welcome to "newsline." people in the central syrian city are trying to stay out of harm's way. the country's security forces have been bombarding the residential areas. the number of dead is on the rise. the anti-government free syrian army is trying to fight back. members of a human rights group say the syrian military has been pounding parts of the city with rockets and mortar shells.

they say one neighborhood in particular is being targeted. they also say soldiers are entering homes to detain or kill residents. the group say as more than 50 people including children have been killed since monday. soldiers who have defect from the syrian army are mounting abcounteroffensive. but they're having a hard time protecting citizens because they don't have weapons. anti-government demonstrators erupted last march. reports suggest more than 300 people died over the weekend. syrian forces have been increasing pressure on the opponents of the president on saturday. the escalating violence is being met with protests from western governments. the united states closed its embassy and ordered all the diplomats to lee the country. britain also recalled its ambassador. >> this is a doomed regime. there's no way it can recover

its credibility internationally or with its own people. >> william hague added the situation is unacceptable and demanded an international response. france, italy and belgium have also recalled their ambassadors. western powers appear to see no point in engaging with@asad. they will likely seek to strengthen opposition forces. russian foreign minister is in syria for a meeting with president asaid. he arrived on tuesday. a crowd of people waving flags gathered. russia side is likely to urge asad to hold dialogue with anti-government forces and promote political reforms. russia has friendly ties with syria and hopes to breakthrough

by negotiating directly with the president. first, president, then prime minister. now putin has his sights set on russia's presidency once again. he's running in the election set for march 49. he has served as prime minister for about four now. political ant lists say a putin victory is likely. his popularity is suffering over protests over corruption during his time in office. >> reporter: during a recent rally temperatures hovered at minus 20 degrees celsius in central moscow during the day. people braved the cold white balloons in hand. a symbol of their hopes for a fair election. in the crowd was this man. he was one of the organizers of

the demonstration. his involvement in the protests began after he witnessed people being arrested for openingly opposing the government. he also says the government conceals unflattering news through its control of mainstream media. >> translator: the economy may have improved, but we are losing more and more of our political freedoms. it's obvious that tyranny has no place in the prosperous and vast country of russia. >> reporter: he says his distrust in politics deepened after authorities banned an opposition candidate from running. this man is the founder to have liberal opposition party. on january 27th, the russian central election commission denied his bid to register as a presidential candidate. the commission cited invalid signatures in his application as

the reason. >> translator: lists of signatures are more than just pieces of paper. they represent people's desires and wishes. the refusal to register someone as a candidate is a foolish decision that ignores the people's will. >> reporter: participants in saturday's rally claim russia's government is trying to exclude liberal politicians from the presidential race in order to smooth putin's re-election. >> i want toe see a fair election that brings politics in the real sense of the word in this country. putin must go. >> reporter: there is no end in sight to the protests against

putin. the prime minister has made some attempts to quell the outpouring of public anger. it remains to be seen how far the protests will go in the run up to election day. >> joining us now from moscow is our reporter. she's been covering the developments in russia. it's clear that opposition to putin remains strong ahead of next month's presidential election. >> reporter: yes. an estimated 100,000 people took part in the rally, more than expected. there has been speculation that the crowd would be very small. that's because putin has started to listen to protesters' complaints and recently announced measures aimed at reducing tensions. what was striking was protesters not only called for a fair election, but also had banners expressing their discontent with

putin. a position activist has been urging people to vote for another candidate. a putin win appears likely, but what activists hope to do is prevent him from winning a majority of march votes. >> if he fails to clinch a majority, there would be a runoff vote, why would that be significant? >> reporter: at one point, 80% of the russian people supported putin. but if he failed to win half of the vote, his loss of influence would be undisputed. a runoff would also force putin to work with the opposition. judging from polls so far, it isn't absolutely certain that putin will win the majority next month. he has numerous supporters, but many of them back him with reservations. they seem to feel that there aren't any other viable candidates. >> with less than one month left

before the election, how will the battle between pro and anti-putin factions play out? >> reporter: opposition supporters and civic groups plan to hold protests rally every weekend until the election. meanwhile, putin supporters intend to hold a major rally of their own to coincide with one of the opposition's major protests. they view their connections with public companies and government institutions to organize the event. at this point, it seems safe to say that divisions between the two camps will only deepen before the election. >> thank you, eri. >> the strong yen anti land's

floods have dealt a heavy blow to toyota motors earnings. the car maker said the profit plunged in the first nine months of this fiscal year. the auto maker said on tuesday operating profit during the april-december period fell more than 72% in yen terms to about $1.5 billion. sales dropped about 10% to about $168 billion. toyota said the japanese current strength exports and thai floods cut unit exports. for the entire fiscal year toyota has revised the forecast upward due to strong sales of hybrid models. the company expects an operating profit of $3.5 billion. >> translator: it's difficult to estimate how much more impact the european debt problem will have on the region. but we are assuming that the

global car market will likely grow way more than in the past year. >> toyota has faced a series of hurdles in the past year. it tumbled from its position as the world's number one auto maker for the first time in four years landing in fourth place. meanwhile gm recovered from bankruptcy and surged back to the top. vehic volkswagen and renault nissan sold more. what does 2012 hold for the auto maker? >> reporter: toyota introduced a new hybrid, the prius c in japan last december. it's the cheapst and most fuel efficient hybrid on the market. the company's hoping that the new model rekindle domestic demand. it's all part of toyota's recovery strategy. >> translator: to overcome the impact of the strong yen, we must sell cars we make in japan to customers in japan.

