security forces attack residents in central syria, even those not participating in demonstrations against the government. residents of homs are running and watching as shells reign

down on their neighborhoods. human rights activists report more than 150 people were killed across syria in the past two days. government forces have pounded residential areas of homs. one activist told nhk that stocks of medicines and medical supplies have run out, and doctors are unable to treat the seriously wounded. >> the activist said that many of the victims are women and children. >> six gulf arab nations are withdrawing their ambassadors from syria and expelling syrian envoys.

they said it is necessary to prevent bloodshed of the syrian people. saudi arabia, united arab i am rats and four others have decided to withdraw. they're also demanding that syrian envoy leave immediately. the gulf countries joined six european nations, including britain, france and italy to recall their ambassadors for consultations. the united states has closed its embassy in damascus. russian foreign minister sergei lavrof is in syria for a meeting with the president. he's believed to have called on assad to hold a dialogue with antigovernment protesters. they arrived in damascus on tuesday. a crowd of people waving russian and syrian flags gathered to welcome them. lavrov brought assad a letter from president medvedev. it's likely to have urged him to hold dialogue and promote

political reforms. russia has friendly ties with syria, and hopes to win a breakthrough by negotiating directly with the president. western leaders are focused on another dilemma in the middle east, how to deal with iran. israel is reported to be planning an attack over the iranian nuclear program. u.s. leaders want to weigh in. the u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton met in washington with israeli foreign minister. it carried a serious sub text. "the washington post" reported earlier this month that leon panetta thinks israel may launch an attack within months. president barack obama expressed his preference for a diplomat i can solution. the state department hasn't released many details of the meeting between clinton and

lieberman. >> with regard to iran, they talked extensively about the impact that the new sanction are having and our efforts to work with countries around the world to wean them from iranian oil. >> clinton is believed to have asked lieberman to hold off on any military action. she wants to leave more time for u.s. sanction to work. greek leaders are still undecided about a last resort deal that could save the country from defate. ai uchida has that story. officials in greece need to come to final agreement quickly. >> indeed. time is running out, catherine. the ruling coalition parties in greece again postponed talks whether to accept conditions for more international aid. the country could face a default in march, without a bailout from the eu and international monetary fund. on tuesday, the government

presented a final plan to the ruling coalition parties. the two sides were to discuss budget cuts and fiscal reform, but the meeting was scheduled, rescheduled for a second day in a row until wednesday. the proposal includes cuts in fiscal spending, pension as well as minimum wage. greece and the european union have not been able to narrow their differences. the eu called for spending cuts worth 2% of gdp, while greek ruling parties agreed only to 1.5% reduction so far. tension is mounting as labor unions continue to stage strikes to protest the austerity measures. greece has been urged to accept conditions for the bailout package and said all of europe is now focusing on greece. >> translator: it is important not only for greece but for the

euro and european project to keep greece in europe. for that, we are urging the political parties in greece to make a commitment to the common goals. i think it's very important for them. >> all right. let's check the markets now. the dow-jones rose to the highest level since may, 2008 overnight. let's see how stocks are opening. for that, we go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, good morning. what can you tell us? >> very good morning to you, ai. let's look at the opening levels for nikkei and topix. straight away, markets are higher. yesterday, the nikkei closed a touch lower. if you look there, we're at the 8900 levels. if we touch 9 thousand, that will about the first time since october last year. we will keep track of that. the market is hanging on every bit of news out of greece as far as a draft deal being negotiated there to present to the greek leaders, and that may have pushed up u.s. stocks.

but we're going to see slight range trading until we get further news regarding the new deal for greece. the currency markets had something to say about that already, and just having a look at the levels for the euro yen this morning here in tokyo, you can see the euro has gained on the back of hopes of a new deal being pushed through for greece. you can see there 101.68-71. this time yesterday, trading around 100 level. so the euro gaining on the back of hopes for that greek deal being negotiated. >> ramin, speaking of currency markets, it is earnings season in japan. japanese exporters have been talking a lot about foreign exchange rates. what can you tell us about that? >> exactly. that's been the forefront of a lot of conversations regarding earnings and really with the yen at historically strong levels here, despite the fact many japanese blue chip companies had

net losses. we saw with toyota with the guidance or outlook that it is a bit more positive and that's despite coming out and saying net profits dropped. their forecasts for the rest of the fiscal year is positive and they have raised their outlook, not only for net profit but also for vehicle sales, and that's despite the loss of the profit or drop in profits for the nine months ending in december, last year. ai? >> despite the strong yen, japanese car makers hope for a turnaround? >> definitely. however, also they're pinning their hopes on a recovery in the u.s. economy, and a lot of demand for fuel efficient cars, which toyota is a global market leader with its prius model. so again, a lot of focus on the outlook and the rest of the fiscal year going forward. but we're not out of the woods yet. still to come later today, nissan. that will round it up for japanese automakers.

