international inspectors visited iran. it is not clear if they could access the country's nuclear facilities. a team from the international atomic energy agency completed a three day inspection tour of iran. the three day inspection ended tuesday and inspectors were due to levi ran later in the day.

they agreed to continue consultations. iaea hasn't commented on the visit. the team went to iran after the agency raised a suspicion in the november report that iran carried out explosion tests and simulations to develop nuclear weapons. western nations are stepping up sanctions against iran over its nuclear program. iran is believed to be fending off international pressure by accepting the iaea team. the iranian media report that the team didn't visit any nuclear facilities. u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon urged the security council to press syria to stop the violence against antigovernment protesters. he made the appeal on tuesday during a visit to neighboring jordan amid reports that over 300 protesters have been killed in the past five days alone. he announced the crackdown as a

serious human rights violation and said it's crucial for the security council to act on the situation. >> i sincerely hope the security council members will be united at this time, speak and act in coherence manner, reflecting th international community and reflecting the urgent and aspirations of the syrian people who have been yearning for freedom and dignity. >> on tuesday asp the council began discussing a draft resolution that calls for syria to stop the crackdown and president bashar al assad to step down. the united states and european nations aim to adopt the resolution at an early date, but some countries including russia prefer to promote dialogue

between the syrian government and opposition groups. fiscal deficits are on the minds of others. ai, tell us about the situation in the u.s. >> the deficit continues to be extremely high. new u.s. budget report predicts the country will run a deficit over $1 trillion for the fourth year in a row. a report released by the congressional budget office said the deficit will likely amount to 1 trillion dollars for the current fiscal year that runs through september. >> the pace of the recovery has been slow since the recession ended two-and-a-half years ago, and we project that it will continue to be slow for the next two years. >> the report also predicts that the unemployment rate will average 8.8% in 2012 and will worsen to 9.1% in 2013.

this situation points to the tough task ahead to shore up the nation's finances while stimulating job growth. u.s. barack obama is set to deliver his message later this month. he is likely to talk about the emphasis in bringing down the budget deficit. they are divided how to address the issue as the nation prepares for the presidential election in november. moving to markets, the united states continues to post a huge deficit as we know, but stocks in january ended on a high note with the dow, s&p 500 and nasdaq posting strong monthly gains on hopes of an economic recovery. to see how stocks kickoff the first day of february, we go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. so far, we have seen strong gains for key indexes this year, but a busy week with earnings reports, key data to come. how will stocks fare? >> new month and looking forward to seeing how february trades, ai. dow posted moderate losses

overnight. again, some concerns about greek debt repayment pressures and also portugese bond yields, but if you look at the month of january, the dow was up 3.4%, and tech heavy nasdaq up around 8%. so those are pretty strong gains. now let's have a look at the nikkei and topix this february 1st here in japan. you can see they're moderately lower for both indexes. as we've been reporting all week, earnings season in full swing here in japan. reports from key blue chip japanese firms, most of them, however, reporting losses for the last quarter ending in december. we had honda out with earnings after the bell yesterday, saying net profits fell 41% for the quarter ending in december. also coming out and saying it estimates a 60% fall in net profits for the full year ending in march. now, the strong yen and severe flooding in thailand which meant honda had to close one of its

factories were major contributors to the lower numbers for honda. now, toshiba, daiwa securities and a host of other firms in the utility sector posting losses, making up for a bleak picture so far in the earnings season. later today, i want to remind viewers, we will have numbers from japan's biggest brokerage, sharp and japan's biggest bank, anmitsu bishop ee financial group. let's turn to the currencies. seeing further weakness in the euro. you can see the euro/yen trading 99.71-76. a few days ago, we were trading 101. that shows a continuing concern about greece's ability to pay large scale debt repayments of more than 14 billion later this month. it is causing a slide in the euro. >> with that stronger yen with

the euro around 99 yen, there must be concerns that japan may step in. >> exactly. a lot of focus now on bank of japan, ministry of finance, the japanese government looking to stem some of that strength of the yen, which is hurting a lot of exporters, already last week, if you remember, we had trade deficit numbers for japan. the first time in 31 years. and also lower import prices affecting japan's economy. all of these put together, it could really be a point where we might see some market intervention. of course, we're going to look out for that. ai? >> indeed. with the greek situation making the safe haven yen more attractive, some may expect action sooner rather than later by japanese authorities. >> we will keep tabs on the currency markets. you have seen the shift with the euro yen and how that will play into stocks, especially exporters and amongst all of the earnings we're going to see, as i mentioned, key earnings coming

