the u.n. atomic watchdog reveals what arraignian scientists are up to in a mountain bunker. the international atomic energy agency has confirmed that iran has begun enriching uranium. it is necessary to produce nuclear weapons. the discovery likely to interstate tension with the united states and the european

union. iaea spokesperson says it is in a city. scientists are operating more than 300 centrifuges in the facility. they say scientists are working to refine uranium to 20% purity. american researchers released images of the facility three years ago. the underground plant is well protected against possible military attacks from israel and other nations. iran's envoy to the iaea said on state television that all nuclear facilities are running under the surveillance of the agency. an iranian court sentenced an american to death accused of being a cia agent. the iranian government last month arrested the man on suspicion of spying. he allegedly received training at a u.s. military base in neighboring afghanistan. the revolutionary court in

tehran concluded on monday the man was an agent of the u.s. intelligence agency and handed down a death sentence. iran's judicial authorities say the men confessed to links with the cia but the u.s. government denies the claims and has demanded release. iranian authorities arrested several other people on sunday for alleged links with the cia and obstruction of the parliamentary elections schedule for march this year. the united arab emirates says a new crude oil pipeline will be operational in six months. it will allow oil to bypass the strait of hormuz. it came as iran swelled over the nuclear program raising fears of disruption to the flow of oil. raising fears of military conflict and destruction for the flow of oil. the uae's new pipeline is a precaution in case the strait of hormuz is closed by war or an accident. the strait is one of the most important oil transit channels.

on monday, uae oil administrator told local reporters that the pipeline is almost complete. he said he hopes it'll be operational by may or june. the new pipeline will reportedly be capable of transporting 70% of crude oil produced in the uae. iran has threatened to block the strait if the west tightens its sanctions. the country recently held a major military exercise in the surrounding waters to demonstrate its capabilities. other gulf oil producers are taking a pro-u.s. stance. the uae's announcement believed to be aimed at straining iran. the uae is the second largest crude oil supplier to japan after saudi arabia. french and german leaders are taking the lead on the european debt crisis.

>> the chancellor and president say it shouldn't just be measures to boost budget discipline. they discussed europe's debt problems in berlin monday, ahead of an eu summit later this month. they expressed optimism about a new treaty for tighter budget discipline that all eu nations except britain are aiming for. mer can he said talks are under way among the countries concerned. sarkozy noted the pact will likely be signed by march 1st. >> translator: we agreed the current priority issues are to boost the regional economy, unemployment, and competitive tanding. >> sarkozy's kmept comes as debt woes are effecting the economy. two leaders plan to draft measures and submit to the european commission.

the eu's executive body. germany sold short term government bonds at negative yields for the first time as investors were willing to pay extra money for the safe asset. the german central bank said its auction monday of six month bonds worth 3.9 billion euros drew more buyers than expected. the average yield was minus 0.122%. a negative yield means germany can borrow money and receive modest interest from investors. germany's solid budget situation makes the country a safe haven for investors as debt worries for italy and other members show no signs of easing. u.s. stocks made modest gains overnight. we go to ramin mellegard at the

tokyo stock exchange. u.s. jobs numbers last week came in better than the market consensus. this week, u.s. quarterly earnings. how are stocks kicking off this tuesday there? >> very good morning to you, ai. the u.s. jobs number friday sets a bullish tone for global markets. more positive tone if you will, but as you mention, key earnings from u.s. companies, also that's coming off as well. should be a focus. and we have key events in europe, bond auctions in italy and spain and european central bank meets thursday. let's have a look at opening levels this tuesday in tokyo. a positive start for both indexes there. nikkei is up 39 points. it was closed monday for public holiday, ended last week lower on the week. that was due largely to further gains in the yen which has kept exporters on the back foot. investors in japan are keen to see how things develop with olympus. it was learned over the weekend there may be announcement today

that executives, including the former president of the digital camera maker will be sued, and that follows the corporate bookkeeping scandal that erupted late last year, if you remember. also in the focus for japan's investors will likely be consumer electronics show in vegas and the likes of toshiba, other major japanese electronic goods makers lining up with new products in 3d tvs, tablets and other handheld devices. some focus there as well. ai? >> ramin, with the focus on bond auctions in europe this weekend, the ecb meeting, how are the currencies trade thg tuesday? >> the yen against the euro, a big focus there. let's look at the focus levels this tuesday morning in japan. you can see 98.21. already traded below 98 just in the last few days recently, so that's a major focus. if the bond auctions in italy and spain don't go smoothly, we

could see further weakness for the euro. so that will be a major focus. generally with u.s. earnings coming up and european central bank meeting thursday and bond auctions, little more for investors to grapple in the second week of january, 2012. back to you. >> ramin, thanks for that. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. nissan and daimler are cooperating to produce gasoline engines in the united states. the japanese and german automakers are making engines former said east benz and infinity vehicles. they announced it sunday. nissan spokesperson says the automaker will begin the daimler engines in 2014 at a plant in tennessee. the alliance of nissan and fran's renault established a capital tieup with daimler in 2010, allowing for use of the same parts and bodies. the latest venture would meet daimler's need for locally

