in a fog. u.n. inspectors wrap up a visit to iran with little progress in the standoff over the country's nuclear program. international inspectors have returned from iran with little to show. a team from the international atomic energy agency tried to figure out what tehran igs doing with its nuclear program, but they say they didn't get much cooperation. we have a report from tehran. >> reporter: the team led by the deputy director general concluded a two day tour on tuesday. this was the team's second trip to iran in a month. the iaea raised the suspicion in the november report that iran carried out tests and simulations to develop nuclear weapons. the team is believed to have asked to visit nuclear facilities, but the iranian

envoy to the iaea told reporters that the second round of talks had ended and the two sides will continue consultations. >> translator: the purpose of the iaea visit is not about nuclear facilities but to discuss cooperation between iran and the iaea. >> they said they denied access to the facilities. but iran has shown willingness to resume talks with the united states and five other countries that have been suspended for a year. foreign minister said tuesday that iran will soon be able to announce a schedule and location of a new round of talks with western nations.

workers at the fukushima daiichi power plant are trying something new to prevent the spread of radioactive materials. tokyo electric power company will start cementing the seabed near the plant during the day. extremely high levels of radioactive cesium have been detected in the area. nuclear fuel rolls melted down. contaminated water then leaked into the sea. ships are expected to retrieve the fuel rods and other debris from the plant within a few years. many worry the vessels will stir up the contaminated sand. workers plan to start pouring seem and clay over an area near the water intakes of all six of the plant's reactors. the seabed is about 6 meters deep. spokespersons say a layer of cement will prevent the spread of contaminated mud and sand for about 50 years. workers will begin full-scale application of the cement later in the month.

they hope to complete the task by summer. japan will host an international conversation in july to share the lessons from the march 11th disaster. the city of sendai will be the main venue for the two-day ministerial level conference. the united nations and the world bank will offer their cooperation. some of the sessions will be held in two other disaster-hit prefectures. fukushima and iwate. the government will invite representatives from countries that experienced disasters, including thailand, indonesia, and haiti. from the march disaster and rescue efforts. 9 participants will discuss recovery and reconstruction efforts, as well as prevention and mitigation. they will also be given tours of the disaster-hit region. the government plans to use the results of the discussions for a u.n. meeting on disaster

prevention planned for 2015. parents in fukushima prefecture now can monitor in real time radiation levels at schools, parks and other places frequently visited by their children. the education ministry launched the system for sharing data from 2,700 monitoring sites on its website. users can choose a place on a map and check the latest radiation levels there. choosing fukushima city brings up a list of 368 monitoring sites and their current readings. the system can also show average radiation levels at ten-minute intervals and graphs showing changes at radiation at sites. lithuanian prime minister andrews cobeal us has expressed hopes for an early agreement to build a nuclear power plant in his country. lithuania plans to become self sufficient in power supply. prime minister kubilias talked

about the country's situation in an interview with nhk in tokyo. >> we are coming to the final concession agreement, which will give license to hitachi company to build the nuclear power station. >> he voiced his hope to reach a basic agreement with hitachi in the first half of this year and get approval of lithuanian parliament. touching on the fukushima daiichi accident last year, he says he's certainly that nuclear technology will become safer as people learn. after the european union had pointed to possible danger. lithuania now plans to build a new nuclear power plant over the next eight years near the old facility.

"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 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." it is a level we haven't seen since the turmoil recently. overnight, the dow-jones hit 13,000 for the first time since may, 2008. shares rose across the board tuesday after the eurozone finance ministers approved a bailout for greece saving them from imminent default. the dow lost earlier gains

before closing on worries over rising oil prices. the index ended at 12,965, up 15 points from friday's close. and now to see how stocks are trading in tokyo, let's go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. the dow broke 13,000 at one point. what's the early impact on japanese stocks? >> very good morning to you, ai. as you mention, the crucial 13,000 level on the dow, interesting to see if we continue above that, but let's go to opening levels for the nikkei and topix, see if there's any positive momentum. we can see there's slight positive momentum. both in techses trading higher. the nikkei ended lower yesterday on a little profit taking after the day before closed at the highest since august, last year. obviously a lot of focus has been on weaker yen in the last couple weeks, losing some ground in a little bit of reshuffling of asset allocation by investors

from relative safety of the yen and dollar. that follows stronger hopes of recovery in the u.s. economy, following some of the economic data we had, and also a little hope on fuller resolution to greece's debt problems. let's have a look at currency levels this wednesday morning. just looking at dollar yen, euro yen, yen is still weak there at the upper 79 yen level against the dollar, and 105. actually touched 106 yen at one point, euro yen. it backed off a touch. it is mid 105 levels. investors are a little cautious as to the full outcome of the greece second bailout package hammered out earlier this week. greece is coming up with elections in april, and some worries there about the new government also pulling through on the resolutions. ai? >> and about exporters, ramin, one thing that stood out in trade deficit numbers for japan the other day was a dip in

exports to china. >> exactly. that's a little focus point as well. japan had the worst drop in exports to china since 2009, around 20% drop. also the follow through on that was drop in china's exports to eurozone countries because of the crisis going on there. a lot of japanese manufacturers selling to china were hurt because of that. a bit of a domino effect there, and that's what a lot of economists are focusing on now as well, apart from other things. >> so i guess a lot of focus if february numbers show rebound in exports. >> because of the lunar new year holiday in other countries, february numbers may show improvement. the u.s. economy indicators show signs of recovery, and of course, high demand for japanese autos, high tech components and parts. that's crucial.

