nuclear challenge. japan gets set to announce a major step in bringing the fukushima daiichi plant under control. the government of japan is set to pass a milestone on its road to recovery. japanese prime minister noda is expected to announce during the day that the crippled reactors at fukushima daiichi are in a state of cold shutdown. the government and tokyo electric power company have been working for months to bring the plant under control. government officials say the plant meets requirements for a cold shutdown, and they can declare the second phrase of

their operation is complete. they say temperatures at the bottoms of reactor pressure vessels anded in t ntsd the cont vessel have dropped below 100 degrees celsius. radiation levels at the perimeter of the compound remain low. now the government plans to review the no-go zones and evacuation areas set up after the accident. the operator of the plant has decided not to release decontaminated water into the ocean for the time being. tepco is in the process of decontaminating radioactive water that's collecting in the basements of the reactor buildings. this includes underground water that is seeping in. the decontaminated water is being recycled at coolant for the reactors. however it exceeds initial estimates. tepco is storing the treated water in tanks on the plant's premises. tepco is considering discharging the treated water into the ocean, but after protests from a

fisheries cooperative, it postponed the decision. tepco will not release water into the ocean until it implementing three measures, blocking underground water from entering the basements, improving and stabilized decontamination equipment and increasing the number of storage tanks. >> translator: we will definitely take the three steps and fully brief the national fisheries association and local fishermen on our plan to dewaste the decontaminated water. >> tepco says it will not release water into the ocean until it has received approval from relevant government offices including the fisheries ministry. "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 impact of 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." russia has declared support for euro zone nations suffering from debt problems. ai from our business desk has the details. how do they plan to go about this? >> what they're trying to do is give funds to troubled nations, and how they're planning to do this is to go through the international monetary fund or the imf. russian president medvedev med the announcement on thursday after two days of talks in brussels with eu officials. european council president was one of the did he go gates. medvedev said 41% of the russia's foreign reserves are in the euro. he said it's important for russia that european countries overcome their difficulties and

protect the euro. he stopped show of revealing the scale of support, but several media report that an adviser to the president said a maximum $20 billion will be provided. on friday last week eu leaders agreed at the summit to provide a maximum 200 billion euros in loans to the imf. they're hoping to draw funds in return from countries outside the eu including emerging economies. japan's financial regulator has decided to punish citibank's japanese operations as early as friday. it says the bank failed to explain fully about investment risks. the financial services agency plans to order citibank to partially suspend its operations for one month. the bank was allegedly lax and kept selling financial products such as mutual funds without explaining to investors that they could lose some of their principal. risk explanations are mandatory whether selling these products.

the agency has decided to take a tough stance against citibank. the financial institution has had its operations suspended twice since 2004 and has not taken sufficient measures to preeflt their recurrence. the financial watch dog plans to make clear the responsibility of management. it will order the bank to conduct a drastic review of its operations. tokyo share prices are slightly up on friday morning as investors' expectations heighten toward a u.s. economic recovery. the nikkei stands at 8,419, up half a percent so far. the topix is at 726 up one-fifth of a percent. u.s. jobless claims data pushed up share prices in new york over night. it's carried over to tokyo. to currencies, the dollar is hovering in the up 77 yen level in tokyo trading this friday morning. the greenback is currently at

77.86 to 87 yen. the euro at 101.48 to 53 yen. sources say market participants recautious about the you'rian debt problems. a favorable auction of bonds overnight was not enough to ease concerns. here's a look at the long-term interest rates. this is the yield on the ten-year japanese government bond. the nikkei may be be slightly up today, but to year-to-date the nikkei is down about 20% so far. as we wrap up 2011, it is time to look ahead. i spoke with naomi fink, head of japan strategies at jeffreys on what she expects for the coming year. >> a better year for the nikkei than this year. given that the recovery elsewhere is going to be relatively slow, i think investors are tentative to return to the marketplace. the positive thing for japan is

that it's very undervalued right now. after the quake, japan underperformed and never really rebounded to any considerable extent. maybe at that decrease in correlation is actually going to help it. >> what about the question of corporate governance here in japan? it's been making headlines pretty much all throughout 2011. what are foreign investors' view on japanese firms? >> expectations were fairly low, so when these scandals emerged, it would -- i mean, it would probably be a little bit optimistic to say that they were expected or priced in. i think the response na we got from investors were more, i told you so, rather than a complete shock. >> fink is not even phased by the strong yen, something japanese stocks tend to be sensiti sensitive to. the u.s. dollar slumped to a

historical low against the japanese currency in late october. the authorities intervened but the yen remains strong today. >> i just don't see the yen on a trend to weaken until conditions improve in the u.s. such that the fed will withdraw liquidity, and the fed has already stated it's going to keep this very considerable accommodation in place until 2013. in the context of the nikkei and the topix as a whole, especially when we see this domestic demand theme emerging next year, i don't think we should really narrow or focus to those sectors where earnings and prices are extremely sensitive to the yen. >> i see. >> we have a stimulus package for 2011, fiscal 2011, most of which has not yet been enacted. it totals 18 trillion yen. there's another 2.5 trillion yen apparently in the works. that 18 trillion yen is 4% of japanese gdp. it would be an error to overlook