out later on, sharp being one of the major exporters. for now, back to you. >> ramin, seeing flat movements on the stock market as of now. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. the european union says it will investigate whether south korea samsung electronics breached antitrust rules by accusing rivals infringing on technology patents. they notified samsung and regulating authorities in member countries it launched a formal investigation. the european commission says it suspects the south korean firm is not giving other companies fair access to the patents it holds on smart phone technology. this technology is considered essential for european mobile phones. samsung and u.s. rival apple are involved in patent litigation in several countries around the world. both seek injunctions to block each other's sales, claiming infringement of technology

patents. housing starts in japan improved slightly in 2011, but remained below 1 million units for the third year in a row. the land and infrastructure ministry said on tuesday that housing starts totalled 834,117 units last year, up 2.6% from the previous year. new condominiums posted 29% of growth on expectations for recovery and demand, mainly in the greater tokyo area. the construction of apartments and other buildings has been sluggish since the collapse of lehman brothers which triggered the financial crisis. they say incentive for homes reintroduced last year is likely to push up housing demand, but says a rapid recovery is unlikely because construction projects are susceptible to unemployment and wage trends. that's the latest from business. back to catherine.

>> thanks very much, ai. recent photos show trucks from china carrying trucks of rice into north korea. the unusual aid delivery is the first of its kind since the death of kim john-il. pictures were released by a south korean human rights group, said to be taken january 12th. they show large cargo trucks stacked with rice bags waiting at customs stations near the north korean border. the group quoted the driver of one of the trucks saying he had been told to bring the rice to north korea from january 9th. the group said it confirmed a convoy of about ten trucks carrying rice moved through customs and into the north for ten days. the group said china rarely ships such large amounts of rice in january, and such aid usually comes in spring or fall. >> translator: the unusual timing may indicate china made a

political decision to send rice to maintain its clout with north korea, under its new leader, kim jong-un. taiwan's president appointed a financial expert as the new premier. the taiwan economy has been slowing as credit fears in europe loom large. he announced that appointment, following his re-election and parliamentary election on january 14th. he concentrated on economic stimulus measures as vice premier since 2010. >> translator: we will improve the distribution of income by changing the industrial structure. that's our important mission. >> other officials with expertise have also been appointed as finance minister and the head of an economic construction panel. the choices reflect his priority or economic stimulus policies.

"newsline" is 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. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline". come back home is the message of a mayor of the town near the fukushima nuclear power plant who wants all evacuees to start returning home in april. kawauchi village is located about 20 kilometers southwest of the plant. it was evacuated last year following the march 11th earthquake and nuclear disaster. all 3,000 residents were forced to leave. the evacuation advisory was lifted in september but only about 200 people have returned.

>> translator: i am making this declaration to ask and encourage residents to return home. i am determined to overcome hardships. let's create a safe village together. >> the mayor announced on tuesday that the village hall will be operational in march he says elementary and junior high schools will reopen in april. the nuclear accident forced a complete evacuation of nine municipalities in fukushima. kawauchi will be the first to have residents return home. but many are worried. they say decontamination work is behind schedule. >> translator: my child wants to go home, but i am worried about radioactivity. i have mixed feelings. >> another concern is jobs. there were 95 businesses in the village but only 35 have reopened since the quake. >> translator: the declaration is only the beginning. i'm not expecting results soon.

i hope villagers come home after all radioactive substances have been removed. maybe in two or three years. next we go to bangkok to see what's making headlines. myanmar opened a new session of parliament tuesday. the main topic of discussion was the annual budget. lawmakers have decided to aggressively pursue foreign investment to rebuild the country's economy. one of the poorest in southeast asia. we have a report. >> about 600 lawmakers from the upper and lower houses of parliament attended the session. the government forecast for annual income was $52 billion. funds to update myanmar

infrastructure, and invite companies to help. the nation needs to build irrigation systems, power stations, and communication lines as a foundation for economy growth. myanmar will hold bi-election in april. democracy leader aung san suu kyi is standing in the poll. during tuesday's session, a lawmaker from one of the countries' ethnic groups welcomed the prospect of aung san suu kyi entering parliament. >> her presence will be welcome and force changes here, too. >> about a quarter of the seats in parliament are -- those lawmakers were more cautious on the topic of aung san suu kyi, but they were welcoming of the reforms. >> her arrival is immaterial,

because we, like her, are taking the stance of democritization. >> rebuilding myanmar's economy urgently requires lifting of economic sanctions. to that end, many lawmakers seem to believe democratization is necessary. the reform process seems increasingly irreversible. rebuilding the myanmar economy was also on the agenda during the president's three day visit to singapore which wrapped up tuesday. the two sides signed an agreement that will see singapore share economic know how with myanmar. he met with his counterpart as well as the prime minister monday. they call on singapore to share best practices in economic planning and labor development. the city state will offer

