morsi. the protesters had been staging sit-ins at two squares in kir pope security forces bulldozed through barricades set up around the camps and fired teargas into the crowds. more than 30 people died. the bloodshed set off protests in other parts of the capital as well as the central city of faiyum. protesters also attacked government facilities. the interim government replied by declaring a month-long state of emergency, and it imposed a nighttime curfew in 14 provinces. the emergency measure gives security forces the power to detain people without arrest warrants. authorities appear set to launch further crackdowns on members of morsi's support base, the muslim brotherhood. the brotherhood has responded by calling on its supporters to launch fresh protests. egypt's interim vice president says he can no longer serve in the government. mohammed al bare ra die quit in protest over the blooding crackdown. elbaradei tendered his resignation in a letter toed aly monso monsour. he said he couldn't accept responsibility for the way the interim leadership has acted. he was reluctant to use force to remove morsi supporters. he called on the opposing sides to resolve the crisis through dialogue. leaders from the u.s. and the united nations have also condemned the crackdown. they say it will push egypt further into turmoil. u.s. secretary of state john kerry issued a statement denouncing the heavy-handed actions of security forces. >> the united states strongly condemns today's violence and bloodshed across egypt. it's a serious blow to reconciliation and the egyptian people's hopes for a transition towards democracy and inclusion. >> white house spokesperson josh earnest said the obama administration was likely to suspend its financial aid. the u.s. will give egypt $1.5 billion this fiscal year. most of it will go to the military. u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon said he sympathized with egyptians who were weary of the protest, but he urged opposing groups to take a peaceful path towards democracy and prosperity. nhk world's yu kobayashi has been following this story in cairo. he talked earlier about the doubts he sees over the nation's future. >> reporter: morsi supporters have been demonstrating since his ouster by the military at the beginning of july. over 200 people have died in clashes between authorities and protesters. to avoid further bloodshed, the u.s. and eu tried to mediate. but morsi supporters demanded his reinstatement. that was something the military backed military government couldn't accept. saying the peace talks collapsed, the interim government appears to have decided the only way to restore order is to disperse protesters. animosity is rising among morsi supporters, the interim government still hopes to conduct presidential elections within the next nine months, but this escalating conflict makes the prospect very dim. israeli and palestinian negotiators have resumed peace taubs in jerusalem with low expectations for what they might achieve. u.s. officials convinced them to come back to the table after a three-year deadlock, but each side sat down harboring doubts about the other. neither side has revealed any details, but the negotiators are trying to reach agreement on issues that have divide them for years. they need to define the borders between israel and the palestinian state. and they need to figure out what to do with jerusalem. both sides want the city as their capital. but negotiators were suspicious from the start. israeli leaders have approved the construction of hundreds of new homes in jewish settlements and occupied territories and the palestinians are outraged. they say the settlements deprive their people of their future homeland. some palestinians say the israelis' actions threaten the talks even before they began. a former palestinian spokesman and a veteran analyst says the building of new settlements puts the process in jeopardy. >> if israel would continue these steps, that sooner or later that will kill the peace negotiations process because it is difficult for the two processes to remain moving forward. one of them has to kill the other. >> he says u.s. mediators need to convince the israelis that they need to stop building homes in occupied territories. the prime minister of pakistan is offering an olive branch to his neighbors in india. nawaz sharif says he wants to end the fighting between their military forces along the disputed border of kashmir. sharif called for peaceful negotiations. >> we have to defuse tension and de-escalate the situation. our objective is peace. for that we need -- for that what we need is more diplomacy. >> violence has been escalating since armed men killed five indian soldiers on their side of the border. two pakistani civilians have also died. sharif took office in june. he's made it clear he wants to improve troubled relations with his neighbors. he plans to hold a summit with india's prime minister manmohan singh next month. but flare-ups along the kashmir border are threatening to derail his diplomatic efforts. the pakistani military is reportedly reluctant to consider a reconciliation. people in japan will be relying on nuclear-free power next month for the first time in more than a year. the operator of the last two reactors still online plans to halt them for regular inspections. kansai electric power company plans to restart one in ohi on september 15th. it has already applied to stop the other on september 2nd. japan took all of its nuclear reactors offline for checks after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. the nuclear loor regulation authority allowed the ohi reactors to restart after they passed new safety guidelines. operators of five other plants have applied to put their reactors back online. these flags belong to japanese soldiers in world war ii. families, relatives and friends wrote messages wishing them luck. american soldiers took some to the u.s. as memorabilia. 