a stimulus package that large and actually likely to be dispatched. >> that was naomi fink, head of japan strategy at jeffries. now it's time to get your recap of the latest market figures. . >> that's all this hour on business. the united states and north korea agreed on talks on food aid. they have suspended the

assistance for more than two years. u.s. special enjoy nor north korean human rights issues met in beijing on thursday. in return for restarting food aid, the united states reportedly called the on the country to let them monitor distribution of the supplies so they would not be diverted to north korea's military. north korea has been asking the united states to resume the aid. the u.s. side is looking for specific steps by north toward denuclearization. the steps include halting uranium enrichment and accepting inspectors from the international atomic energy agency. after the two-hour meeting, king told reporters that the two sides will continue their discussions on friday. the question now is whether the current discussions will lead to another round of direct talks between the two countries on north korea's nuclear program. south korea and china are seeking a diplomatic solution to a dispute over illegal fishes. senior officials plan to hold

official talks to try and resolve the matter. the south korean coast guard boarded a chinese fishing boat this week. the boat's captain stabbed officers killing one and wounded another. in response south korea loosened restrictions on officering allowing them to shoot in self-defense. even before the stabbing, south korea had been pressuring china to tighten checks on fishermen. china says it will send a high-ranking official to an international conference next week in myanmar. a beijing is responding the to the growing influence of the united states. >> our relationship will be on mutual respect and no interference in domestic affairs. >> china supported the former military dictatorship in myanmar. earlier this month hillary

clinton made the first visit by a u.s. secretary of state in half a century. russian prime minister putin says he will not bow to demands that he review the results of parliamentary elections earlier this month. in an annual call-in television show on thursday, putin dismissed vote rigging claims. >> putin mocked his critics by offering them the opportunity to install webcam ras at each of russia's 90,000 polling stations. such a task would be extremely difficult. he attempted to turn last weekend's massive protest rally in moscow to his advantage saying he was glad to see young people expressing their opinions loudly thanks to her leadership. putin's remarks could provoke future dissension. opposition forces call for

another massive rally on saturday. tjapan will join a u.n. peae keeping operation in south sudan. engineering unit will lan the newly founded african nation early in the new year to help build roads, ports and other infrastructure. troops for the mission received a briefing on thursday. we kick off the story. >> reporter: here members are learning about sanitation in south sudan to prepare for the u.n. peace keeping operations there. >> 300 members of the unit attended the meeting north the tokyo. the first party of 200 members is to leave for the country in mid-january. sanitation conditions in south sudan are said to be extremely poor with almost no water or sewage systems. instructors ordered the personnel to take extra care against infectious diseases. they were advised not to drink

untreated water or eat raw vegetables and receive shots for malaria caused by mosquito bites. >> translator: every member of a piece-keeping unit is expected to play an important role. i want to make sure no one gets sick and has to be taken off duty. >> next we go to bangkok to find out what's going on. >> they met with the u.s. defense secretary in kabul to discuss military cooperation amid the deteriorating situation in the region. during karzai's meeting with leon panetta on thursday they praised the success of joint military operations. >> the cooperation of the united states and nato forces with the afghans has brought afghanistan stability overall.

>> we have not won. we have not completed this mission. i do believe we are in the process of making significant progress here. >> the two countries recently agreed that the u.s. would continue to provide military support to afghanistan until 2024. that's ten years beyond the planned withdrawal of international forces, but the taliban is expected to fight any extended presence of u.s. troops. at the present times the immediate withdrawal of all foreign forces from afghanistan. the u.s. blames taliban militants sheltering in pakistan for carrying out insurgent attacks. panetta earlier visited u.s. troops stationed in afghanistan where he repeated demands that pakistan pursue insurgents based on its soil. panetta said america's relationship with pakistan is difficult but also necessary and important. in the meantime pakistan has

said it was not responsible for the assassination in september of a former afghan president. instead it placed the blame on afghan refugees. the comments will likely prompt a strong reaction with the afghan government. it had claimed the killing was planned in pakistan and carried out by a pakistani national. pakistan's foreign minister told parliament on tuesday that her government could not be held responsible if afghan refugees crossed the border into their own country and attacked the former afghan president. the former leader of afghanistan was killed in a suicide attack at his home blamed by the afghan government on militants who had crossed the border from neighboring pakistan. he was at that time serving as the government's negotiator with the taliban. the presidents of both countries

pledged to cooperate to clarify the case when they met last month, but the latest comments may stoke tensions in a bilateral relationship that is already in a fragile state. in india more than 120 people have died after consuming illegally produced alcohol. many more remain in hospital. severely ill patients arrived one after another at this hospital in west bengal on thursday. construction workers and other people who consumed the alcohol had complained of strong headaches and stomach pains since tuesday. for some the symptoms proved deadly. >> translator: lots of people have been drinking local liquor. it was happening a lot in recent days. i was sleeping when all of a sudden i heard the news that one

of my relatives had died. >> police have arrested seven people in connection with making and distributing the liquor. it's believed to have contained methanol, an ingredient meant for iustrial use. fatal liquor poisoning is a recurrent problem in india where strong income disparity leads to the purchase of cheap and often illegal alcohol. that will wrap up our bulletin. time it to economic on some of the stories we've gathered from broadcasters around asia. we begin with this item sent by cna singapore. internet giant google says it's setting up a data center in singapore, its first in southeast asia and nird in the asian region. the center is due for completion by 2013.

