safety check. international experts inspect a nuclear plant in japan that has undergone more rigorous testing. the accident at fukushima daiichi prompted the japanese government to implement a new inspection system. these so-called stress tests are meant to ensure reactors can withstand strong earthquakes and

towering tsunami. the first results came back last fall. now experts are checking the findings. the ten-member team is trying to gauge the effectiveness of the safety procedures. it will report to japan's nuclear watchdog. the iea inspectors watched a safety drill on thursday. plant workers connected cables to an emergency generator. they based the drill on the assumption that external power was cut off. that's what actually happened last march at fukushima daiichi. all four reactors are offline. the operator carried out safety tests on two of them and submitted the results last year. the utility says the reactors could withstand a strong earthquake and tsunami of seven meters high. that's four times the projected height. >> it gave us a much better view

and understanding of how the utilities across japan are going to be implementing the instructions that were provided. >> more than 90% of japan's reactors are not operating rite now. they need to pass safety checks before they can be restarted. we are focussing on japan's new reactor stress test system on this week's nuclear watch. we'll be look at the concerns and process. here's a look at the tests on reactors three and four. based on this data they cob colluded the reactors are ready to go back online. nuclear members held a panel discussion last week to analyze these findings. some people who have doubts about the stress test process demanded to sit in on the meeting. they were turned away. then one of the panel members walked out on the discussion.

>> translator: i doubt the safety review process was any different than it was in the past before the accident at fukushima daiichi. >> they ended up approving the stress test results on the plant reactors. a team of experts from the international atomic agency is reviewing the entire test methodology. there already a report from the iea at the end of this month. after that, the government will consult with people who live in the areas from the plant. it will try to get their approval to restart the reactors. then it will make its final decision. we wanted to find out why some people in japan don't have faith in the government's approach to nuclear safety and why they say the stress test system is flawed. we asked a comment ator to explain it all to us. he spoke in japanese. we'll provide simultaneous

interpretation. >> translator: conflict at the panel discussion was caused by nisa's decision to shot the citizens out of the room. stress tests check the nuclear power plant's resistant to greater than expected disasters before the reactors cores are damaged. but there's a growing mistrust of the validity of the tests as a measure of the government shorld use this. most of the assumptions used in the tests are based on the safety standards decided before the march 11th disaster which proved it be standards were not real vent. if they adopt stricter standards in the future, even if the facilities are pronounced safe based on the old safety safe standards, it will be only natural for people to be unwilling to expect that.

there's a view the tests are conducted with the foregone conclusion to restart the nuclear power plants. many operators claim they're taking action by putting firefighting procedures at the plant. but the committee appointed by the government to probe into the causes of the fukushima accident has released the interim report last month and the government needs to on regaining public trust. the iaea team will only examine whether the procedures involving the stress tests are appropriate or not. they're not going to decide if the nuclear facilities are fit to restart operation.

in fact, the team leader told the reporter it's up to the japanese government to decide whether or not to restart the pour plants. on thursday the number two reactor at a plant will shut down for periodic inspections. leaving 51 out of all 54 nuclear power plants in japan idle. there's a concern for the power shortage. the government wants to get some nuclear facilities restarted before spring when all nuclear power plants in japan are due to shut down for more regular check ups. they said prime minister noda will make the final decisions on that matter. it looks difficult for the government to have its way. given a growing public opposition the government needs to make its case on the tests including if they will continue to use the current tests as a measure to decide whether or not to restart the facilities.

"newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspective on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. nuclear watch brings information on the impact from the fukushima daiichi crisis. and the road ahead examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. >> the people who run the international monetary fund have warning for the rest of the world, be prepared to pay more for oil. the imf says u.s. and european sanctions against iran could cause crude oil prices to skyrocket. a new report suggests a halt in iran's oil exports without offsets from other sources could trigger a 20% to 30% price hike. it says sanctions could cut the supply of iranian oil to the tune of 1.5 million barrels per

day. that's comparable to the drop in supply during their first global oil crisis in the 1970s. many companies worry about their future oil supplies. government lead frers the uk, china and japan recently asked saudi arabia to make up for the shortfall from the iran sanctions. saudi arabia have become the focus of interest. here's a report on how japanese technologies can enhance production in their oil rich company. >> reporter: from japan lies under saudi arabia's desert. it was first developed to survey underground fault activity. it is called across, short for accurately controlled routinely operated signal system. normally, it gets detailed information about underground activity by sending shock waves into the earth. experts analyze the wave

movement. until now, researchers have been using western technology. equipment sends vibrations into the earth at locations 25 meters apart. across can gather more information, more quickly and more cheaply than conventional equipment. the japanese device can collect data within a three kilometer radius. once that would have taken a year. but this equipment takes just two hours. at less than 10% of the cost. saudi arabia is investigating how much oil is left in existing fields and how it's laid out. part of an effort to produce oil more efficiently. the country is also burying a million tons of carbon die yox idea etch year to reduce climate change. saudi arabia turned to japan three years ago. since then, the japanese

