warning from israel. >> nuclear armed iran must be stopped. >> the prime minister says time is running out so all options should be on the table. this is "newsline." israel's leader says his people can't live in what he calls the shadow of aniluation. the president wants to stop iran

from kwopg its nuclear program. but he says he cannot give talk more time before taking action. he spoke in washington at a proisrael conference. his country has threatened to launch a preemptive stroik on iran's nuclear facilities. >> we've waited for diplomacy to work. we've waited for sanctions to work. none of us can afford to wait much longer. >> he referred to concerns an attack on iran would result in a more unstable situation in the mideast and higher oil prices. he said it's time to start talking about the danger of not stopping the country's nuclear program. >> for the sake of our prosperity, for the sake of our security, for the sake of our children, iran must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. >> he explained his country's position to barack obama. the u.s. president is trying to convince the israeli prime

minister to take his finger off the trigger. we have more from washington. >> reporter: israel has been fighting with arab neighbors since the country was founded. the israeli people have a strong resolve. they want to defend their homeland without relying on others. in the past, israel has attacked nuclear facilities in iraq and syria. israeli leaders wanted to prevent their neighbors from developing nuclear weapons. president obama has been frustrated in his efforts to press iranian leaders into abandoning their nuclear ambitio ambitions. the prime minister is getting impatient. obama is trying to dissuade him not to rush for the military option. officials in the obama administration are concerned that military tensions between israel and iran will spread

throughout the mideast. they are concerned that the uncertainty will push up oil prices even farther. and they fear that will hamper the u.s. and other economies as they recover from the downturn. president obama is keen to bring about some stability to the region before the u.s. presidential election this fall. >> it's the single biggest day of the u.s. republican presidential campaign. super tuesday. voting has just begin gun in the southern state of georgia. states go to the polls to decide which candidate they want to take on president obama in november's presidential election. in ohio a crucial battle ground state latest polls show former massachusetts governor mitt romney and former senator rick santorum neck in neck. romney has a big lead in a number of delegates obtained in

primaries and caucuses so far thanks to deep pockets and campaign machine. but he has been unable to take a commanding lead. last week he managed a narrow victory over santorum in his home state of michigan. about 0% of all delegates will be at stake in the supertuesday contests. rick santorum is posing a big threat to romney in conservative stronghold states such as tennessee. the recent standoff between the catholic church and the obama administration over the birth control policy seems to be working to santorum's advantage. >> reporter: rick santorum is gaining ground and momentum in conservative areas across america. he claims the obama administration is limbing the freedom guaranteed to citizens by the u.s. constitution. >> we can't give it away because we go to the heart of whether --

>> reporter: last month president obama announced a federal policy that requires employer health insurance plans to offer free coverage of contraceptive services for women. >> when it comes to women preventive care should include coverage of contraceptive services such as birth control. that free preventive karin clouds access to free contraceptive care. >> reporter: if and when the administration's policy comes into effect in august 2013, all women will have access to contraceptive services free of charge. clinics specializing in women's health such as planned parenthood welcome his move. they say it will benefit all women and especially those who couldn't otherwise afford to pay. >> we think that's a major step forward for women. president obama and his administration has been very, very supportive of women's health care and access to affordable health care services.

>> reporter: the announcement drew angry criticisms from the catholic church. the church rejects sterilization, abortion and contraception, the federal policy will apply to catholic hospitals and institutions as well. 180 catholic bishops across america wrote an open letter in protest to president obama's federal mandate. they say that it violates religious believes and is country to the very core of the church's principals. >> his administration is issuing a mandate that catholic institutions provide coverage for either prescriptions or procedures which might directly attack the sanctity of life. it's unacceptable to us. >> reporter: santorum a devout catholic has consistently demonstrated his pro-life position throughout his

political career. a long time anti-abortion activist, he championed the ban on partial birth abortion during his time in the u.s. senate. santorum now says that obama is waging a war against religious liberty. >> they're going to force people of faith to adopt their secular values. never before in the history of this country have we seen anything like this. >> reporter: and santorum's message is resonating with social conservatives. this moon a catholic resident of tennessee recently joined in on a prayer protest in front of an abortion clinic for the very first time. he says he used to support romney, but has now decided to vote for santorum as he sees more of his own values reflected in the candidate. >> he speaks about issues that haven't been spoken about for a long time in this country.

