trch european union agrees to sanctions on roonian oil. eu is ratcheting up the pressure on iran they've tried without success to get teheran to stop the nuclear program. so far iran's state run tv and major media have not reported about e.u. sanctions. the eu ministers made thinker

decision at a meeting in brussels. their sanctions came in line with similar measures approved last month in the united states. thoept to cut off the main source of revenue for the government. the eu is the second largest importer of iranian oil. it kits for nearly 20% of the oil. sources say the ministers are focussing on how iran will react to the decision including the possible closure of the strait of hormuz. for more insight into the potential effects of the embargo, we spoke with an expert. >> it is possible that the value of the iranian currency, iranian real as opposed to dollar or euro will go down more causing confusion in the iranian economy. regarding oil, although iran will try to find alternative destinations for its crude oil, the oil export income of iran will probably decrease because it won't be easy to redirect the

whole 20% of its oil exports to other countries when the u.s. has been putting a strong pressure not to buy iranian oil to its potential customers. neither iran nor the united states hope to start a war right now and the tension that has been heightened because the verbal exchange of provocative statements might actually subside, iran will continue its military exercises regularly and i believe the tensions surrounding the persian gulf region will continue. as long as iranian oil keeps flying to china or whatever destinations, the block of the strait of hormuz will never happen for it has been pointed out iran depends on oil exports and the sate of the strait of hormuz is crucially important to iran. >> the strait is the only water way to the open ocean for many areas around the persian gulf.

>> reporter: i reached the strait of hormuz by saying up the coast of oman. the persian gulf was busy with oil tankers from all over the world. oman has facilities near the strait of hormuz. omany boats were on patrol. iran conducted naval exercises in the area late last month. iran has also test launched its missiles to show off. the united states has deployed a secondary craft carrier in the area. countries around the gulf have built up their forces in case of tension with iran. the united arab emirates signed a contract to buy the latest

u.s. missile interceptors. saudi arabia signed a deal to buy more f-115 fighters from the united states. >> they're increasingly buying more arms as well as their recent experience in libya has taught them how to use air power effectively. so this is a nice combination of attributes to face off against iran. >> the big question is, how they will export oil if the strait of hormuz is closed. the uae is building a pipeline to bypass the strait, but the pipeline won't be finished for at least six months. >> translator: i'll do everything i can to keep oil production going. >> reporter: 0% of japan's oil passes through the strait of hormuz. japanese businesses are keeping

a close eye on developments. this japanese company is involved with production of oil in the uae for export to japan. if the strait of hormuz stays open, anymore major tension will hit the company's business. >> translator: closure of the strait would create a situation beyond any company's control. an accidental incident could trigger something that nobody wants to happen. >> reporter: tension within the west and iran overthe iranian nuclear program is at a critical level. there are fears of a regional war. the faith of the central authority for global oil transport is at the stake. >> syria has rejected a proposal urging the president to step aside. the arab league suggested asad hand over power to a deputy. but syrian leaders rejected the

notion calling it a violation of national sovereignty. arab league foreign ministers agreed on the a road map for the transition of power. the road map calls for handing over the president's power to a vice president within two months and establishing a new government including members of the opposition. it was said if syria does not implement the plan he would refer the matter to the u.n. security council. some members believe president asaid may try to revise the constitution in an effort to try to stay in power. a team of experts from the international atomic energy agency has begun reviewing results of japan's safety tests for two halted nuclear reactors. the team is about to inform the government if the test methods were appropriate. they started the ten-day inspections on monday. the experts are to examine the results of come computer

simulation for reactors to determine if the tests were co-carried out in line with international standards. >> the objection of the mission is to review the safety process for the comprehensive assessments for the safety of existing power react dor facilities. >> the team is to visit the plant on wednesday and thursday to inspect its anti-tsunami measures and verify the government's recent announcement that the test were appropriate. 90% of japan's nuclear reactors are offline due to concerns that they would be vulnerable to major earthquakes and tsunamis. passing the safety checks is a prerequisite for the reactors to resume operation. gentleman nan's nuclear agency says it will finalize the assessment in early february after receiving the report at the end of this month. next, we go to bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >> we start in afghanistan where

a senior american diplomat says the united states will support the taliban's decision to open a political office in qatar a step designed to facilitate dialogue in the country. the u.s. special envoy to afghanistan commented after two days of talks with afghan president karzai. >> efforts being made with qatar to open an office for the afghan taliban need now to move to enable a conversation among afghans for peace. >> the taliban offered earlier this month to open an office in qatar as a potential venue for talks with the united states and other countries. president karzai indicated support for the taliban's decision on the opening day of a new session of the country's parliament.

