hello and welcome to this hour's "newsline." i'm james tengan in tokyo. south korea's president lee myung-bak is ending the year on a note of defiance. he's vowing to deal firmly with north korea if it provokes his country again. lee addressed the public on monday in his last speech of the year on the radio and internet.

>> the south korean military has been on high alert since the north shelled yeonpyeong island killing four people. lee also referred to the divided public opinion over his response to the sinking of a south korean naval ship in march. an investigation blamed north korea for the attack which killed 46 sailors. the president said south koreans must show solidarity before the military discusses a strong response to the north. the governing democratic party of japan is pursuing former party leader ichiro ozawa over his alleged political funds scandal. at a meeting on monday, it agreed to ask the lower house political ethics council on voting to summon ozawa to testify. prime minister naoto kan told the meeting when he met with ozawa last week he failed to persuade him to attend the ethics council meeting. kan is the head of the party. the party secretary-general katsuya okada proposed if ozawa

continues to refuse to attend the meeting, the council should hold a vote before the next diet session opens in january. however, some of the executives said that the opposition liberal democratic and new komeito parties are opposed to a vote. they said it would look ridiculous if the governing party conducted a vote on its own. other participants said that the party should consider asking ozawa to testify before the diet as a sworn witness which the opposition parties are also demanding. but eventually the executives meeting approved okada's proposal. after the meeting, kan told reporters that dpj members must follow the party's decision. >> ozawa is refusing to attend the ethics council. he says he'll soon be indicted over the scandal and wants the

opportunity to explain his case in court. the sunrise party of japan has decided to refuse an offer by prime minister naoto kan to join a coalition with the governing democratic party. on monday, six diet members of the small opposition party discussed an offer that included ministerial posts for the top lawmakers. the sunrise party's co-president kaoru yosano said the members should hold policy discussions with the democrats and join the coalition to implement its own policies. but party president takeo hiranuma and others disagreed saying they had pledged to stop the democrats from winning majority in the upper house election last july. the lawmakers concluded they should not take actions that would ultimately benefit kan and his government. >> translator: we would join the coalition if we could play a

central role and initiate a political realignment. but we don't want to be just a complement of the government. >> meanwhile dpj secretary general katsuya okada says his party seeks the cooperation of the sunrise party, even after its refusal to join as a coalition partner. >> translator: i think our party has common interests with them in areas such as reconstruction of the national economy and social security reform. so we would like to seek their cooperation. iraq's new government was launched last week after more than nine months of political confusion. it faces the challenge of stopping terror attacks and getting reconstruction fully under way.

rena yamasawa has more from baghdad. >> reporter: u.s. troops celebrated christmas at bases in iraq. they're due to completely withdraw by the end of next year as iraq takes responsibility for its own security. iraq's new government was sworn in last tuesday. talks to former coalition government stalled after parliamentary election in march gave no single bloc a majority. it took nine months for the parties to reach a deal. >> translator: each bloc has to cooperate to establish a strong government. >> reporter: iraqis hope the new government will pave the way for full scale reconstruction. hotels in baghdad are quickly being renovated, ready for a summit in march. iraqi government asked to host

the summit, seeing it as a chance to show the country's recovery. iraqis also tried to attract investment from abroad. iraqi industrial products and textiles were shown at a trade fair in baghdad in october. >> i am confident that the coming years will prove that we have the industrial base to be proud of. >> reporter: iraqis are increasingly hopeful about their country's future. nearly 100,000 who left to escape the violence have come back in the past three years. this 32-year-old came back from jordan two months ago. >> translator: before i came back, i imagined the economy and security were much better. >> reporter: but he was in for a disappointment.