and that he's got a wonderful message and we're behind him. >> reporter: santorum is campaigning hard with phone bank volunteers making thousands of household calls daily. enthusiastic supporters vture out to knock on doors. in contrast to the well funded romney camp, this campaign is a focused grassroots effort. how far will support for santorum reach and threaten romney's chances at a win is yet to be seen on supertuesday. next we go to bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >> we start in afghanistan. two civilians have died in an attack outside the base where two weeks ago u.s. troops burned korans. the taliban has claimed responsibility saying it was

revenge. a suicide bomber detonated explosives at the airfield outside kabul monday evening. an afghan official said at least two civilians died and four others were injured. a taliban spokesperson said the attack was revenge for the burning of islam's holy book. that incident caused uproar in afghanistan. the united states said it was unintentional and apologized. but that hasn't stopped violent protests that have so far killed more than 30 people and wounded hundreds more. >> next to thailand where a symbolic stage of recovery has been reached after last year's devastating floods.

bangkok's airport finally re-opened on tuesday four months after rising waters forced it to close. >> reporter: political leaders and senior officials attended a ceremony on monday. they watched aircraft making use of the renovated airport one day before it starts operating again. the airport was shut down after its taxi ways were submerged last october. it was used for a time as the nation's flood relief operation center. it was also one of the biggest evacuation centers for flood

victims. as waters kept rising, the authorities were forced to relocate 4,000 evacuees to a new center outside the capital. the government was criticized for not realizing the severity of the crisis. the prime minister is visiting japan on tuesday and will meet her japanese counterpart. she plans to explain thailand's new water management policies. bringing back international confidence is critical for thailand in order to maintain its place as manufacturing hub of southeast asia. >> turning now to vietnam where terrible traffic is one negative side effect of the booming economy. dangerous driving and chronic delays make getting around a chore. but that hasn't deterred one

japanese delivery company from trying its luck. >> reporter: this company launched door-to-door deliveries in vietnam on march 1st. it's one of japan's major transport companies. it's now operating in hanoi and the business hub. it plans to expand farther. but it needs to be smart because transport in vietnam is different from its home market. in vietnam people use motor bikes more often than cars for getting around. so for the delivery service this kind of motor bike will be its main means of transportation. there are around 33 million motorcycles on the roads of

vietnam. about one in every two adults uses them to get around. they use them to transport anything humanly possible. but upgrades to infrastructure aren't keeping up with economic growth. on the roads, many intersections have no traffic lights. where they do exist, many drivers ignore them. more than 10,000 people die in traffic accidents every year. it's a challenge for the company to execute deliveries safely and on time. the company educates drivers to put safety first. >> translator: i need to be careful because we have to be safe not just for ourselves, but for our customers' goods, too. >> reporter: the lack of traffic lights is not the only problem.

parking lots are also in short supply. most drivers park on the edge of the street. it's almost impossible for the drivers to find short-term park aing. so it has staffed each vehicle with two people. one keeps driving while the other makes the delivery. costs are doubled, but there's no other way. the company believes it's worth the extra effort to get a piece of this growing market. it also took into account the increasing number of japanese businesses moving production to vietnam. >> translator: vietnam has a lot of room for mail order services to expand. this will definitely push up demand for door-to-door

deliveries. >> reporter: as the japanese market shrinks, booming vietnam is attractive for delivery companies. it's hoping to take the punch chal service at home and deliver it to this exciting new frontier. >> that wraps up our bulletin. >> now to our series lessons of march 11th one year on. we're looking back on japan's magnitude nine earthquake which triggered a tsunami and nuclear

crisis. we'll be bringing you reports all week from the hardest hit prefectures. tonight we're taking you to the the city of ofunato. business owners there face hurdle after hurdle. a number of them had debts before the disaster and they need more loans if they want to rebuild. the tsunami tore and swept away almost everything that used to stand here. it washed away factories, shops, homes. now prefabricated huts are popping up on this vast raw land. >> translator: my restaurant was over there. and this place was our neighbor's electric store. >> reporter: he used to run a ramen restaurant here. he wants to again.

but, he's satled with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. >> translator: paying for daily expenses like riensd electricity has become difficult. so we cancelled our insurance a few days ago. >> reporter: he and thousands of others struggle with something called overlapping debt. they've got to repay the loans on their old businesses and they need more to rebuild. the balance of loans across the town amount to more than $200 billion according to the bank of japan. his home on the hill top suffered some damage, though it's livable. but down in the town, the tsunami left nothing. he was left with more than $200,000 in debt. he lost his income and got no financial support. he thought of giving up.

then, a volunteer group that helps businesses get going again arrived with what he needed to rebuild. >> translator: this makes me feel like okay, i'm ready again. >> reporter: he took his first step forward in this makeshift stand. he started selling frozen chinese dumplings. he's making $20 to $0 a day. but he has to feed a family of fife and he'll need to rebuild his restaurant if he wants to get back on his feet. he has to take out another loan almost as big as his first. his overlapping debt more than $400,000. he'll have to repay more than $3,000 every month. that's about twice as much as

before the disaster. >> translator: i must restart no matter how good or bad it will be. it's like a gamble. >> reporter: government leaders established a corporation that will buy business loans from financial institutions. the hope is that it will reduce part of the loan or extend the grace period for business owners. >> translator: financial institutions have helped. but the disaster made it impossible for us to rely on the existing formula. >> reporter: he plans apply. he called a counselor with the government corporation to find out if he's even got a chance.