the march 11 disaster and disruptions, they see japan returning to trade surplus in 2012 when the sectors return to normalcy. very quickly, wti crude oil prices surged overnight in new york. wanted to touch on that, have a look at that. we will be looking at energy related stocks as well. so that's on a little bit of a geo-political tensions developing in iran. quite a lot on the plate for investors with greece and the yen and as well as some of the geo-political tensions. ai, back to you. >> wti above -- closer to 106 a barrel. we will keep an eye on that as well. ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. the european union's 27 member nations have agreed to tighten oversight of budgets to keep the debt crisis from

escalating. that was after another bailout for greece was approved. the new pressure attempts to stop nations from breaching the limit of budget deficits of 3% of gross domestic product. it will apply to countries receiving eu financial aid. the measure means governments will be required to submit draft boughts to e, before they are approved. they will screen the budgets and can request revisions. they hope to reduce regulations in june after winning approval from european parliament. tokyo markets are up. south korea also just opened. let's look at that.

more business news next hour. pakistan's foreign minister is on a mission to repair ties with the u.s. there's own talk of a meeting thursday with secretary of state hillary clinton. u.s. forces mistakenly killed pakistani soldiers in november in air strikes on the border with afghanistan. the repercussions of that attack are still felt throughout the region. >> reporter: it was the worst setback for relations between the two allies. on november 26th, u.s. fighter jets and helicopters stationed in afghanistan mistakenly attack two pakistani checkpoints along the border. the attacks left as many as 24

soldiers dead. pakistan wants to stop convoys from crossing into afghanistan. more than 6,000 trucks and trailers used to trm transport replies and -- in afghanistan are parked here. the built-up of these supply trucks began just under three months. now there are so many trucks they are spilling over from the port area. >> translator: the trucks parked in the residential area could accidentally catch fire. they are unsafe, very dangerous, belong blocking the streets and the nuisance.

>> reporter: until the attacks, troops from pakistan were delivering nearly half of the supplies used be nato forces in afghanistan. certainly the u.s. had no choice but to bring in more by lane from uzbek stack and pakistan and by air. this reportedly pushed up the cost of delivery by as much as six times. the u.s. has been urging pakistan to reopen its borders. pakistan's bus sector is also expressing concern about the long-term effects. >> translator: the transport blockade may be sending out an important message to pakistan politically, but economically the loss is huge. >> reporter: while government and business leaders try to resolve the problem, thousands of truck drivers remain stranded. mohammed abraham says he's frustrated at the handling of the situation.

he calls his family back home, as he considers his options. >> translator: we're already in heavy debt, but i want you to ask someone to lend us some money. we can pay it back as soon as the supply route reopens. >> translator: i can't work so we have to borrow money just to buy food. if the route is not reopened, the government must find a way for us to feed our families. >> reporter: the pakistani government is considering lifting the transportation ban, but also imposing a toll. however, anger and anti-u.s. sentiment remains high.

a south korean foreign ministry spokesperson says diplomats will raise the issue in geneva at a meeting of the u.n. human rights council. they're asking china to treat defectors humanely. many are concerned about the polite of defectors. 23,000 that fled the north now call the south home. about 50 north korean defectors and supporters held a rally tuesday outside the chinese embassy in seoul. they demanded that china stop the deportations. the protests said if they're sent back, they will be killed along with their families. chinese authorities maintained that defectors are illegal immigrants and not refugees. north korea's nuclear envoy arrived in china for talks with

the united states. it's the first time the two sides are meeting about the north's nuclear program since the death of former leader kim john-il in december. the vice foreign minister arrived in beijing tuesday. he did not speak with reporters. he will meet the u.s. special envoy for north korean policy. attention is focused on whether the north's nuclear stance changed under the new leader, kim jong-un. there's also speculation about whether north korea will comply with the u.s. demand to stop its uranium enrichment program in exchange for food aid. japan and australia held the first meeting about whether japan should join talks on the trans-pacific partnership free trade agreement. government officials from the two countries met tuesday. australian officials say they welcome the start of japan's consultations for joining the

talks, but they stopped short of expressing support for japan actually participating in the free trade negotiations. they stressed that a prins well is all are tariff free, including farm products. they are continuing discussions on the requirements japan must fulfill to join the talks. six out of nine countries already in the negotiations have so far expressed support for japan's participation. the british royal family is celebrating a milestone. the diamond jubilee of queen elizabeth. february 6th was the 60th anniversary of her taking the throne. they plan many celebrations later this year. japan like the rest of the world will be following closely. we have a report from london. >> reporter: 60 years on the throne.