he can't find decent work, so he and his pregnant wife have no choice but to live with his parents. there are continual blackouts. and the tap water is not clean enough to drink. >> translator: the situation is much worse than i expected. my wife is pregnant, so she can't drink water straight from the tap. >> reporter: and they live in a constant fear of terror attacks. a bombing in the neighborhood killed ten people and injured more than 20. he's thinking of sending his wife back to jordan if security doesn't improve. >> translator: i'm not asking to live in luxury. i just want to live peacefully. >> translator: the government hasn't done anything for us. the people in power are mostly

the same as before. so i don't expect anything of them. >> reporter: the new iraqi government is under close scrutiny from people who have been forced to endure hardship for a long time. where they can meet the expectations remains to be seen. nhk world, baghdad. >> joining us now is nhk world's yasushi kudo. who covers the middle east for us. they finally have a government in place but it already has a long to-do list, doesn't it? >> that's right. it is a most pressing challenge is to improve their country's infrastructure. rena pointed out a couple of problems, water quality, electricity and & other issues. this is increasing public anger. this past summer was one of the hottest in recent years in iraq.

thousands of people took to the streets of the second largest city basra to protest against electricity shortages. they fought with security forces who shot and killed one of the demonstrators. rebuilding infrastructure creates jobs, and that will improve security in iraq. this should be a top priority for the new coalition government. >> it seems iraq's politicians are facing many difficulties. is there any good news in all of this? >> there is. and it has to do with the country's oil reserves. they are the third largest in the world. iraq's oil production is expected to increase gradually as the country rebuilds itself. and last week, the crude oil price exceeded $90 a barrel for the first time in 26 months. this oil price hike is helping iraq. the international monetary fund estimates that iraqi economy will grow by 11.5% next year. france, turkey and many other countries are eager to invest in

iraqi infrastructure and to try to receive orders. the key to sustaining iraq's economic growth is to stabilize the coalition government as well as its security since the u.s. military is planning to withdraw from iraq by the end of next year. >> that's about all the time we have. thank you. nhk world's yasushi kudo. japanese carmakers have been doing good business overseas this year. their exports climbed for the 11th straight month in november. the japan automobile manufacturers association says about 432,000 cars and trucks were exported in the month. that's up 9.6% from a year earlier. shipments to north america, japan's biggest market, edged up 2% to 162,000 units, marking two straight months of increase as the u.s. showed signs of recovery.

those to europe climbed 44% while asia recorded a gain of nearly 20%. domestic auto production declined, though, by 6.7% in november. the drop followed the end of government incentives for buyers of ecofriendly cars back in september. in the domestic housing market, housing starts for november rose for the sixth straight month year on year. that's mostly because of government backed low interest housing loans. the land and infrastructure ministry said on monday that construction of 72,000 houses and condominiums got under way last month. up 6.8% from a year earlier. the ministry says housing starts are improving, though they are still staying at low levels because of uncertain job security and stagnant wages. construction of private houses went up 7% to 27,000 units. november was the 13th consecutive month of increase in this category.

condominiums showed a surge of 106%, standing at nearly 9,000 units. in its efforts to counter global warming, the japanese government launched a scheme to subsidize investments by firms looking to cut their carbon dioxide emissions. the scheme is part of an emergency economic stimulus compiled in september. the government will subsidize up to $180 million per project by firms looking to cut co2 emissions in japan. the government selected 153 projects. this includes building a factory to make lithium ion batteries for electric cars. and projects to increase production of semiconductors. the budget for the co2 reduction plan is about $1.3 billion, but the total investment by companies is around $6.4 billion. the ministry says the scheme will lead to jobs for about 95,000 people, and hopes that the economic gain will be worth

more than the initial investment. concerns over the stability of the euro have been rising since greece and ireland went through a credit crisis. despite this, the baltic state of estonia will begin using the currency starting january 1st. we have more. >> reporter: this bank is located in an estonian town. they began exchanging at the beginning of december. people visit the bank's counter daily to buy sets of euro coins. >> translator: my mother asked me to exchange money. people in rural areas think if they don't have euros by the start of the year, they won't be able to get around. >> reporter: to ensure a smooth transition, retailers were required to begin displaying

prices in crowns and euros in july. estonia became independent in 1991. and since then it's joined the u.n. and nato. the economy will be tied to the eu, and the cooperation with the united nations is expected to be stronger. >> translator: with the introduction of the euro, we'll truly become a member of the european union. and we will let them know that we are an inseparable part of europe. >> reporter: some businesses in estonia welcome the introduction of the new currency. this furniture manufacturer located in the central part of the country exports 95% of its product to europe. as of january, it will be eliminated. the company will also be able to increase its reach in europe.