organization in the oil industry has been working with seismologists to adapt across for oil exploration. recently people in the oil sector got their first look at across at a workshop in saudi arabia. a saudi official said the country intends to continue joint research hoping to commercialize this new technology. [ applause ] >> hopefully, eventually we can apply this to the oil fields and monitor the use of these fields and their reservoirs. it's a very important technology for us. we're very happy to work with japan on this. >> translator: this machine was developed to predict earthquakes. i never thought that it would be useful for oil production or for

fighting climate change. >> reporter: as many people look out on developments in the gulf, japan's cutting edge technology may lead to more oil production in the region. >> next we go to bangkok. >> we start off in afghanistan where a deadly blast killed four people and left dozens wounded. officials say all the dead were afghan civilians. the blast happened in southern afghanistan on thursday morning. the official described it as a suicide bomb attack targeting a nato sponsored reconstruction team. those teams are collaborations between international forces and civilians designed to boost support for the afghan government. it has been one of the most volatile areas of taliban

resistance against u.s.-led efforts to bring southern afghanistan under greater government control. in india, a new long range missile has been unveiled during an annual military parade. the domestically produced missile is evidence of progress as india urgently upgrades its aging military hardware. >> reporter: india holds a military parade in new delhi every year on republic day, which celebrates the country's constitution. this year's parade was attended by the prime minister and senior military officials. a flight pass included c-130 aircraft delivered from the united states last year. and a ballistic missile was

shown in public for the first time with a range of between 3,000 and 4,000 kilometers it could potentially reach most major cities in china. it's also capable of carrying nuclear warheads. india is currently working on the -- with the range of more than 5,000 kilometers. a test launch is planned for next month. yand's military is more than 1.3 million people strong across land, sea and air forces. but it's planes and military hardware are aging. modernization is becoming an urgent task. this month india received a nuclear submarine on loan from russia. it's also planning to purchase 126 fighter jets from overseas. the country is expected to continue upgrading its arms

while keeping a weary eye on its neighbors china and pakistan. >> bangladesh was until recently among the world's poorest countries. but the economy has been growing rapidly thanks to its large labor force. skillful workers have helped turn the country into a low cost manufacturing hub and now increasing numbers of bangladeshys find they have money to burn and foreign firms are taking note. >> reporter: the economy of bangladesh is thriving. with steady growth of about 6% a year, it has more shopping malls packed with customers. the economic boom has taken consumers' purchasing power to

new heights. >> translator: expensive, yes, but people like them. we sell five to seven pieces a day. >> reporter: foreign auto makers are particularly keen on making inroads. owning a car is the number one status symbol for bangladeshys. a new vehicle here costs at least $36,000. but most months this dealer sells more than 100 vehicles. manufacturers estimate that domestic demand for cars will increase 10% over the coming decade. >> i have made up my mind. my family will choose the color. >> reporter: used cars account for 80% of the auto market. but this firm aims to boost sales of new cars by offering better after care service. hiring retired employees is the

key. this man is one of them. he's an expert in customer care with 30 years experience in japan. on top of his technological skills, he instructs staff on japanese style customer service. >> reporter: sales staff test out their new skills by making unannounced visit to potential customers. this man runs a clothing factory that serves companies in the u.s. and europe. his sales have doubled over the past ten years. they encouraged him to replace his used car with a new one.

>> reporter: express services eventually appeal to ahmad. he considers buying the new car. as more bangladeshys get richer, businesses are racing to grab a dominant position in this exciting new market. >> and that will wrap up our bulletin. >> japanese prime minister noda says he'll let the people decide the future of his government after he hikes the consumption tax. noda said on thursday he will dissolve the lore house for a

general election once the controversial legislation is passed. >> translator: our party promised during the previous campaign 2009 that we won't raise the consumption tax during the current lower house term. but we will seek a public mandate after raising the tax. >> noda reiterated his resolve to implement social security and tax reform which he described as a matter of urgency. he added both ruling and opposition camps should cooperate on these issues. the main opposition party leader said the japanese people have not given noda's democratic party the right to submit the consumption tax bill. he urged the prime minister to dissolve the lore house immediately and seek a freshman date from voters. hyundai motors said it sold a record number of vehicles around the world last week. they reported on thursday that global sales in 2011 came to just over four million units

that's up 12% from the previous year. sales outside south korea grew even faster. they climbed more than 14% to about 3.4 million units. hyundai's net profit rose 35% from the previous year to 8.1 trillion. that's about 7.2 billion. hyundai expanded sales in the united states and china while its japanese rivals suffer from the impact of the march 11th disaster and a strong yen. result sales are better than those of japan's third largest auto maker honda motor and close to nissan motor. the auto maker plans to start operating new factories in china and brazil this year to boost its output in emerging economies. japan's nissan motor will invest $2 billion to build a new plant in mexico. this extra production capacity will help the firm achieve an annual output of one million vehicles in the country in the future. nissan says the construction will begin this spring.