>> despite his positive comments, grossman stressed the taliban must renounce terrorism before peace talks begin. >> i'm looking forward to the tal been being clear about breaking ties with international terrorism and also to say that they are prepared to participate in an afghan peace process where afghans talk to afghans about the future of afghanistan. >> the taliban has demanded the release of its members detained by the u.s. at guantanamo bay. grossman said there is not a decision on the matter. the afghan government is struggling to restore security to rebuild the war torn country. towards that end it's not just exploring ways to achieve peace with the taliban, but calling on taliban insurgents to surrender. however, such efforts are not

necessarily going smoothly. we followed a former taliban commander who switched sides at the urging of the government. >> reporter: the province of kunduz used to be a relatively peaceful area of afghanistan. but in recent years the taliban has made a dramatic return. this man was a taliban commander here. as the leader of 35, he battled for years against government and international forces. but in april, he was persuaded by the government to give up his struggle. a ceremony welcomed the commander from the militant group. local television gave the event heavy coverage. >> translator: i come here in response to president karzai's

call for reconciliation. other taliban members should follow suit. >> reporter: but the command ead other deserters regret their decision. they say the government has failed to deliver on promises to provide them with the welfare and security. all they received was a one time cash payment award of $100. less than what they used to get every month with the taliban. >> translator: i can't take being poor any longer. the government gives us the run around. and does nothing to help. >> reporter: the taliban says it plans to open a liaison office to facilitate dialogue with the

united states. but at the same time the militant group is collecting its offensive in afghanistan launching repeated attacks against international forces. . >> reporter: with the rising discontent among deserters is causing a shadow over public security. the commander and other former militants visited a local government office to protest at how they have been treated. >> translator: to those who are criticizing the government want to ask them to be patient for a

little longer. >> translator: i didn't gain anything by complying with the government's request. >> reporter: the international community supports afghanistan's efforts to negotiate with the taliban. but in reality there's a long, rocky path ahead to restore peace to the country. >> monday marked the first day of the lunar new year and people around southeast asia have been celebrating. let's take a look at how different countries are ushering in the year to have dragon. here in thailand colorful parades paved the way for locals of chinese desent and foreigners to kick off the celebration. crowds packed shrines throughout the kingdom to pay their

respects and wish for health, wealth and good luck. in malasia a dragon and lion dances spy spiced up festivities in neighborhoods as locals invited the troupe to bless their homes. the two-day public holiday is widely celebrated by the local chinese population who make up a quarter of the country's 28 million people. in the philippines, fire crackers echoed in the streets as crowds watched colorful performances in china town. chinese fillphilippinos travele a shrine signifying a blend of catholic and chinese tradition. many believe this year's symbol the dragon is the most suspicious of all of the signs in the chinese zodiac. that wraps up our bulletin.

>> we have sports up next. >> welcome to the sports report. today we're going to sum up the new year's sumo tournament. baruto sewed up the championship on friday, but he came into saturday with a man with something to prove. so did his opponent. a perfect record would be the way to silence any doubters. on the other hand, hakuho needed to demonstrate that he was still a force to be reckoned with despite three losses. hakuho gets ahold of baruto's left arm and takes control. he retains a relentless stance and makes sure baruto won't forget who he's dealing with. baruto ends up with one loss, but still leaves with a smile.

baruto's mother came from estonia to watch him receive the emperor's cup. his wife was also there. >> 27-year-old baruto is the ninth from outside japan to win a top division title. takamiyama from hawaii did it first in july of 1972 followed by others. in addition to his success with techniques, baruto has proved to be a crowd pleaser. he makes most of his sturdy

physique and he always seems to like coming to work. >> i'm from estonia. i use my power to win. >> the ozeki excels in powerful thrusts and stirring throws. he comes at opponents with enormous strength. back in estonia he first devoted himself to judo. he came to japan in 2004 at the age of 19 to test himself in sumo. two years later he drew the second division, baruto won a tournament without dropping a bout. in 2010 he climed his way up to ozeki, the second highest rank in the top division. he's all business in the ring,

but afterwards he's all smiles. with beiruto, what you see is what you get. that's just what many fans want. in estonia people were ecstatic. >> baruto used to practice at a

gym that is now named after him. [ applause ] >> can baruto live up to fans' high expectations?