>> i believe this -- helping increase -- helping improving trust for customer who is coming from abroad, i believe in long-term it's very useful for estonian companies. >> reporter: but some experts are expressing caution. the professor teaches economics at the university. he argued against estonia joining in the euro zone because of the volatility surrounding the single currency. >> we are also very much concerned what is happening in greece, in ireland, in spain, and portugal, and probably also in italy. and this means that after joining euro zone, we should contribute european fund for helping these nations. >> reporter: estonia's finance ministry is confident that the

introduction of the euro will have a positive impact. that it'll lead to price stabilization, for example. it has actively promoted the currency changeover. >> i can't understand this argument at all. we're not joining ireland or greece, we're joining euro zone, and euro is the most stable currency. and the price stability is guaranteed in euro zone. >> estonia will become the 17th country to join the euro zone. overcoming the worst crisis the currency has ever faced has said to be critical to maintaining unity among euro zone members. japan's aerospace agency has singled out a clogged fuel tank pipe valve for the failure of

japan's first ever venus probe to enter the planet's orbit. the japan aerospace exploration agency reported this finding on monday to a space development panel of the science and technology ministry. the panel had been looking into why the akatsuki probe failed to enter into orbit around venus earlier this month. the agency says it assumes the clogged valve prevented fuel from flowing from the engine tank, disrupting the fuel supply, and eventually stopping the engine. the agency says it will conduct ground tests to see if it can move the troubled valve and engine using the same model of the equipment aboard the probe. it will survey the possibility of trying to place the akatsuki into venus' orbit again when it has the next possible fly-by chance six years from now. officials from japan's central government and their counterparts in okinawa agreed to draw up new measures to boost the economy of the southern most island prefecture.

yoshito sengoku attended a policy consultation meeting on monday at the prime minister's office in tokyo. nakaima proposed that 45 items be included in a new law that will replace the 2002 okinawa development act which expires in march 2012. nakaima said the proposed items would help in overcoming difficulties like high transportation costs as well as making the most of okinawa's cultural heritage to develop the prefecture. the central government wants to draw up a basic plan by next summer, based on requests by okinawa's elected leaders. >> translator: the government is being very positive in listening to okinawa's requests while drafting the new law. japan's agricultural ministry has strengthened quarantine measures at airports and seaports for the year end and new year holidays in the

wake of last month's outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in neighboring south korea. at narita airport near tokyo, travelers are being told about the ban of imports on meat products of places affected by foot and mouth. they're asking travelers to check for soil on their possessions, including their golf shoes as the disease may be brought into japan this way. narita will increase inspections by sniffer dogs that can detect meat in the baggage of tourists from other asian countries. >> translator: we will provide sufficient information for travelers because there have been many foot-and-mouth cases in south korea. japan's new chief prosecutor promised to do his best to restore public trust in the nation's prosecutors. haruo kasama has taken over from hiroshi obayashi. obayashi resigned to take responsibility for an evidence tampering scandal involving

three former senior prosecutors in osaka. the scandal resulted in a welfare ministry bureau chief being falsely indicted. the new top prosecutor spoke to reporters on monday. >> translator: i will do my best to restore public trust by taking preventative measures. >> kasama said educating prosecutors alone is not enough to prevent a recurrence. he said a new system is needed to make sure they adhere to the law. and avoid reckless actions. here on "newsline," let's look at some of the news we have gathered from broadcasting stations across asia. we begin with this item sent by ddi india. low visibility caused by dense fog has disrupted air, road and rail traffic in northern india since sunday. thousands of passengers are stranded at new delhi's

international airport as scores of domestic and international flights were canceled or delayed on monday. more than 20 flights coming into the capital were diverted to other airports. heavy fog has also delayed about 60 trains leaving the capital to various parts of the country. in southern malaysia, on sunday, a record number of people from various ethnic and religious groups attended special christmas celebrations. more than 10,000 people danced to various tunes at the national christmas open house at the country's oldest portuguese settlement in the state. the highlight of the show was the performance which is a combination of malaysian folk dance and a portuguese dance. the aim of the event was to strengthen unity in this multiracial and multiethnic country. mechanical failure forced a helicopter to make an emergency landing at a reservoir in hong kong.

