seek financial support. eu officials are asking the world's second largest economy for help in rebuilding a region. european council president and european commission president met chinese premier on tuesday. they didn't quite get a clear commitment from china. the eu asked china to hope boost the financial base of the european financial stability and the international monetary fund. china expressed willingness to

continue talks with terks. this is because china's exports have been falling and the economy is slowing down due to the debt problems in the euro zone, is largest trade partner for china. >> translator: china is preparing to support the european union. we will cooperate with them and hold dialogue. >> we welcome the positive attitude and engagement china and premier have taken publicly towards the stability of the euro zone and the european union. >> china's believed likely to continue discussing cautiously when and how it can support the eu in view of the strong opposition back in the country against providing support for europe. japan central bank has decided to step up monetary easing to boost the economy. the decision comes after the country gdp shrank in

october-december period due to europe's credit problems and the strong yen. the bank of japan made the announcement after a two-day policy meeting that ended on tuesday. the bank says that japan's economic activity has been more or less flat. mainly due to a slow down in overseas economies and the appreciation of the yen. it says european debt problems continue to pose considerable risks for the japanese economy. the bank will aim for annual increase of 1% in consumer prices to tackle prolonged deflation. it will enhance its asset purchase program to inject more funds into the market. specifically the central bank will increase the buying of bonds from financial institutions by over 18% toward an $830 billion. these actions are timed to coincide with an expected rise in reconstruction related demand after last march's earthquake and tsunami. the latest move is the bank of japan's first credit easing measures since october last year. the boj governor told a news

conference that the central bank made the decision to make the anti-defligs their stance clear. >> translator: we have decided to make clear our policy to end deflation and achieve sustainable growth with price stability and further relax our monetary policy to fulfill that goal. the bank will continue to pursue the powerful easing policy. >> japan's finance minister says the government welcomes boj's decision as representing aggressive steps to pull the country out of deplags. >> translator: we hope the boj will continue to take appropriate and aggressive measures to prop up the country's economy while keeping in close touch with the government.

>> for analysis on today's boj announcement we spoke to chief economist at rbs securities japan. >> the boj today unexpectedly expanded its easing monetary policy by expanding the size of the asset purchase program. the market reacted very positively. i mean that the boj yield declined across the curve. something seems odd for us is the timing of the decision by the boj. at the boj has tried to avoid market speculations that the brks oj policy stance changes subject to other bank policy rates so far. today's decision could make market participants hard to -- in addition the background to add the buying within the program is also inexexplainable. we think today's boj decision basically tried to show the boj's proactive action against

any negative shock possibly coming from overseas market. >> another search operation has gotten underway in another city in northern japan. unlike other searches this one is especially grim as this one includes elementary school children. it is the first time such an intensive search has been carried out. the search was organized after the parents of four missing children made the request. a squad of heavy machinery moved into action on tuesday to remove debris. the river had been dammed more than a kilometer upstream and drained of water. 70 pupils died in the disaster. four are still listed as missing along with 40 other civilians. >> translator: we hope to find even a small clue of the missing people to return to their long

waiting families. >> the search will continue about ten days. >> u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton says she will attend the first meeting of friends of syria, a broad coalition against the syrian government. the meeting will take place in tunisia next week. >> we stand with the syrian people and we are looking for a peaceful resolution. >> clinton told reporters on monday that the u.s. is considering how best to support dmok ritization in syria. all of them agree that president asad should step down. clinton also said the u.s. is increasing its funding of red cross and grassroots groups operating in syria. the arab league has proposed asking the u.n. security council to send a joint team of peacekeepers to syria. clinton said gaining consensus

for such a plan would be difficult. next we go to bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >> three explosions rocked thailand's capital on tuesday injuring at least five people. one blast detonated at a home in a packed residential district. three men are renting the house fled after the explosion. two of them escaped. the other was seen flagging down a taxi. he was carrying several large bags. a taxi driver at the scene says the man then threw an explosive in front of his car before running off injuring the driver slightly. police tried to move in and arrest the man. he then attempted to throw an explosive at them, but it detonated prematurely and cut off at least one of his legs. >> irheard a big bang and then our shop window was broken. when i looked down, i saw a man down on the ground by the phone booth. >> the blast also damaged

buildings nearby. the three men are believed to be iranians. officials also discovered what are believed to be multiple bombs in the rented house. authorities are still trying to determine the cause of the violence. next an update on the explosion in new delhi. indian police suspect it was a terrorist attack. the search for clues of behind who was the blast continues. >> reporter: india tightened security in the capital one day after israeli diplomat was targeted. the explosion occurred on monday afternoon outside the israeli embassy. the wife of a defense attache was among four people hurt. the incident took place about 500 meters from the residence of