produced engines to increase car production in north america and will satisfy nissan's plan to use existing engine factory more effectively. automakers around the world are trying to use tie-up the to cut development costs and produce map parts more efficiently. germany's bmw agreed to supply diesel engines to toyota. time for a recap of the latest market figures. i'll be back with more

business news next hour. catherine, back to you. hundreds of firemen died in the march 11 disaster. a fire brigade dedicated its new years ceremony to 27 members who lost their lives. many of them while leading residents to safety. the ceremony began monday with a moment of silence. the community brigade had 2300 members at the time of the disaster. commander said although the brigade's mission is to protect citizens, he's still deeply sorry so many firefighters were lost. >> i hope you will reaffirm the importance of the mission and devote yourselves to it. >> the new eerie vent featured a parade of fire trucks that released water full force into a river.

the government's fire and disaster management agency plans to review the duties of community brigades. one idea is to excuse volunteers from assisting evacuations in the event of a massive tsunami. the japanese government is implementing some lessons it learned following last march's disaster. it is launching a national database for food, water and other essentials. it wants to do a better job distributing key items in times of crisis. government workers didn't have a firm grasp on available commercial food stocks and supplies in the days after the march 11th disaster. consequently, they spent a lot of time and wept through a lot of trouble securing urgently needed goods. economy drai trade ministry spokes men plan to launch an online system. about 40 distribution firms will cooperate to maintain a nationwide inventory. that's expected to allow local

and central governments to quickly assess the amount of available stock in each region. >> translator: the system will help predict when and where supplies can be shipped, allowing central and local governments to respond to shortages ahead of time. >> the national database is expected to be launched before the end of this year. in the aftermath of the march 11 disaster, survivors in urgent need of food, shelter and basic supplies. even now, they still require help, but the needs have changed. support groups refocussed their aid. >> a photo shoot in miyagi. it looks like a wedding day. the smiling couples are disaster survivors and the cake was eaten some time ago. in all, 24 couples turned up to re-enact the key day in their

lives and replace precious photographs lost in the disaster. the photo session was organized by a nonprofit group that mainly supports children in foster homes. this is the project leader. in the wake of the tsunami, her group joined in the emergency relief effort. it provided food and helped clear away debris. slowly but surely the survivors got back on their feet, but she noticed that each time she visited the disaster area, people were smiling less and less. >> translator: the most important thing now is mental healthcare, so i started thinking about what we could offer besides goods. >> she learned a common cause of depression was loss of family pictures. her npo thought a professional photo shoot might help bring some cheer to people's lives.

the group spent four months looking for businesses willing to offer their services for free. 30 answered the call, including hair salons and wedding dress rental shops. no corners were cut. they even brought in a consultant to teach subjects how to smile for the cameras. one of those helping out in the wardrobe department is a survivor herself. before the tsunami, she had worked as a seamstress. >> translator: i'd like to help in whatever way i can. >> she lives with her family of four in temporary housing. the tsunami took away her home, her belongings and all her treasured photos. she and her husband have decided to join the wedding shoot. >> translator: you know, what's gone is gone. we have to move forward. the new pictures we are going to take will become our new

memories. >> the day has arrived. it's time to turn back the clock. a professional hair and makeup team spend an hour preparing the brides. the women are transformed. sato hasn't been to a hair salon since the disaster. details are important. she has chosen a pink dress, like the one she wore at her wedding. >> i am lost for words. >> it is quite an effect on her husband. he hasn't seen her like this since they exchanged wedding voice vows 22 years ago. >> we hardly recognize each other. he is like a different person. >> they can't wait to get their

photo. they plan to hang it on the wall as soon as they move into their new home. >> it was a really fun experience. i feel like we're starting a new chapter in our lives. >> a moment of happiness. refrozen in time. >> every day there are different needs to be met. even if we only make a small contribution, we would like to continue providing support. "newsline," the place to turn to for the latest on japan post march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. nuclear watch brings in sight on the impact of the crisis, and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild.

