a tale of two irans. the country's government stands strong against international sanctions. as its people begin to feel the bite of the u.s.-led boycott. the sanctions against iran have slowed trade with some of its neighbors. iranian officials say the boycott is not hurting, but the effect is becoming more and more

apparent day-by-day. financial restrictions are hitting iran's central bank which clears import and export payments. trade is being hurt by the central banks of the united arab emirates and qatar. they've told lenders to stop covering iran's lender of credit. iran imports about 30% of rice from india. indian growers are considering halting their exports because they haven't been paid for months. iran has responded to the sanctions by threatening to close the strait of hormuz, a major shipping lane for crude oil. an nhk crew was allowed into a key port on this strait. >> reporter: iranian navy held a major drill in the strait of hormuz from late december to january. iran says it will begin another exercise this month in the same area. across syria lates the strait of

hormuz. a vital intersection for commercial ships coming into and goint of the persian gulf. the military and the irgc have recently staged several maneuvers in this region. we received special permission to report from here. iran is believed to be amassings its forces in the port city to ski the strait. iran's leaders are maintaining a confrontational stance against the west and israel. >> translator: our country has the means to retaliate against sanctions and attacks. >> reporter: iran launched a domestically produced satellite last week prompting concerns that it could soon develop a ballistic missile. but we saw evidence that the sanctions are clearly hurting

iranians. workers say there aren't as many trucks at the port these days as fewer imported goods are being unloaded. >> translator: we had work last year, but very little this year. it's so bad. >> reporter: the people we talked to are worried about their daily lives. sales at this fish market have plunged because of high inflation. shop owners say they can't obtain foreign goods. >> translator: imported goods are too expensive. customers can't afford them. >> translator: the market's not to blame. the government is blame. >> reporter: iranian government

faces a dilemma. as ordinary people begin to feel the impact of western sanctions. >> reporter: syrian government forces continue to shell the city one of the main centers of the protests. human rights activists say at least 100 people were killed on wednesday alone. the activists say some parts are isolated and people have no food, fuel or means of communication. tanks resume attacked on the city on thursday morning. houses were destroyed and many residents were killed. syrian government forces began to intensify their crackdown last week focussing on the outskirts of the capital. the protests are continuing in these areas against the government of president asad. the greek government says it will accept austerity measures that are preconditions to

receive additional financial aid from the european union. greek leaders held meetings against of a meeting with the eu financial ministers. the eu and others have been demanding greece implement austerity measures for up to 130 billion euros. deep cuts to the pentagon budgets are driving the latest developments in the realignment of u.s. forces in japan. the two countries have decided to transfer 4,700 marines from okinawa to guam as a temporary measure pending a full scale relocation of the air station. and u.s. state department spokesperson says a reduction in defense spending is behind the move. >> for some time we have also concurrently been working through the new defense posture as a result of the budget cuts as we seek to settle all of the

okinawa issues, we nonetheless concluded that we could move forward with some aspects of the relocation. >> she also stressed the u.s. still plans to move the marine corp. station to a less densely populated coastal district. she added the u.s. plans to maintain some 10,000 marines in okinawa. on the realignment of american troops in japan, u.s. ambassador told an audience in washington that the sentiment of the people in okinawa was an influence on policy. >> we have a continuing obligation to reduce the impact of our bases in japan. and there is sensitivity particularly in okinawa. the u.s. does have that commitment. it's an ongoing challenge and something we have to continue to focus on. >> meanwhile, diplomatic tensions ran slightly higher earlier this week when the u.s.

sounded out japan about transferring 1 p 300 out of 8,000 marines stationed in okinawa to another station. japan's chief cabinet secretary flatly rejected the u.s. proposal. >> translator: i repeatedly said a transfer there is not a topic for discussion. >> the proposal appears to have rattled the japanese side and show while realignment may be slow, it's anything but steady. the fight of a deputy mayor in central china has fuelled speculations online and rumors of corruption. city officials say he has left his post. they said he's taken time off to recover from overwork and mental stress. he was also the former police chief. there have been reports of him visiting the u.s. consulate on tuesday. that has sparked speculations online. some said he was detained by authorities for corruption.

others said he is seeking asylum at the consulate. the u.s. state department confirmed that he was at the consulate. a spokesperson said he met with staff and left voluntarily. she did not comment on what the meeting was about or his wurnt whereabouts. the scandal could affect his boss. he's seeking to join the communist party's highest ranking. he led efforts to crackdown on criminal gangs in the city. a shanghai party chief was fired on corruption charges ahead of the party convention in 2007. it is believed that a power struggle is behind the scandal. the new zealand government says building -- a building in an earthquake collapse a year ago was sub around the. 150 people died in the wreckage. on february 22nd an earthquake killed 185 people. fatalities in the building collapse included 28 japanese

students of a language school. officials released their report thursday on the 2011 quake. they say that six-story structure did not meet the standard of the day it was built in 1986. they added the building's low beering concrete columns were not sufficiently re-enforced with steel. the government spokesperson says the report has been passed to the police to investigate whether anyone involved in the building's design or construction may be criminally accountable. >> more than 60,000 households were forced to evacuate after the accident at the fukushima daiichi power plant. they eventually received claim forms from the plant's operator, but half of them have sent the forms back. now nearly a year since the accident, the compensation process is being criticized as being ineffective or too slow.