>> reporter: toyota exports a large proportion of the cars it produces in japan. increasing domestic sales will reduce foreign exchange rates. the plan is off to a good start. the company received more than ten times the number of orders it had expected in the first month after the prius c was introduced. toyota has set an ambitious target for 2012. it plans to sell more than 9.5 million cars worldwide. that will be a company record. the company expects have the sales to come from emermging economies where the expansion of the middle class has boosted demand for automobiles. last month toyota decided to increase production capacity at a plant in thailand. the factory will be a center for exports to southeast asia in the

mideast. but the competition is already heating up. european, u.s., and south korean auto makers are dominant in china and other emerging markets. an expect says foreign rivals can turn their country's relatively weak currencies into a competitive advantage. >> japanese seem to be losing market share to the germans in. the mid size section japanese are losing market share to recovering u.s. big three and then in the compact vehicle or small cars japanese are now losing market share to the koreans. so all three competitors are gaining some market share at the expense of the japanese partly because of the strong yen. >> reporter: with the yen continuing to trade at historic

highs, the value of the japanese currency could remain toyota's biggest hurdle in 2012. >> japan's economy is sending upbeat signals. the government says the impact of thailand's floods is largely gone and pushing up key economic indicators. the cabinet office said on tuesday that the index of the economy climbed 2.9 points in december from the previous month to 93.2. that's the first rise in two months and the second largest gain on record. the uptick is attributed to an improvement in the production of cars, mobile phones and digital cameras. the cabinet office says that indicates a recovery from damage by the thai floods. consumer spending also grew. the office says pushing up sales of winter clothing and heaters. meanwhile the leading index which predicts future economic

activity rose by .6 points. next we go to bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. the mall dooefs are world famous for their blue seas. the president resigned following weeks of public protests. demonstrations in the capital male have continued for weeks. anger flared last month when the president ordered the military to arrest a senior judge. the same judge had earlier ordered the release of the leader of the opposition who was under arrest. protesters on tuesday took control of the state broadcaster. that afternoon the president made a televised statement saying he had agreed to step down for the sake of the stability of the nation. the archipelago of 300,000 people was under autocratic rule for 30 years.

that only ended in 2008 when asheed was elected. but parliament is dominated by his opponents complicating efforts to tackle efforts such as rising prices and causing widespread public unease. several asian nations and the united states began annual military exercises known as cobra gold in thailand on tuesday. an opening ceremony was held at an air base in northeast thailand. the united states and thailand are the core members. but this year a total of 13,000 military personnel from seven countries are taking part. they include japan, south korea, and singapore. cobra gold has been held for the last 31 years. the exercises have gained significance since the obama administration plays the asia pacific at the center of u.s. foreign policy. the presence of china is also an

increasing factor around the region. china is one of 20 countries officially observing the exercises. it will take place over 11 days across thailand. peacekeeping drills are on the agenda with the intention of improving international cooperation in those fields. turning now to myanmar. the country's leaders already planning for life after economic sanctions. with reforms progressing, western countries have indicated that sanctions at myanmar could be lifted within months. the president is asking foreign companies to consider investing in his country. business leaders from japan are in myanmar this week to assess the opportunities. during a meeting on monday they laid out a proposal to develop

the capital's airport into a transport hub for southeast asia with new air routes to japan. the airport opened in december last year but so far only serves domestic routes. the president as also invited companies to invest in a highway linking myanmar to thailand and other countries in the region. >> translator: through his words, i understood the president's strong commitment to reform in myanmar. >> foreign investors look at myanmar as the last frontier of sooegs asia. it has a wealth of natural resources and plenty of cheap labor. with the end of economic sanctions in sight, competition to secure business opportunities is likely to intensify. improving infrastructure is also crucial for indonesia's

continued economic growth. one of the largest thermal power plants officially opened on monday. the new facility reflects surgerying demand for power as indonesia's economy expands. foreign companies from several countries are competing to plug into this booming market. >> reporter: with the maximum amount of capacity of 2,600 megawatts this power plant completes a power supply of 6% for the entire island of java. a group of japanese firms invested about $5.2 billion to construct the power plant in java. the island is home to about 60% of indonesia's 240 million people. officials say the plant will help address the problem of regular electricity shortages.

demand for power is growing rapidly and many power plants under construction. companies from china, south korea and japan are competing fiercely for orders. the japanese energy concert yum is led by a corporation. but that's not the end of the story, the consortium will run the plant maintaining steady business over ma years. that's the japanese group's unique selling point. >> translator: i think if we perform at a high level we'll get another order. good results lead to more business. we hope to gain momentum in responding to demand for building infrastructure overseas.