>> now, here's who won the special prizes in the new year's tournament. the fight t spirit prize for racking up 12 victories. the outstanding performance award went to an opponent for beat hakuho for the first time. and there was a technique prize. looking ahead the banzuke ranks for the next tournament comes out on february 27th. the spring tourney gets underway on march 11 in osacka. last year the march baso was cancelled in the wake of a bout fixing scandal. this march can't come soon enough. that's it for today's sports. >> chinese people around the world are saying good-bye to the rabbit and hello to the dragon. it's chinese new year a two-week

celebration filled with lots of food and festivities. >> reporter: 20 million people visit these busy streets every year. but chinatown is especially crowded during chinese new year. this acrobatic lion dance group is made up of alumni from a local chinese school. members are putting years of training to preserve is traditional art form. >> translator: we dance in front of shops to wish them good business. we also hope the lion dance will bring a good year to the audience. >> reporter: these lions are considered messengers of god. they ward off the bad and bring good fortune. the owners of restaurants and shops here hang little envelopes

filled with money at their entrances. when a lion comes to grab it, that's a sign good business is in store. and it's a sign the more than 600 shops and restaurants here have been hoping to see. last year's march 11th disaster hurt business. >> translator: many shops closed down here in chinatown. even stores on the main streets were gone. but business finally started to pick up around october. restaurants offer special new year's meals. chefs add their own touches to fish and bok choi, chicken and lobster or specially dishes such as shark fins. the dishes are meant to bring good luck and good fortune to diners. delicious. food isn't the only perk here.

organizers have planned several traditional parades and performances for the next two weeks. more than 700,000 people are expected to visit the chinatown until the end of chinese new year on february 6th. >> we have weather up next. >> hi and welcome back. already here in central tokyo, japan, we have been seeing snow. it is piling up about one to two centimeters already. travel disturbances already here in tokyo. however, this system will be moving away from the pacific side so by tuesday morning looks like the wet weather will be tapering off. but overnight we could see fresh snow piling up to 25 centimeters in the mountainous areas.

meanwhile in the sea of japan side, we are still seeing the wintry pattern remaining and fresh snow could be piling up as much as 60 centimeters in some area. strong winds are companying this system and that could pick up the waves as high as five meters high. now elsewhere here in eastern asia high pressure will be dominant in much of the area. linger temperatures around the coastal areas as well. we're also seeing very heavy downpours just in the south of the philippines as well as northeastern malasia that could trigger some flooding. we're talking about temperatures here in seoul, minus 4. dipping down to very cold, biting cold temperatures there. that is going to be persisting for a little longer throughout the week. minus 1 in beijing. minus 21 -- the low is actually

about minus 33 degrees. here in tokyo we're talking about 6 degrees for the tuesday high. now let's head over to the americas and talk about pacific northwest where we've been battered with very strong winds and high waves. high surf conditions as well as hazardous sea conditions. that's the warnings and advisories still in effect. however, the winds are going to be diminishing for a little while on monday until another wave of system will be battering the area. just a little break for monday until tuesday another round. here in the low pressure system it's a weakening one this will be bringing valley snow up to ten centimeters. we're talking about fresh snow many the mountain areas. 28 centimeters there very gusty in california. now this system is traveling into quebec now leaving behind lake effect snow which could be very heavy at times. the gray area very heavy snow

and up in the north snow down there, but icy conditions will be marking an end in the northeast it's all going to be precipitation with rain. here severe conditions that's going to be in alabama and georgia and some thunderstorm could even spawn tornados to touch down in those areas. miami 20 degrees. we're talking about new york 11 with rain. chicago with snow 4 degrees. oklahoma city 14 degrees. let's head over to europe. uh-huh unsettled picture again. and strong winds which could reach up to high about 120 kilometres per hour. blowing snow could be a possibility just around this area which could be hazardous. on tuesday, the dominant weather in the british isles sleet and rain. the temperatures not bad in

lisbon at 16 degrees in paris 9 with rain and moscow minus 14. really biting down down there with overcast snow. here's your extended forecast.

>> that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline", we'll be back with more news in half an hour. thank you for watching. bye-bye.

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