don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." japanese prosecutors getting ready to question a political heavy wait. ozawa is the ruler of the democratic party, accused of falsifying political funding reports. he is charged with conspiring with aides to conceal the use of $500 million. they accuse him of lending money to his funding group to purchase land in tokyo in 2004. he pled not guilty in his first hearing this past october at tokyo district court. he said none of his actions constituted fraud and denied conspiring with aides. he has given conflicting accounts of the source of the funds. he initially described them as political funds, then called them bank loans, later said they were personal assets. ozawa's statement in two days of questioning are expected to have alarming influence on the

ruling. the leaders of south korea and china have agreed to monitor north korea's moves as the new leadership establishes itself. south korean president and chinese president hu jintao held a summit monday in beijing. officials from the south korean presidential office said the leaders agreed to work together toward a peaceful, stable and nuclear free korean peninsula, but agreed it would be difficult to restart negotiations on the north's nuclear program or bilateral talks between the two koreas. they believe the new north korean leadership is unlikely at ree areas. this stage. the leaders also talked about efforts to force a free trade agreement. president yi said he hopes it's done by march. they also talked about the deadly incident in the yellow sea. a chinese fishing boat captain

fatally stabbed a south korean police officer. the chinese side promised to educate its fishermen to prevent similar attacks. japan's world cup soccer star added another title to her member. she's women's world player of the year. fifa, governing body announced the award at a ceremony in switzerland. she has been the national team's pillar for many years. led japan to victory in last year's women's world cup where she was top scorer and tournament mvp. she said it would energize her, she will continue to train hard every day. it was a night of double celebration for japan as women's team coach won world coach of the year for women's football. his squad became the first asian nation to win a soccer world

cup. he expressed gratitude for the support japan received after the disaster last year. he said the team gave strength and encouragement to the japanese people. it was the first time a japanese player or coach has won a fifa title. sumo wrestlers are grappling for top honors in tokyo. ross mihara has the latest on that. >> just like the opening day of the new years grand sumo tournament in tokyo, on day two, all eyes on him. if he is nervous, it doesn't show. then again, the 25-year-old never lacked confidence. facing a giant killer, but age and injuries taken their toll.

the newest one dominates from start to finish, finishing him off he has come around, turned into a fine ozone he can ee. he was stunned. he wants to bounce back from that embarrassment on day two against wakakoyu. he has a strong grip, then follows it up with his favorite belly bashing. he evens his record with a solid -- >> the king of the ring, hack u hoe. it would tie him for fourth

place. he lost once to him back in july, 2004 when the mongolian was in his second tournament in the top division. of course, seven and a half years later, everything changed. he stopped him in his tracks at the initial charge. he'd rather take flight than fight. pushes to a victory. we will have sumo highlights every day on "newsline": they may not have to deal with the cold wintry weather we are experiencing in tokyo. let's go to saki ochi with the big picture here and elsewhere.

welcome to your weather update. let's look at conditions in asia. first off, we are looking at a largely quiet picture. a couple of lows in the southeast. they tend to bring in showers, thunderstorms, and even locally heavy downpours are going to be possible on the southern tip of the philippines. you want to watch out for the possibility of flash flooding and land slides. over towards china v this low moving through. looking to intensify, like scattered showers at most. even in japan for the large part. moisture comes in. we will be talking more snowfall for some of you here. expecting 9 in tokyo. still in the single digits. 1 in seoul, 3 in beijing. to the south, warmer for areas like manilla coming in at 32

degrees. looking to the americas, we have a trio of storms moving through. they will continue to bring in some scattered showers and thunderstorm activity, mainly on the lower mississippi valley and into parts of texas and oklahoma. looking to the north, all of this in large part snow. looking at more snow in the northern rockies from the pacific northwest, also anywhere from central and all the way to eastern canada, talking about more snow developing over the course of tuesday. as for the highs, not too bad. looking seasonal. 6 in seattle, 6 in vancouver. 9 in denver. over towards the east coast, looking at 8 expected in new york tuesday, and then d.c. getting into double digits, 18 degrees expected in atlanta. and towards europe, lots of clouds in the northwest, has been on the messy side.

we will continue to see more rain move into the scandinavian peninsula in particular norway. coastal areas here looking to get more moisture coming in off the north sea over the course of the next 24 hours. as for continental europe, a patch of rain drops in from the scandinavian peninsula but starts breaking up over land here. so nothing too major. a little snow for the upper elevations that you want to watch out for. in the mediterranean, it will be this eastern end that looks like scattered showers as well as thunderstorms possible. they are heading in towards turkey area. looks like it will be more widespread for the country here as we head into tuesday. western europe staying dry. germany and the lowcountry here, british isles, things intensify for scotland.

minus 1 in moscow. double digits for paris and lond london. that's the weather conditions for now. here is your three day outlook.

our lead story this hour, the international atomic energy agency confirmed that iran has begun enriching uranium. it is necessary to produce nuclear weapons. the discovery likely to exacerbate tensions with the united states and european union. iaea say it is in a bunker. they confirmed scientists are operating more than 300 centrifuges in the facility. they say scientists are working to refine uranium to 20% purity. american researchers released images of the facility three years ago. the underground plant is well protected against possible military attacks from israel and other nations. iran's envoy to the iaea said on state television that all nuclear facilities are running under the surveillance of the agency. that wraps up this edition of

"newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. tokyo. thanks for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com