the indian prime minister. the area is home to many politicians and has a high security presence. the minister told reporters investigators were working on the assumption it was a terror attack. witnesses saw a motorcyclist attach a device to the vehicle. >> it was magnetic or some other ways. it was a stick to the rear side of the vehicle. and soon thereafter, there was some mild explosion and car caught fire. >> reporter: meanwhile, the foreign ministry said on monday another bomb was found in a car belonging to an embassy employ. >> we know who does it. iran is not only building a bomb and threatening to destroy our people. iran, the government of iran is

today the center headquarter of terror. >> reporter: terrain denied involvement in the attacks. israeli officials have warned their embassies around the world to take extra precautions and told to stop traveling by car. >> and that's it for now. alternative energy supplies have been drawing attention since last year's nuclear crisis in fukushima. japan's environment ministry has now come one a plan to conditionally allow geothermal power generation in national parks. japan is thought to have the world's third largest geothermal resources following the united states and indonesia. this is because of the country's widespread volcanic activity. but development of the resources is lagging. 80% of them lie in national

parks where development is restricted. the plan compiled on tuesday says a 1974 directive to erestricting development in parks should be abolished. the ministry proposes that the construction of wells to draw underground steam should be allowed if pipelines are inserted from outside the parks. the panel added the projects should not damage natural scenery. but some critics say the moves goes too far. >> translator: power generation is important, of course. but that doesn't mean we should destroy the national treasures that occupy only 9% of our land. >> the environment ministry will use the panel's recommendations for a new policy on geothermal power development by tp end of next month. japanese researchers say the effects of global warming on the world's oceans can now be seen at a depth of up to 00 meters.

the researchers say that's because more than half of the heat energy generated by global warming has settled in the oceans. japan's agency has analyzed data from around the world to study long-term changes brought about by global warming. the agency found that in the past 60 years ocean temperatures have risen roughly 0.15 degrees on average to a depth of 700 meters. the figure represents a rise of 0.02 degrees per decade. according to a u.n. panel on climate change, higher oceanic temperatures cause sea levels to rise as water expands in addition to melting glaciers. the agency plans to team up with researchers around the world to study the impact of warmer sea on the marine ecosystem. ping and many others believe he will be the next man to lead china. the chinese vice president has arrived in the u.s. capital at the start of a five-day visit in

the u.s. he will meet with president obama obama and senior government officials. the visit will give americans a chance to learn more about a man who remains somewhat of a mystery. >> reporter: ping is trying to raise his profile on one of the best stages in international politics. he has visited dozens of countries since he became vice president in 2008. he's taken tours through asia, europe, the middle east and africa. now he's wearing the mantle of statesman on a visit to the u.s. capital. >> translator: china and the united states are playing more important roles for the world's peace and stability. >> reporter: still the two powers don't always get along. chinese government leader sees the trip as an opportunity to

change that. >> translator: xi's visit to the u.s. gives us a precious opportunity to advance the mutual trust. >> reporter: chinese president visited the u.s. a decade ago before he became leader he too wanted to raise his profile. he dined with politicians and leaders. xi learned some lessons from that trip. he returned to iowa, a state he visited 27 years ago. here he reconnected with people he met at the time. xi wants to create an ambience of friendship. >> translator: china hopes xi's visit will dismantle a kind of distorted image of china that the u.s. media has built. >> reporter: xi may have a tough time doing that. organizers have restricted access to the media and no press conferences are planned.

>> about 250 tibetans took to the streets in washington. they criticized the chinese government for its crackdown on ethnic tibetans. the demonstrators marched to the white house. they shouted anti-china slogans on the called on the president to express his support for tibet. >> i want president obama to know that he should seize this historic opportunity to put the strongest pressure on jingping to stop the atrocities in tibet. >> people in ethnic tibetan regions have died in clashes with police. monks have burned themselves to death in protest. another opponent of china's government says president obama should pressure xi over the detention of prodemocracy activists. a dissident writer is seek political asylum in the united

states. >> translator: a peace prize laureate himself, president obama should press vice president xi to release prodemocracy activists. >> he says chi that's communist party has stepped up oppression of prodemocracy dissidents before the change in leadership later this year. he says the u.s. treats human rights issues in china too lightly and recognizes its one party rule in order to maintain stable trade. a territorial dispute between japan and russia has been simmering for decades. the two sides have been engaged in negotiations over four islands off of japan. a a solution is hard to come by. and now russia has asked other countries to participate in economic activities on the

islands. >> reporter: the four islands, are close to japan's northern prefecture of hokkaido. they are surround by rich fishing grounds. soviet forces took control of the islands soon after the end of world war ii. japan renounced control of the kuril islands in the 1951 san francisco peace treaty. but tokyo insists there was no agreement to surrender the four disputed islands. russia has moved to strengthen the territorial claim in recent years in. 2010 president med yef became the first russian leader to set foot on the islands. four months later, russian authorities held a seminar in beijing to attract investment in the islands. chinese companies were urged to take part in developing natural resources and construction projects. four months later, a company on the island was given permits to hire chinese farm workers.