>> reporter: he learns the government is still working out the details of how the corporation will work. >> translator: i want them to make it clear. they took our hardships into consideration. when they thought of this scheme. >> reporter: he's hoping this new government program will work. he's 48 years old and dreams of retiring some day. his overlapping debt is a legacy of march 11th, 2011, will likely put those dreams on hold. >> a u.s. think tank says there are signs north korea may be continuing its nuclear program. recent satellite imagery shows

evidence of activity at the north's nuclear facility. the institute for science and international security says the photo shows a newly completed turbine building. the institute has been analyzing the satellite images of the facility since 2010 when north korea declared it was building a light water reactor plant. a photo taken last september shows the building's framework. the new image was taken on february 3rd. north korea claims the light water reactor is to generate electricity for peaceful purposes. it says enriching uranium to fuel a reactor constitutes a peaceful use of nuclear energy. the north agreed to suspend uranium enrichment and ex pand inspections. but the agreement had no mention of the light water reactor. the u.s. state department envoy says the united states hopes to reach an agreement soon with north korea regarding food aid for the country. robert king of the u.s. special

envoy for north korean human rights issues arrived in beijing on tuesday. >> we'll finish the conversations and discussions that we've had on the administrative issues relating to providing humanitarian assistance to north korea. >> king said he will meet with the north korean official on wednesday and again on thursday if necessary. the deputy director general of the u.s. affairs at north korea's foreign ministry also arrived in the chinese capital. in direct talks between dust and north korea last month, the north agreed to suspend uranium enrichment. the u.s. agreed to provide 240,000 tons of nutritional assistance. the u.s. is offering to send 20,000 tons of nutritional supplements per month mainly for infants and pregnant women. it wants a monitoring system to make sure supplies reach those in need. the focus of the meeting is on whether north korea will allow north korean speaking officials to organizations receiving the

shipments. >> we have weather up next. >> hi, welcome back. we certainly had a very warm day here in tokyo. looks like things are going to be continuing this way for the next couple of days. much of japan except for the south and the north we had a winter storm system that brought us very snowy and windy conditions. that has passed away. but overnight tuesday yet another system will be moving in towards the area especially in northern japan. in the area much to have precipitation will be wintry mix. however, snow will be accumulating again and strong winds will be companied with it. eastern coast specially will be looking at some high waves, which could reach as much as six meters high. avalanche risk is very high, too. down towards the south, we have a rain band coming in.

very intense and developing rain band from southeastern china is stretching across much of southwestern portions of japan. so these islands will be targeted with very heavy rain. you can see some patches moving through the area. it's moving through areas with he have rainfall which could accumulate as much as 100 millimetres in the short span of just 24 hours. and the land is very saturated already. so there are risks of landslides and further mudslides. snow will make an appearance here in inland china. and showers will be seen in the valleys there as well. we're looking at seoul at 7. that's going to be on the rise for friday the forecast for the high temperature is 11 degrees. we're looking at tokyo again 15 degrees. and staying in the 30s in manila

and bangkok and hot and hazy conditions. let's head over to the americas. well, things are going to start looking very messy yet again. wintry mix will be moving in from the pacific northwest. we're talking about this storm system as you can see the ie sew bars close to each other. gusts are strong. wind sustains pretty high. dumps snow in much of the areas. we're talking about five centimeters in the valleys and then heavy snow in much of where you see the darker colored areas. utah, wyoming, also nevada could be targeted with some heavy snow accumulation up to about 20 sent neithers in some areas. also a snow band will be marching across southern alberta and southern manitoba. that will be dumping another snowfall accumulation totaling up to 20 centimeters. also winds are very strong as i mentioned and suddenly these are

very strong warm winds and the temperature is still very, very warm in this area making a very good recipe for fire danger. these are very densely populated areas and also blowing dust cross winds, these are going to be hazardous conditions for driving specially unfortunately in the rush hour time. taking a look at your temperatures, denver at 21 as i mentioned. still very warm here. but dropping down to 2 degrees on wednesday for the high. in las vegas dropping down to 12 for the wednesday. as the cold front passes, things are going to be dramatically different. here's the extended forecast.

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. . .