nissan earnings after the bell today. back to you, ai. >> we'll keep our eyes on that. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. thanks for that update. current account figures from here in japan just in. the strong yen, european debt worries and flooding in thailand all contributed to the drop in the current account surplus for ten consecutive months. japan finance ministry says the current account surplus plunged 74% to about $4 billion. in detail, the trade balance registered a daut of about $2 billion. exports fell 7%, and imports were up about 10%. meanwhile, the current account surplus for 2011 was also down to about $125 billion. that's a decrease of nearly 44% from a year earlier. let's look at where markets are trading this hour.

that's the latest in business for this hour. back to catherine. >> thanks very much. japanese prime minister noda is going to continue negotiations russia until it reclaims four hours claimed by japan. the russian president and i reconfirmed the need to resolve the territorial issue last year. we also agreed to continue discussions while respecting

each other. >> noda spoke at an annual rally that calls for the island's return. noda said japan, russia relations are becoming more important with a new government taking office in russia in may. i also said the strategic environment in the asia pacific region is changing. february 7th is northern territories day in japan. japan and russia signed a treaty on this date in 1885 that recognizes the islands as japanese territory. first president, now prime minister. now vladimir putin has his sights set on assuming the presidency once again. putin is running in the presidential election scheduled for march 4th. he has served as prime minister for about four years now, and was president for eight years before that. political analysts say that a putin victory is likely. however, his popularity has suffered in the wake of nationwide protests over suspected corruption during his time in office.

>> reporter: during a recent rally temperatures hovered at minus 20 degrees celsius in central moscow during the day. a symbol of their hoping for a fair election. in the crowd is pietro. he was one of the organizers of the demonstration. his involvement in the protests began after he witnessed people being arrested for openly opposing the government. he also said 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 that the country.

>> reporter: he says his distrust in politics deepened after authorities banned an opposition candidate from running. this is the founder of the 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. [ chanting ] >> reporter: participants in the rally claim that russia's government is trying to exclude liberal politicians from the presidential race in order to smooth putin's reelection. >> translator: i want to see a fair election that brings politics in the reel sense of the word to this country. putin must go. >> reporter: there is no end in sight to the protests against vladimir putin. the prime minister has made some attempts to quell the outpouring of public anger, but opponents aren't satisfied. it remains to be seen how far the protesters will go in the run-up to election day. researchers say they have detected cesium in earth worms. they checked cesium levels at three locations. one sample from a village 30 kilometers from the plant. they detected about 19,000

becquerels of cesium in every kilogram of worms. they took a second sample in otama village. 70 kilometers from the plant. they took a third sample in tadami town, 130 kilometers from the plant. the levels there were about 290 becquerels. the researchers say the levels rise in proportion -- the worms feed on decomposed leaves in the soil. >> translator: i am concerned that earth worms will have an impact on forest animals. he says researchers will need to monitor the impact to prevent contamination throughout the food chain. the number of children and young adults are significantly decreased in the three

prefectures hit by the march 11th disaster. a survey by the education ministry shows that as of may 1st last year, the population in iwate, miyagi and fukushima fell by 10,000 in 2010, and the total is 84,000. fukushima sauce the biggest decrease at 5.8% or more than 17,000. this is followed by a fall of 2.3% in iwate, and 1.7% in miyagi. they say that the nuclear accident at the fukushima daiichi plant is to blame for the number of children in the prefecture. it says smaller children are more vulnerable to radiation and are likely have been sent to other prefectures.

last year's massive earthquake destroyed his long time workplace. he found a new home for brewing his premium products. >> the glittering heart of tokyo. a new sake bar opened here in january. some of the most popular sake at this bar is from the japan sea coast. >> they have excellent rice and water, that's why it makes such great sake. we want as many as possible to try it. >> some of the sake served at the bar comes from this small brewery in the town.