singapore authorities hope that $120 million project will boost the efforts to nurture i.t. as a pillar of the economy. the development is expected to attract more overseas firms. google has similar centers in hong kong and taiwan, which reflects the industry. google says the new center will provide high-speed fiberoptic connections and support for other data services. steady or rising? that's the word on land prices in bangkok and nearby provinces despite the devastating recent floods. a representative of the city's real estate investment said the construction of five rail projects and expressways are driving the trend. one survey shows land prices in bangkok's inner areas have surged about 17%. the rains hit the property

market hardest in october when real estate transactions dropped as fast as the floodwaters rose. sri lank a'lanka's presidend the first art facility. they have a movable stage and several rehearsal halls. the main auditorium has a seating capacity of about 1300. the complex also features a library and a big parking lot. western europe and southeast asia are seeing stormy conditions. let's go to si amori now who has the global forecast. >> hello. welcome back to the weather update. let's talk about tropical storm washi situated east of the

philippines packing winds of 65 kilometers per hour and moving in a westerly direction at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour. it's expected to make landfall by this evening and head out to sea and continue to move westward over the waters. the southern philippines are are already feeling the impact of this storm with heavy rain as well as strong winds and as the system approaches, the conditions are a big concern as well. it looks like it's going to maintain its strength as a tropical storm into next week. we'll keep you posted on its progress. meanwhi meanwhile, a high pressure system is in place creating chilly continues across most of china, but the inland area will see light showers into the weekend and along the reach of the high pressure area. strong winds are prevailing, and that is creating sea-effect snow on the western side of japan. the blowing snow condition will likely continue into saturday in certain areas.

temperature-wise we expect 13 degrees in tokyo, but very chilly in seoul with minus 3 degrees and 6 in shanghai. heading over to the americas, it's mostly dry in the west, but still wet in the east. the low pressure system is brings showers across eastern canada and the northeastern states as well as some snow in the eastern great lakes region, but the system will move eastward so things get drier across many areas in the next 24 hours. in the southern u.s. some showers are lingering, but oklahoma and texas should get drier on friday. across the west another round of coastal rain and mountain snow is moving into british columbia. temperature-wise we expect 6 degrees in vancouver and 8 in seattle dipping into the single digits and in toronto and warmer than average in new york and washington, d.c. let's go over to europe. a powerful low pressure system is moving through western europe bringing hefty showers. as the system moves eastward,

precipitation spreading across most yourian countries in the next 24 hours. thunderstorms and hail are possible, and winds are a major concern as well. we have lots of warnings against the winds in effect across these original areas. gusts could top 100 kilometers per hour in many areas, and winds are creating very high waves aacross the coast of france as well as the iberian peninsula. even the western mediterranean is starting to see the conditions today, so if you're near a coast, watch out for flooding as well as the dangerous surf throughout friday. we expect 19 in lisbon, and still warmer than average in moscow with 4 degrees and 6 degre degrees with kiev. i'll leave you now with your extended forecast.

our lead stories this hour. the government of japan is set to pass a milestone on its road to recovery. japanese prime minister noda is expected to announce during the day that the crippled reactors at fukushima daiichi are in a state of cold shutdown. the government and tokyo electric power company have been working for months to bring the plant under control. government officials say the plant meets requirements for a cold shutdown, and he they can declare the second phase of their operation is complete. they say temperatures at the

bottoms of reactor pressure vessels and inside the containment vessels have dropped below 100 degrees celsius. radiation levels at that perimeter of the compound remain low below 1 millisievert per year. now the government plans to renew the no-go zones and evacuation areas set up after the accident. the operator said it won't release decontaminated water into the ocean for the time being. tepco is in the process of decontaminating radioactive water collecting in the basements of the reactor buildings. this includes underground water that's seeping in. the decontaminated water is being recycled as coolant for the reactors. however the amount of decontaminated water exceeds initial estimates. tepco is currently storing the treated water in tanks on the plant's premises. tepco was considering discharging the treated water into the ocean, but after protests from a fisheries cooperative it postponed the

decision. tepco says it will not release water into the ocean until it complements three measures, blocking underground water from entering the basements and improve decontamination equipment and increasing the number of storage tanks. >> translator: we will definitely take the three steps and fully brief the national fisheries association and local fishermen on our plan to dewaste the decontaminated water. >> tepco says it will not release water into the ocean until it receives approval from relevant government offices including the fisheries minis y ministry. that includes this edition of "newsline." do stay with us. we'll be back with more of your updates at the top of the next hour.