technical and vocational training for workers in myanmar. following the meeting, he visited a public housing compound to study singapore's urban development policies. and that's it for our bulletin. people in myanmar have seen profound changes in the last year. the country has been taking steps towards democracy since a new president took office in march. the government released more than 600 prisoners in january. they included political prisoners. government leaders agreed to a ceasefire with the rebels to end more than 60 years of conflict. pro-democracy leader aung san suu kyi registered as a candidate in parliament bi-elections set for april. this encouraged western countries to consider lifting their democratic sanctions. all of these developments have changed the way people, especially young people, live

their daily lives. >> reporter: change is in the air in myanmar. >> many people go the traditional way. that means down to the ankle for men and women. sensible clothes for hot climate. but common sight in urban areas.

young people and magazines helping to drive. the media includes fashion and sports publications, but in june last year, the government lifted many of the restrictions. the magazines take foreign models. she says this is more than a business opportunity. democratic reforms are changing society>> translator: the change taking place now is a very good one. young people are motivated to speak and act freely of their

own will. young people are motivated to speak and act freely of their own will. >> this is what happens when magazines are censored. they put this to hide the model's back. another example at work, a mini skirt extended to cover the legs. magazine producers have freedom of expression, so do local designers. this is a photo shoot for a myanmar label. >> we can now carry pictures of clothes we think are pretty without changing anything. >> this fashion title for men was launched last november.

the latest issue features hip-hop designs. >> translator: myanmar youth believe in a bright future. i'll try to create appealing articles that will help the myanmar people catch up with the rest of the world. >> magazines are getting freer and freer. >> democratic reforms are progressing with surprising speed. young people are keen to express their new freedoms in whatever way they can. only a small part of the population can enjoy the new populations, mainly families of the military and businessmen that trade with foreign companies. many in myanmar are asking how to spread the benefits to the

majority of population who are still poor. it is gradually warming up in tokyo. other parts of japan are feeling the effects of winter. here is the world weather report. >> time for your weather update. let's begin with japan. heavy snow has been pounding the western side of the nation. 51 fatalities have been already reported because of snow related accidents. however, more snow is expected. we have a very active low pressure system move into northern japan, and that's going to bring 20 to 70 centimeters of fresh snowfall and gusty winds as well as thunderstorms, eastern tornados not out of the question. waves could reach 6 meters along the coast. after the system passes through, more frigid air will come in.

that will bring another round of heavy snow, so those conditions could certainly raise the risks of avalanches as well as damage to crops. however, the tokyo area will stay dry again. as we pull back, a large high pressure system is in place, bringing dry conditions to most of china and the korean peninsula. but it looks like showers will develop in the central section of china in the next 24 hours. today's highs are looking like this. a cold wave blanketing much of the northern sections, expecting minus 3 in beijing, minus 7 in seoul with a low of minus 13. tokyo will warm up nicely. temperatures will plummet from this evening. now moving to the americas. a long frontal line has been bringing winter precipitation to the u.s., canada border. right now, freezing rain

warnings in effect in southern ontario, new brins wick, maine, showers in the great lakes. over the next 24 hours, much of ontario gets cooler. to the south, thundershowers are developing over the southeastern corner of the u.s. out to the west, british columbia and pacific northwest have gusty winds, coastal rain and mountain snow again. that will move further inland. however, once again, another system will move into the same area. so on wednesday, we are expecting 9 degrees in chicago, and 6 degrees in toronto. and we're going to see a huge warm up in washington, d.c. 18 degrees here and 14 degrees expected in new york. definitely feels like spring. finally, let's go over to europe. it's very active to the south. thunderstorms will continue in southern italy throughout wednesday, and a mix of rain and

snow will move into the balkan peninsula. turkey gets dryer after a long period of heavy snowfall. that's good news. meanwhile, a large high pressure system is dominating much of the northern sections, bringing dry but very windy and cold conditions to much of the area. warnings against extremely low temperatures have been issued for many countries. here are the highs wednesday. we expect minus 19 in moscow, and minus 16 degrees in kiev, and that's very, very cold here. in fact, the cold conditions will continue into the weekend. so please do bundle up. here is the extended forecast.

frmts our lead story. a team from the international atomic energy agency completed a three day inspection tour of iran. iran's news agency said the inspection ended tuesday, and they were due to levi ran later in the day. they plan to continue consultations. iaea hasn't commented on the visit. the team led by the general went to iran after they raised suspicion in a november report that iran carried explosion tests and simulations to develop nuclear weapons. they are stepping up sanctions over the nuclear program. iran believed to be fending off international pressure by accepting the iaea team. but the iranian media are reporting that the team did not visit any nuclear facilities. that's all for this edition

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

see you again. >> bye-bye.