68 years after the war, one flag made it home. 85-year-old tad aesh yamada holds his brother's flag. it came from america. his brother died in what is now myanmar. his remains were never recovered. >> translator: when i touch this flag, all the memories of my brother come flooding back. it makes me feel so sad. >> a former american soldier knows how special these flags are to people who lost relatives. 87-year-old martin conner of new york collects hinamaru and other items to send them back to where he thinks they belong. mickey matsumoto reports. >> reporter: she holds her dead son's hinamaru. >> translator: my mother stares at the flag with tears every day. that makes me painfully aware of the horrors of war. i really hope more belongings can be returned to the familyie. >> reporter: conner has dedicated his life to searching america for the he sent more than 100 items back to families over the last 40 years. >> i just think it's the right thing to do. i know how i would feel if one of my youngsters, which i thought was gone 60, 70 years ago. >> reporter: at 18, conner joined the u.s. marine corps. he was sent to the island of iwo jima or, in japanese -- it was the site of one of the bloodiest battles in the pacific. more than 20,000 japanese and 6,000 american soldiers died. many japanese flags were taken from the dead and brought to america. in 1970, conner returned to the island for u.s./japan joint memorial service. he saw families receiving an item that belonged to their son and was greatly moved. since then, conner has made it his mission to return the possessions of the soldiers. he attends monthly meetings of u.s. veterans urging them to join his cause. conner feels that time is running out. world war ii veterans are aging and dying. conner says more and more memorabilia is appearing at collectors' markets. >> i hope they have trouble selling them. they should be sending them back. >> reporter: conner receives news of a discovery. >> this is emily. >> nice to meet you. >> reporter: emily's father died last year. when she was cleaning up his house, she found a flag. >> it's just been folded up. this might be reverse side. >> this is the top right here. >> we wanted to return it to japan, hopefully to a family who may have closure for the loss of a son. >> reporter: she also found a cloth that literally means 1,000 stitches. each stitch symbolizes a prayer for safety. >> it's not a dead issue. it's still alive. and this is proof of it. and this is maybe something that we should u know -- maybe it was a message to us, don't give up. go after them. >> reporter: conner said that for as long as he's able, he will continue his mission. miki matsumoto, nhk world, new york. hiroshima, nagasaki, the atomic bombings killed thousands of people in an instant and left survivors suffering in the ruins. "newsline" is looking back on what happened then and what's happened since. don't miss our special coverage "war to peace, lessons of 1945" through thursday, august 15th. sri lanka's elephants are auspicious animals according to buddhist tradition. they're supposed to feature prominently through celebrations that reach full swing this time of year. but the mood isn't what it used to be. the number of elephants available for use in festivals has seen a worrying decline prompting one village to create a replacement. >> reporter: this is sri lanka's traditional festival. it means a procession in the local language. people parade along the streets wishing for plentiful rain before rice planting season. at the tail end of the process is an elephant. on its back stands a religious casket normally kept at a temple. >> translator: elephants are the symbol of rain clouds. we believe the festival will bring the blessing of rain. the festival isn't complete without an elephant. >> reporter: but it's getting harder and harder to find an elephant for the festival. most festival elephants are supplied by agents. 15 years ago agents across the country had about 500 elephants to rent out. that number has since dropped to 140. many elephants are getting old and falling sick. four out of every ten are no longer fit for work. >> most of the elephants, do messty kated elephants are old age now. we can use them for better health. >> reporter: in 1975, the sri lankan government acted to protect wild elephants by imposing a hunting ban. all the elephants handled by the agents were caught before that ban came into effect. come festival season people around the country scramble to find an elephant. this village has gone without for several years. >> 25 companies i called because of that crisis. find out that it is very difficult. >> reporter: the festival in this village has a history dating back 80 years. for three months the villagers have been discussing what to do. their solution is simple. they decide to make their own. this man takes the lead. using mostly recycled materials keeps the costs to about $10. the price is low, but their effort is high. the elephant's ears and neck are movable. >> translator: the head is made with steel pipes and bamboo. >> reporter: he can't wait for his 8-year-old son to see the festival and understand the bond sri lanka's buddhists have with elephants. >> translator: i've never seen an elephant at the festival. >> translator: i want to teach the importance of elephants to my children's generation. >> reporter: the day of the village festival has arrived, and there's an elephant in the parade for the first time in three years. he rides on top of the elephant with pride. it doesn't matter to him that it was man made. >> translator: even though there weren't any real elephants, i was happy an artificial one like this could take part. >> translator: if we hadn't honored the tradition and used only dancer, our children, the future generation, wouldn't know how elephants are supposed to be part of the festival. >> reporter: awareness of wildlife conservation is growing in sri lanka. if the country can keep its cultural traditions and preserve its heritage, that really would be something to celebrate. reporting for nhk world. the latest edition to britain's royal family sparked excitement around the world last month, but the birth of the duke and duchess of cambridge's son