175,000 small cars will be made each year at the factory from late 2013. the auto maker has two plants in mexico that produce about 600,000 units last year. nissan says mexico will become the third country for the auto maker to have capacity of over one million vehicles annually. the other two are japan and china. nissan is focussing on mexico as it has close economic ties with south american countries where auto dand many is expected to grow. two other japanese auto makers honda and mazda have decided to build plants in mexico. nec says it will cut 10,000 jobs globally as the japanese appliance maker forecasts a loss. that's 10,000 of the total workforce. nec says the business results will plunge to show a loss of $1.3 billion. the previous estimate was a profit of $193 million.

this is because sales suffered in the aftermath of floods in thailand. sluggish demand for mobile phones was also a negative factor. nec president said on thursday the planned job cuts include about 5,000 nec corporation employees and 5,000 at affiliate firms and some contractors. he went on to say the company had no option but to cut jobs. >> translator: we were hit hard by the floods in thailand, the march disaster and also the european debt crisis. we may face extreme difficulties if we don't take action now. >> nec is not alone in the electronics industry bearing the brunt of strong yen and more intensive competition for overseas. tdk another leading electronics parts maker announced it will slash 11,000 jobs in its entire

corporate group. and here's some of the other news we're look at from around the world. the u.s. navy special forces carry out a daring rescue of two hostages. the american woman and danish man were held in somalia for three months. navy s.e.a.l.s whisked away the pair after an hour long gunfight with the hostage takers. president obama told leon panetta the seals had done a good job before his state of the union on tuesday. a seals commando team killed osama bin laden in his hideout in pakistan in may last year. schools across the u.s. are being told to serve healthier lunches under new rules aimed at slimming down obesity rates among children. the u.s. government announced the country's first new guidelines on school lunches in 15 years. the rules require that lunches for pupils from kindergarten through grade 12 includes vegetables and fruit and stick to a calorie limit. more than 30 million children across the u.s. will be

affected. japan is offering yen loans to tunisia as it strives to reform. the japanese government says the north african country is making steady steps towards demock ritization. some $270 million of loans will be used to build a highway linking cities in southern tunisia and to repair aging water services in urban areas. let's get a check on the weather now. >> thank u. i would like to first start off with australia. here we have a tropical cyclone igy which is directing a southerly motion at the speed of 6 kilometres per hour. wind gust is picking up. it's 120 kilometres per hour at the moment. not really directly hitting any kind of land yet, but by friday local time it looks like it's going to be affecting much of

the northwestern coast of western australia in and around onz low with some heavy rain and large swells. we're talking about abnormally large swells because we have another system that is already picking up the waves here in the coastal areas as well as heavy rain. so both combined can bring some staggering amounts of rainfall accumulation. we'll definitely keep an update on this for you. let's take a bigger picture for what's happening here in eastern asia. and talk about japan first, well snowy, windy, and also very cold temperature and that kind of condition is going to be prevailing and going to be in control in much of the western half of japan. and we have a report of 73 centimeters of fresh snow that piled up in a prefecture. we're going to be seeing about 80 centimeters more of that white stuff to be piling up in a region especially in the next 24

hours. so windy condition is going to be still prevailing. high waves also with the strong winds. blowing snow would be possible as well and risk of avalanche is very, very high. here in the south, that condition will be tapering off fortunately in the pacific side will be remaining devoid of precipitation. but cold -- i should say coldest air of this season has arrived. the temperatures are going to be dipping down towards the weekend. as of now tokyo at 8:00. seoul same story. towards the end of the weekend it's going to be dipping down pretty low about minus 1 on sunday. manila 32 staying warm there in the tropics. let's now head over to the americas. and talk about the severe condition that will be affecting much of mississippi, alabama and western georgia. flash flooding, damaging winds also tornados cannot still be ruled out. we had reports of touch down of

tornados possibly about five in texas already and that is going to be moving further towards the east. and as it does so, it surges warm moisture in and around new england. so the temperatures there are going to be especially warm on friday. already warming up in new york at 7 degrees for thursday. but friday we're going to be seeing double digits. washington, d.c. at 10 and on the western coast los angeles summery weather at 28 degrees with lots of sunshine there. let's head over to europe now and quickly talk about what's happening here lingering atlantic system is going to be weakening, lighter showers will continue for the next couple of days. here isolated thunderstorms are going to be still possible in and around the mediterranean sea area especially many the coastal areas rain could get heavy. but eastern coast we're looking at high pressure dominating much of the area. temperatures are going to be dipping down. moscow minus 12.

kiev minus 13. even fut as the week progresses it's going to be lower. but lisbon staying warm at 14 degrees. here's the 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 windchill watching. bye-bye. . .