>> reporter: instead of just selling a product, these companies try to offer everything from funding to operations. the japanese government is strengthening its support for infrastructure exports like this as part of the growth strategy. >> and that wraps up our bulletin. >> japanese and u.s. officials have held work level talks on the realignment of u.s. forces. the two sides appeared to have reached agreement on moving u.s. marines from okinawa to guam even as they leave the relocation of a disputed air base unresolved. foreign affairs and defense officials from the two countries met in washington. in 2006 the u.s. agreed to link the transfer of troops to guam with the relocation of the air station to another part of oak no wa. the u.s. will now proceed with the transfer separate from the base relocation. the original plan was to

transfer 8,000 marines from okinawa to guam. the u.s. government now wants to limit the transfer to around 4,700 personnel. this follows a reduction in the american military budget. the u.s. will transfer the remaining 3,300 troops to other locations. possible destinations include hawaii, the philippines and the u.s. marines air station on japan's main island. a japanese official said that the two countries did not discuss that during monday's talks. they're due to meet again with u.s. officials soon in tokyo. it currently hosts air stations for the u.s. marine corp. and japan's maritime self-defense force. the mayor says the city has no more room for american forces. >> translator: we haven't heard anything official about the transfer. i ordered by staff to collect information from the central government. we cannot accept any additional burden. this is our basic stance.

>> the operator of the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant is injecting more water into the number two reactor. tokyo electric power company is trying to cool the facility after the temperature inside unexpectedly rose. the temperature still is about 25 degrees celsius higher than it used to be. the thermometer at the bottom to have reactor has shown readings of 45 degrees until january 27th. then temperatures gradually rose to over 70 degrees. tepco began injecting more water into the reactor on monday. the utility further increased the amount of water by about 30% early tuesday morning to 13.5 tons per hour. so far tepco says the additional water has lowered the temperature by only a few degrees. the plant operator says plumbing work may have affected water flow inside reactor number two. tepco's aim is to keep the reactor in a state of cold shutdown. now this reactors the reactors

internal temperature remains below 80 degrees. "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. nuclear watch brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and the road ahead examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss nuclear watch and the road ahead on "newsline." >> we have weather up next. hi and welcome back. in japan the winter pattern is back. yet again another round of snowy and windy weather across much of the western half. we're talking about in the next 24 hours expecting 70 centimeters up to 50 centimeters

in some areas. the fresh snow piling up pretty quickly will lead to surface avalanche to be aware of. in addition, sustained winds of 72 kilometres per hour in much of the sea of japan side will create blowing snow as well as snow drifts. it's really very dangerous for the driving conditions down there. picking up those waves high as much as four five meters across much of the coast lines. the pacific coast looking pretty dry and remaining very cold. we'll take a look at those temperatures. high pressure will be dominating much of eastern continue tentnal asia. pretty clear out there. a few showers seen here in taiwan and in the philippines where the earthquake struck in the heart of the country. well the area doesn't need any rain as it may trigger landslide risks, but unfortunately thundershowers will be continuing across much of the

country in the next couple of days. manila temperaturewise 32 degrees. hong kong 15 degrees. seoul minus 4. tokyo looking at 9 on wednesday. that's going to be dipping down to about 7 on thursday. let's head over to north america. we've got a system that is going to be distributing much of the western coast with rain and mountain snow and mountain conditions. fresh snow as much as 15 centimeters in some areas. the central portions much of the area is going to be dominated by high pressure system. it's a cold wave descending down from canada. a lot of clear weather to be seen especially in the central plains. the ohio valley all the way towards new england that front is going to be bringing gold air in behind that system as it travels. especially in and around new york. the temperatures will be dipping down. as for tuesday high we're look at 9 degrees with some sunny

spells for you. on your wednesday it's going to be down about 4 with snow. washington, d.c. not too bad for your tuesday at 13 degrees. oklahoma city at 12. that's going to be dipping down to about 4 as well and minus 4 in denver as well below average. here in europe we have reports of more than 200 fatalities due to the cold weather in europe. this looks like it's going to be prevailing for a while. just a little bit of area where wet and warmer weather will be seen in ireland and also northern uk. also much of the wet weather will be seen here as well. unstable conditions and winds are going to be very gusty as well picking up waves in the coastal areas and snow could also be there so combined will be blizzard conditions. athens at 6 degrees. we're look at kiev minus 15. well, well we low average and

moscow minus 13. berlin minus 5. paris a little improvement right there. still at freezing point. we're looking at 14 degrees. here's the extended weather forecast.

that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline." thank you for watching. bye-bye.

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