the first step in sake making is to wash the rice. the brew master has been making sake for 37 years. he says the quality of finished sake depends how long the rice soaks in the water. he times each batch precisely. until last year, he worked at a brewery in miyagi prefecture. march 11, he was spreading the steamed rice when the massive earthquake hit. >> i was in the rice culturing chamber. the rice was spilled all over and the steamer was smashed. there was no way we could carry

on. it was a sad day when i was told i'd have to look for another place to make sake. >> he was hired by this brewery and started to work as brew master in november. he has a team of five working with him. fermenting sake has to be kept at the right temperature. if it's not warm enough, the yeast won't produce alcohol. if it gets too warm, the sake's flavor and aroma are effected. they use a metal cylinder filled with hot water to keep the mash at a constant temperature. the sake slowly ferments. finally it is time for the sake to be pressed. he does it the old fashioned way without using a mechanical

press. he has put his whole being into making this premium sake. >> please try it. splendid. with its rounded taste and lingering flavor, it is even better than the brewery owner expected. the sake making season will continue through march. >> mid winter is the peak time for brewing premium sake. there are no days off. but for us, the greatest satisfaction is hearing people say they want to drink sake from our brewery. >> i wouldn't mind trying a glass myself. the premium sake will now be left to fully mature before

going on sale later in the year. connoisseurs abroad will also get to taste this premium sake. there are plans to export it to south korea from the autumn. the rain stopped in tokyo, but the warm spell ended as well. we are dealing with cold weather this morning. sayaka mori joins us with the world weather pictures. >> welcome to your weather update. is we're looking at a typical weather pattern, what that means is very slow temperatures nationwide and snowy weather along the western side. we are expecting more than 20 centimeters from hokkaido all the way down to northern kuju. nigata may be seeing as much as 70 centimeters. the risk of avalanches will become extremely high again.

but the pacific side will stay largely dry here. as for the korean peninsula, snow showers will continue in the southwestern corner of the region. as we pull back, it's mostly dry in china, but snow showers will be moving into inland area in the next 24 hours. down towards the philippines on monday, a deadly earthquake hit the central portions, but it looks like it's going to stay rainy here, so that could trigger further flooding or landslides here. that could worsen the situation. today's highs are looking like this, with lingering showers in seoul, as we mentioned, cooler than yesterday. heading over to the americas, it's mostly dry across the u.s. and canada, but it's a different story for the western areas.

a new pacific system will move into british columbia and the pacific northwest bringing stormy conditions later tonight. across california, it's dealing with torrential rain, but that will move toward the south, so it will turn dry, including the los angeles areas on wednesday. expected highs on wednesday are looking like this, across the eastern seaboard, temperatures are starting to drop into more typical levels. 4 degrees in d.c., the same goes for new york. finally over to europe. the dominant and strong siberian peninsula continuing to cover much of the continent bringing biting cold conditions. it will likely stay here throughout the week, and in fact the cold wave is starting to impact the south. we will show you the figures in just a moment. meanwhile, stormy conditions are continuing in the mediterranean countries. heavy snow in greece and heavy rain in italy. in addition to that, strong

winds and thompls cannot be ruled out. in fact, those conditions will likely stay here throughout the week. and out towards the west, rain in ireland will be moving into scotland on wednesday morning. expected highs are looking like this. right at the freezing point in paris with 0, minus 5 in berlin, minus 13 in moscow, plenty of sunshine here, but again the cold waves are starting to cover the southern areas. 5 degrees in madrid and 6 degrees expected in athens. all right. here's your extended forecast.

our lead story this hour. residents of homs are running and watching as shells reign down on their neighborhoods.

human rights activists report more than 150 people were killed across syria in the past two days. government forces have pounded residential areas of homs. one human rights activist told nhk that stocks of medicines and medical supplies have run out, and doctors are unable to treat the seriously wounded. >> the activist said that many of the victims are women and children. western leaders are focused on another dilemma in the middle east, how to deal with iran. israel is reported to be planning an attack over the iranian nuclear program. u.s. leaders want to weigh in. u.s. secretary of state hillary

clinton met in washington with israeli foreign minister. the meeting carried a serious sub text. "the washington post" reported earlier this month that u.s. defense secretary leon panetta thinks israel may launch an attack within months. president barack obama has expressed his preference for a diplomatic solution. the state department hasn't released many details of the meeting between clinton and lieberman. >> with regard to iran, they talked extensively about the impact that the new sanctions are having and our efforts to work with countries around the world to wean them from iranian oil. >> clinton is believed to have asked lieberman to hold off on any military action. she wants to leave more time for u.s. sanctions to work. that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in

tokyo. do stay with us. back with more updates at the top of the next hour. top of the next hour. see you then. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com