today's nuclear watch focuses on compensation for victims. >> reporter: this man and his family were forced to flee their home soon after the nuclear accident last march. his home is ten kilometers from the disabled plant. before the accident, he spent nearly 400,000 renovating the building. now he can't even visit his home without permission from authorities. >> translator: i love my house, but i'll have to abandon it and move somewhere else soon if i can't cultivate my fields because of radiation. >> reporter: his family received about $44,000 in compensation from tepco. but tepco turned down his request for compensation for his house and land.

>> translator: tepco's compensation policy is so coldhearted. i hate it. >> joining us in the studio is our reporter. he's been covering compensation issues. we'll speak in japanese with simultaneous interpretation. >> translator: why doesn't tepco cover land in buildings and its compensation policy? >> translator: tepco says it's because the japanese government will review the existing evaluation areas one year after the accident. the government is planning to regroup the current evacuation areas according to their levels of radiation into three categories, like the area where residents will be able to return in the near future or the area where they may not be able to return for a long time. the value of real estate would depend on where they're located. tepco is waiting for the outcome of the government review and says it will come up with a

specific standard in april at earliest. >> translator: i imagine everyone who had to flee their homes hope to receive compensation soon so they can get on with their lives. >> translator: the evacuees need a sizable size of money to rebuild their lives. it's natural their demand compensation for house to housing and land. to meet their needs the government has set up a new organization to settle disputes over compensation for nuclear accidents. the lawyers and judges listen to the claims of both victims and tepco and show a settlement plan to both parties from the third party's point of view so that victims can get compensation quickly. the center has already received 800 applications for mediation since last september and the number is increasing. but such mediation has no precedence and is time

consuming. there's only four cases so far where settlements have been reached. initially tepco said it will respect the center's settlement plan, but when the compensation plan for an individual home was shown for the first time last month, it rejected the plan partially. so the process needs to be faster and more effective. >> translator: are there any other complaints about tepco's compensation policy? >> translator: some people decide not to claim damages because if they start new jobs, they get less compensation. this man was running a restaurant which is now a no entry zone. he resumed business last july in a new city where he's taking shelter. he wants to get compensation for lost profits, but he was surprised when tepco told him that the profit he earned with resumed business will be sub strakted from the total amount of compensation.

this makes sense legally, but he can't understand why he gets less compensation if he works more. so he's still hesitant about applying for compensation. >> translator: i think the government wants us to stand on our own feet as soon as possible. but tepco's compensation policy is a complete contradiction. >> translator: the victims were deprived of means of living by the nuclear accident. but some of them decided not to resume their business soon after learning that they would get less compensation if they find new source of income. experts say tepco should not stick to the conventional way of payments in order not to discourage victims. >> translator: i think victims may lose their hope and drive for the future if rebuilding their lives takes too long. >> translator: that's right. tepco should try to understand the situation surrounding the victims and pay out compensation

quickly so that they can get rid of fears and live a normal life again. the government should also come up with more support programs that make it easy for the victims to find new homes and jobs. >> most japanese municipalities that host nuclear plants are cautious about turning the reactors back on. 51 of japan's 54 nuclear reactors are currently out of operation. five of them or 17% say they would give the go ahead for the reactors to resume operation. leaders in 21 others or 72% said they would not or they say they cannot decide. those that express caution say

they cannot be sure whether the reactors are really safe. they cited the difficulty of persuading the residents while the government has yet to decide on its nuclear policy. nhk asked what is needed besides stress tests to restart the reactors. nearly half decided a satisfactory investigation into the accident at the fukushima daiichi power plant and the understanding of the local residents. more than 1/3 of municipalities cited new government safety regulations. local leaders said they're concerned about safety and demanded more government accountability. some of those leaders say the government failed to provide enough information in the hours and days after the accident. they say the media failed them, too. communication experts gathered last week in nagoya japan. a government spokesperson sat among the panelists. we spoke with him about how the government can communicate better. >> translator: we didn't do enough and that led to mistrust in neighboring countries such as

south korea and china. >> reporter: participantsed a the symposium discussed the issue of what information the public should have been given after the march 11th disaster and the way it should have been communicated. the earthquake and tsunami triggered a series of events at the fukushima daiichi power plant. the terrifying images of a nuclear crisis unfolding were immediately seen around the world and international media rushed into japan to see for themselves how serious the situation was. often they were frustrated by the level of information they were given. as the administration's spokesperson, he was put in the hot seat. >> many people in tokyo frankly don't believe the statements that japanese officials are saying.