is having more than an emotional impact. it's given the british economy a much needed jolt. we look at the prince george effect. >> reporter: babywear and strollers, souvenir mugs, special biscuits and even hotel suites. london is awash with goods and services designed to cater to the royal baby hype. one retail research group estimates the hype could increase consumer spending by as much as $400 million. many manufacturers producite epps for both a boy and a girl ahead of the birth. this company in central england made commemorative sweets. blue-lettered packages for a prince and pink ones for a princess. >> as soon as the baby was born, we went into production of the white royal baby sweets and the little commemorative gift boxes. >> reporter: other businesses received unexpected attention. when the duke and duchess of cambridge appeared with their son outside the hospital, it wasn't just the young prince that people were excited to see but also his outfit. the shawl prince george was wrapped in was made in this small family-run factory. the factory has been operating in the city of nottingham for more than a century. and employees still do much of their work by hand to create traditional christening shawls. they were stunned to see their product on tv. >> they were all quite excited and called each other on the phone to check that they were watching the coverage on the television. >> reporter: since then, the company has received a rush of orders from around the world. the staff are working hard to meet the demand. they are also seeing a ripple effect. >> the whole industry it helped because, for instance, local suppliers. we use a local company that supply us with all our office equipment. >> reporter: the prince george effect might not be enough to lift the british economy as a whole, but there's no doubt the royal baby buzz is giving businesses here a boost. adrian durward, nhk world, london. a spanish woman who grabbed attention for her failed attempt to restore a fresco of jesus christ has picked up her brushes again. she's having her own paintings exhibited in her hometown. few people had seen this 80-year-old piece of flaking art by a minor spanish artist, but thenetirith good intention intentions restored it drastically. since then cecelia gimenez botched fresco has brought visitors to the town. now she's exhibiting dozens of herwnintings. most a landscap depicting sailboats or hilltops. visitors can pick up her images on t-shirt ors wine bottles too. >> translator: i am happy because all my neighbors are kind. people supported me a lot. >> an official with the foundation that owns the church says initially things were a little rough, but he says now it's a happy time for gimenez and her neighbors. let's now check on the market figures. it is time now for a check on the weather with meteorologist sayaka mori. good morning. a typhoon has made landfall in southern china. what's the latest there? >> yes, catherine. yesterday a typhoon made landfall in western guangdong province. the stock exchange was suspended and ny fligh were canceed in the hong kong area. the storm has weakened to a tropical storm but is still packing a lot o energy. tropical storm force winds are occurring within this yellow circle. and on top of that the system will likely move at a slow pace for the next couple of days. the stormy conditions will prolong an additional 300 millimeters for western guangdong and guangxi provies. now, up towards the north, a couple of days ago the worst flood in decade occurred in northeastern china. since then rain has been occurring across the same area. lightning, thuer and heavy rain are psible for hokkaido and afternoon thundershowers are likely for japan. the main story for asia will be the heat. heat warnings and advisories posted for inland china, south korea an japan and aomori prefecture hot across most areas. temperatures could be heating 37 degrees for chongqing and kyoto. people are trying to find ways to cool themselves off. i'll show you this video coming out of gifu prefecture, japan. residents in gifu prefecture got a taste of winter in the height of summer. local authorities set up a snowmaking machine in a national park. iturned four tons of ice into snow. famies got some relief from the 36-degree heat as they played in the powder. a very unusual combination. the children even took turns on a slide. i want that snow and the slide as well. temperatures expected on the hot side in tokyo as well as gef u prefecture. 35 is the expecd high and hot weather across most of china. but southern china, a nice relief from the heat due to heavy rain. hong kong only 24 degrees for the high today. in north america we have a disturbance which could become a tropical depression by thursday and head towards the yucatan peninsula. and the lingering showers across the southeastern corner of the u.s. rain will continue into your weekend raising the potential for flooding even further in towards the north dry weather and calm weather across the northeast. some spots of severe weather for the midsection of the u.s., but back behind it dry weather still continues mainly in idaho and utah, raising the potential for wildfires even further. we have red flag warnings posted for this area. temperatures are cooling off across the northeast. 25 degrees in chicago. nice condition to do some outside activities and 26 for you in new york city with abundance of sunshine. finally in europe then, unstable conditions are continuing across the north. we are seeing some quite heavy rain, gusty conditions as well as hail mainly in finland and northwestern russia on thursday. similarly unstable across the balkan peninsula. i'll leave you now with the extended forecast. that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks very much for joining us. >> i'm the executive vice president of the wilson center. i want to welcome all of you today. the wilson center was chartered by the congress as the official memorial to our 28th president. it is the nation's key nonpartisan policy form for tackling global issues through independent research, open