they are growing potatoes and carrots. more foreign labor arrived in december. russian authorities gave a firm to hire north korean workers. the firm has a government contract to build houses and fire stations. >> first of all, why is the russian government encouraging outside investment in the disputed islands? >> moscow want to improve people's living standards on the islands. and a key priority for that is improving roads, buildings and other infrastructure. the program is there's a shortage of labor. the solution is to invite foreign investments. authorities asked china and north korea to supply manpower and technology. both countries have shown

interest. and for north korea workers are an important source of foreign currency. >> how is the japanese government responding to these moves? >> japan is opposed to investment by some countries because it could be seen as legitimizing russia's claim of sovereignty before sounding out china and north korea, russia invited japan to jointly develop the islands. our japanese expat in russia explains why tokyo is weary of this idea. >> translator: russia will go ahead and develop the disputed islands. even if japan refuses to cooperate. the problem is that russian authorities propose that joint development be carried out under russian law. if japan invests in the disputed islands under russian control,

it means that japan is rejit miezing russian sovereignty and that puts japan in a difficult position. >> so the stand off continues. what lies ahead? and is there anywhere around this impasse? >> it will get harder and harder to discuss the issue if russia continues to boost its control over the islands. japan and russia have both said they want to create the right environment for a solution, but they are not even close. russia plans to beef up its military forces on the islands. moscow is concerned about china's naval expansion and the new u.s. defense strategy focussing on the asia pacific region. this arms build up could trigger tensions with a neighboring countries. so the international community needs to keep a close eye on

russia's movements on the islands. >> time to check out some of the stories we gathered from broadcasters from asia. we're going to begin tonight with this item sent by tvm macau. police in macau raided an upscale hotel after receiving a tip that a criminal ring was operating a fake casino. 60 men and women were arrested. all except one are from mainland china. more than $12 million of fake casino chips were recovered. police say the group rented rooms at expensive hotels and turned them into gambling dens targeting customers from mainland. gamblers were drugged with tran quillizers. some are said to have lost hundreds of thousands of

dollars. malaysian state owned oil company have discovered two major gas deposits in the south china sea. it made the finds last september and november. the first well was discovered after drilling to a depth of 3,200 meters. they say it contains about five trillion cubic feet of gas. the other well was found about 17 kilometers away at a depth of 3,800 meters. indications are that it contains about 450 billion cubic feet of gas. the company plans to conduct drilling 30 more wells in 2012. people across thailand celebrated valentine's day. the day of love on tuesday. a large number of couples flocked to a district office in bangkok to register their marriages. for the first time the office hosted a traditional wedding ceremony. a northern city held a mass wedding for 14 couples. the ceremony was followed by a parade and the newlyweds.

the prime minister called on all thais to love their compatriots not only on the day of love, but every day. >> we have weather up next. >> hi and welcome back. here in asia winter pattern looks like it's going to be on its baby thursday. as for wednesday, we're going to be looking at very wet weather persistent against much of the western half of the portion. here in hokkaido a low pressure system bringing in snowy conditions. blizzard like conditions will set a significant stage for travel disturbances. a pacific side will be remaining pretty sunny and the weather -- temperature is going to be much warmer. we'll take a look at temperatures a little later on.

this is another very different story here in the philippines with chances of thunderstorms with lots of well developed thunderclouds over head. and we've got low pressure system that's a very active one that could dump a lot of coastal heavy rain. manila at 31 degrees. hong kong 22. not too bad there. and not bad at all here in tokyo as well. reaching up to 13 degrees. that's spring like weather and we're going to be seeing some sunny spells so let's enjoy those until we can. now here in europe same old story with that frigid arctic air that has been leaving more than 600 fatalities in all of europe since the coal snap has started. weatherwise this winter storm it's going to be bringing all these wet weather down in

towards central portions of the european continent now and poland will be seeing some accumulation up to about 12 centimeters and in austria up to 40 centimeters of white stuff will be piling up there. now in romania the cold wave, the peak of it is going to be tomorrow. let's take a look at some of these pictures coming out from romania. this is a specific vehicle cleaning the street covered with snow. heaviest snowfall across eastern europe cut off hundreds of villages on monday. rescue teams struggled to evacuate people. the cold has killed more than 600 people. but the death toll just in romania only well over 70. these people are pushing cars here. looks like there is a lot of travel disturbances and road closures. arctic blast is still here on tuesday. this is where the jet stream is. portugal looking pretty nice. on friday looking much better.

still eastern europe will be looking at very cold temperatures. here in france pretty much the whole of the country is going to be on the other side of the jet stream that means finally putting an end to about 20 days of lower than average temperatures. finally hitting above average at 9 degrees on our wednesday. we're taking a look at the temperatures here in europe. moscow ie nus 3. that's much better than what we've been seeing in the past week. lisbon staying in the double digits at 14 degrees. i'll leave you now for your three-day forecast.

that's our broadcast this hour on "newsline." we'll be back with more news in half an hour. thank you for watching. bye-bye. . .