they feel the statements have been very vague. often contradictory. >> we are trying our best to provide information to the public and we know that this is very important in terms of the accountability of the government. >> reporter: considering the mounting concern about the long-term effects of radiation con tom nation, i asked him whether he thinks the situation should have been handled differently. >> in terms of the status of nuclear reactors, the i think there's good room with improvement in terms of how to facility the understanding of the public about the conditions of a nuclear reactor. in order to win the trust back, we need to base our presentation and explanations based on transparency, accountability, and speedy release of

information. >> reporter: besides responding to individual inquiries, he also provides media briefings for journalists from abroad. he's one of the few officials who can communicate in english for the administration. is it because of the language barrier or is it the communication skills that had been one of the reasons that the government could have lost its trust? >> it is important to have english speakers who could act as spokespersons communicators. the issue on the possible impact on the global image, of course, that could have been, i don't know, better jobs always. and we should not be complacent. this relates to the issue of

having more global human resources in this country. this requires ongoing efforts. >> he says the government could convert fukushima into a human being of energy or medical research. he said that could turn around the crisis into something more positive. next we go to bangkok. >> more than three days after a pourful earthquake hit the southern philippines, thousands of survivors are pleading for food and emergency supplies. the 6.7 magnitude tremor struck on monday. at least 26 people were killed and some 70 others are missing. thousands have been displaced and are forced to live in tents with only limited provisions. >> translator: we don't have food -- we don't have food and

water. with supply roots cut by damaged infrastructure quake hit residents have been appealing for aid including food, water and clean clothes. the devastation is making it difficult for rescue teams to reach the disaster area. soldiers and rescue workers continue to search for survivors. but hopes are fading. turning now to singapore where working level talks on japan's possible bid to join the transpacific partnership took place on friday. it's a regional free trade agreement among nations in the pacific rim including some asean nations. only then could it begin formal talks of entry into the tpp.

senior officials from the japanese government met with singaporean representatives for about three hours. japan explained its policy of trying to boost economic growth through high level cooperation with select countries and regional prudent persons including the tpp. singapore welcomed japan's entry. singapore was a founding member of the tpp. japan has secured the support of four nations including vietnam and brunei since january. it's set to hold consultations with malasia on friday and australia and new zealand later in the month. and that will wrap up our bulletin. >> we have weather up next. welcome back. let's take a look at your weather conditions starting off

with asia. we have a high pressure system dominating much of mongolia and north to northeastern china. much of this high pressure system is where the southern flow surges. we will see showers in southern china continuing and here in central china portion that could be wintry mix. accumulation of snow could actually be as much as five centimeters there. down in the philippines, we're going to be seeing those thundershowers yet again to be prevailing for the next several days. winds are also strong so the coastal areas will see high waves. let's talk about japan for western half of japan has been seeing staggering amounts of snowfall accumulation. this 195 centimeters that's a historical record breaking amount. and down here in sukayu about four meters high. even down in this area two meters and more. unfortunately snowy weather is going to be continuing

especially in one region about 70 centimeters of fresh snow to pile up. the west with the dominant high pressure system moving in from eastern china. we're going to see an area pretty drier and cold. the cold upper air will be persistent. here still remaining very cold and dry, but the temperatures are going to be dipping down also in tokyo friday at 8. seoul at 1. we're seeing manila 31 degrees in the tropics. a pair of 16 in tie pie and hong kong with some showers there. let's move on to the americas. the pacific northwest and british colombia area you're going to see this system bringing you rain, mountain snow and gusty conditions and gusts up to 90 kilometres per hour. the four corners has an upper disturbance that's descending

down into the panhandle of texas and oklahoma. you may see some snow accumulation in and around the texas panhandle area. lingering showers here in northern mexico will be tapering off. let's talk about this cold front that is going to be sagging down from central canada and that is going to be dipping those temperatures down in towards the weekend. weg already at minus 11. oklahoma city you're seeing 11 for thursday. friday that's going to be dipping down to single digits about 9. on the other hand, los angeles look at summerlike weather with 26 degrees. let's head over to europe. lots of casualties and fataliti fatalities. more than 300 caused by this cold, cold weather. this is going to be continuing in much of the country here. a little bit slightly warmer temperature as well as warmer

weather in much of the british isl isles. we have a redeveloping system here in the balkans and italy. ahead of the system is warmer air so the snow that is going to be falling in towards the weekend that's going to becoming sleet or chilly rain towards the end of the weekend. turkey is going to see that lingering storm to move away. athens at 7. we're looking at kiev at minus 15. moscow minus 16 for the high on friday. we're looking at lisbon at 15 degrees for the high on your friday. here's the extended forecast.

the greek government says it will accept austerity measures that are preconditions to receive additional financial aid from the european unions and oers. greek rulers held talks on the meeting ahead of the eu financial ministers. the eu will discuss additional financial assistance for greece. the eu and others have been demanding greece implement austerity measures as a precondition for about $170 billion in financial support. 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.

. .