the territory's civil aviation department says all three crew members are safe because the chopper's emergency floats activated. the helicopter was battling a forest fire and was on its way to refill its water tanks when one of its engines ran into problems. after landing on the reservoir, the crew swam ashore in their safety jackets and were sent to the hospital for examination. hi there. it's time for the world weather. let's begin. across east asia, things are looking a little bit on the chilly side for many areas of northern china. no surprise there. also quite cold for you in mongolia. but we will remain dry for the better part of eastern and southeast asia. we're going to see pretty calm conditions all the way down to even thailand. but we run into some problems as we hit the philippines, indonesia, and down through malaysia and singapore. pretty heavy rain behind our nhk world side.

towards the koreas, there's going to be some rain, likely be falling as snow. pretty cold conditions here, and that'll also be falling as wintery precipitation across western japan over the next 24 hours. this is on top of the heavy snow we've seen since basically last friday. temperatures are going to be quite chilly in seoul, beijing, tokyo, though, on the pacific side, not too bad. 12 degrees, starting off with a sunny day. looking a little bit on the cold side, minus 18's your high, you're looking at snow. about 9 degrees in shanghai, overcast for you, 10 in chongqing, 30 degrees in manila and 19 in hong kong. what about north america? what about the northeast? talk about a very intense blizzard right now moving through new england and all the way into atlanta, canada, we have some severe weather warnings here. winter watches. we've got blizzard warnings in parts of new york, into boston, all the way up into even new brunswick area. lots of snow falling with this

one as well as strong winds up to maybe 100 kilometers per hour. the good news is, it'll be moving away quite quickly. the bad news, of course, power outages, transportation problems, as well as lots and lots of flight cancellations. so across -- behind the system, it'll be a bit drier and start to warm up later in the week. but that's later on. in the northwest, more rain falling for coastal areas, interior parts in the cascades and northern rockies, you'll be looking at snow. temperatures are normal in vancouver, 8 for both cities, 1 in winnipeg, and look at the blues down towards atlanta. it is going to be cold seeing minus 2 with, of course, snow, but factor in the windchill, it's going to be very frigid, minus 3 in toronto as well as chicago. and over to europe we go, we've got some messy weather in eastern europe right now. lots of snow, nothing terribly severe, but it will be cold and quite wintery at times. across scandinavia, cold, but generally dry.

and over towards western europe, it's going to be cloudy, but we will stay dry until we run into this system here, coming in off the atlantic. that'll bring some light rains, maybe some snow showers into say ireland as well as scotland, but london, you will be staying on the rainy side. and that rain will push into paris and the low countries, lisbon, as well as the rest of portugal and parts of spain. temperatures are going to be doing better. we're not going to be seeing those freezing temperatures anymore. 5 in london, 5 in paris for the high, 10 for madrid, minus 7 for berlin, snow flurries in vienna, kiev and warsaw, minus 7, but dry in stockholm. here's your extended forecast.

2010 is the year of the tiger and the chinese zodiac, 2011 will be the year of the rabbit. the outgoing and incoming animals came face-to-face in an event in the japanese city of osaka. the annual event was held at the famous tower. a tiger cub and a pair of rabbits symbolized the passing of the year.

the president of the firm that owns the tower reflected on 2010 on behalf of the tiger. >> the head of a local zoo responded for the rabbits. >> visitors took pictures of the animals in the hope of a bright new year. that concludes this edition of "newsline." i'm james tengan in tokyo. thanks for watching.