure. >> men myanmar is almost comple isolated when it comes to shipping. currently everything has to be sent in by the straits. they have land transport as possible. companies in neighboring countries will have a different view of myanmar. >> the railway has not been used in decade will help drive economic development in the region. people in japan's northeast are focused on overcoming the

challenges of the disaster. but it want 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." now we are observing two typhoons moving toward the korea crane peninsula. let's turn to sayaka mori. a couple typhoons, bolivan, a large, strong, typhoon, producing stormy weather. and parts of the korean peninsula. looks like it will make landfall north of seoul by this afternoon or evening. and a strong typhoon. and then head toward the northeast. wungs once it makes landfall. it will weaken. heavy rain will continue. anticipating as much as 250 millimeters of rain for south korea. 300 millimeters for north korea.

more than 150 millimeters for northeastern china. so very heavy rain is on the course. waves could reach 9 meters along the wet coast of the korean peninsula. down toward the south. you can see a streak of heavy rain extended all the way up toward the north. this is typhoon tembin. packing wind of 125 kilometers an hour. hovering by taiwan over the past several weeks. and it is moving. situates east of taiwan. lots of heavy rain. and anticipating additional 100 millimeters of rain. the ground is saturated. and it could raise potential for flooding as well as landslides. it looks like tembin will move to the coastline of taiwan over the next several hours. get close to the island within the next 12 hours. 250 millimeters or more is likely across this region. an then heads towards eastern

china as well as the korean peninsula. so, taiwan, eastern china, korean peninsula, southern japan will deal with heavy rain and i. a tropical low pressure and -- and enhancing the monsoonal flow over the indo-china peninsula. extensive flood have been occurring. this is myanmar. at least 85,000 people have been displaced by monsoonal flooding in myanmar. this year's monsoonal rains are the heaviest since 2004. now, let's go to the america's. some where else dealing with the heavy rain, the gulf coast. we have tropical storm isaac, still moving over the gulf of mexico. it is still bringing lots of heavy rain across the florida peninsula as well as cuba. with about 100 millimeters of rain over the past 24 hours. it looks like isaac is intensifying and make a direct hit some where in louisiana or

in mississippi. by tuesday afternoon. or evening. local time. category 1 hurricane. so very strong wind and very heavy rain are anticipated. we are expecting as much as 400 millimeters of rain or more to fall across louisiana. that's certainly enough to cause flooding here. in addition to heavy rain and strong wind. storm surge, dangerous rip currents are all possible here. we'll keep you posted on the storm's progress. but as for the highs, for north america. still on the hot side in los angeles. we have a high of 32 degrees. and 36 degrees in houston. but up toward the north, looking cooler. 22 degrees in seattle. and the same goes for vancouver. here is your extended forecast.

>>our main story once again. nasa's mars rover curiosity is beaming back new photos from the red planet. they suggest part of the terrain is similar to the grand canyon. this photo shows layer after layer of different colored strata. nasa officials say the terrain resembles the 1,600-meter deep grand canyon in the western united states. they drew dots on the photo to indicate the different strata. officials say the layers above and below the marks are very different. they said the lower ones aper to be of the same type as in the grand canyon which was formed by water. nasa officials say images show a previously unknown side of mars. they plan to send cure ys to cu the canyon. fascinating there. that's all for this edition of

"newsline." i'm yuko aotani. thank you very much for watching.