the date of her ak session is also the anniversary of her father, king george vith. there were no major celebrations. instead, she visited a local school. queen elizabeth ii came to the throne in 1952. only one previous british monarch reigned longer than her, queen victoria whose name is synonymous with the hey day of the british empire. at 85, queen elizabeth is the oldest ruler in british history. with her health still strong, there has been no let up in a busy schedule of royal duties. there's a growing mood of jubilation in britain.

ahead of festivities in june. many mow men tows are already on sale, including photo books of the queen and newly minted medallions. >> proud that she's lived that long. i'm quite happy about it. >> i like the queen. i think she does a lot for the country. i like the monarchy as well. i support it definitely. >> hello. >> terry hut is a major fan of the royal family. he lives outside cambridge. he made numerous trips to events attended by the queen. a photo of him presenting her with a bouquet was included in the popular book of royal photographs. for heart, the chance to be in the crowd and address the queen directly is one of his most

treasured memories. he came to celebrate her 60 year reign. it is a big event this year, special event. i am looking forward to it. >> a four day holiday has been declared for early june, with celebrations planned across the whole country. one event will be held in the middle of london on the river thames. 1,000 boats will gather for a procession down the river, with queen elizabeth traveling on the royal barge. her long standing devotion to her duties has won her the support and the respect of people in britain. >> it's a chance for them also to look back over the last 60 years and to celebrate where we are today and to wave the flag and to cheer not only the queen but also be proud of being

british. >> as britain gears up for this historic occasion, people around the world and in japan will be following the events with interest. toru goto, nhk world, london. >> big year for britain indeed. just when things were ing up in tokyo, it is feeling cool this morning. >> yes, it was quite warm yet here in tokyo. it's about 13 degrees. today it's going to drop down to the single digits, but at least sunny skies will continue. however, things will change. we've got a frontal line producing thundershowers and gusty winds in western japan, up to 100 millimeters of rainfall is in the forecast witness the next 24 hours. that will move towards the east and affect the kanto region. it will impact it by tomorrow morning. meanwhile, the same system will

continue to produce light to moderate precipitation in southern china. down toward southeast asia, a tropical depression has brought a lot of rain in south vietnam, but it looks like it would get drier here. getting up to 20 degrees in hong kong with light showers and heating -- and drop to 9 degrees in tokyo. heading over to the americas it is mostly dry and settled across much of the southern u.s., but there are a few storms to the north, slow-moving low pressure system is moving into british columbia and the pacific northwest and northern rockies bringing windy and snowy conditions. mountain areas could be seeing a huge amount of snow, but the exception is western washington

where we're looking at flooding rain, rather than snow. that could lead to avalanches. as i said, it is a very slow moving system, so the stormy conditions will continue into wednesday night. then we've got another system moving across the great lakes that will produce a wintry mix in quebec and new england wednesday. down towards the south, showers will develop in the appalachians and tennessee valley wednesday. the exceptional warmth will continue in many locations, getting up to 14 degrees in new york, 10 degrees higher than average, and getting up to 22 in oklahoma city, 16 degrees expected in denver, with partly sunny skies. finally let's go over to europe. active front is moving through the british isles, bringing strong winds and heavy rain. in scotland gusts exceeded 100 kilometers per hour. the system will continue to move eastward, so much of the

scandinavian reasoning and and baltic states will start to see slushy and windy conditions wednesday. down toward the south, stable conditions continue through the mediterranean. things moderate thursday here. getting warmer in many places, getting up to 10 degrees in paris, 10 degrees in berlin, and slightly warmer than average in moscow with minus 1. temperatures will get even warmer as we head into the weekend. all right. here is your extended forecast.

our lead story this hour, workers at the fukushima daiichi power plant are trying something new to prevent the spread of radioactive teared. tokyo electric power company will start cementing the sea bed near the plant during the day. extremely high levels of radioactive cesium have been detected in the area. nuclear fuel rods in three of the plant's reactors melted down. contaminated water then leaked into the sea. ships are expected to retrieve the fuel rods and other debris from the plant within a few years. many worry the vessels will stir

up the contaminated sand. workers plan to start pouring cement and clay over 70,000 square feet area near water in takes of all six reactors. the sea bed is about six meters deep. spokespersons say a layer of cement on the sea bed will prevent the spread of contaminated mud and sand for about 50 years. workers will begin full scale application of the cement later in the month and hope to complete that task by summer. that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com