welcome to "newsline." the transfer of p perer a aer t death of kim jong il prompted south korea and the united states to re-examine the timing of their annual military exercises. but the two allies have decided to go ahead in february as planned given the absence of any unusual activity in north korea so far. a spokesperson for the u.s. forces stationed in the peninsula said on friday, the exercises will involve 200,000 south korean and 11,000 american soldiers. the first phase of the drills meant to test the chain of command will begin on february 27th. phase two will aim at boosting the mobility of the army, navy

and air force by the end of april. u.s. military officials say the drills are solely for defensive purposes and that north has been informed. u.s. and european leaders are working to strengthen their sanctions against iran. they're trying to force the country to abandon the nuclear program. the united states is calling on china to cooperate in imposing an eembargo on iran's crude oil exports. under secretary of state met thursday in washington with china's foreign minister. details of the meeting have not been released. by a state department spokesperson explained the talks are part of an ongoing dialogue with china. the u.s. passed a law last month banning financial institutions from doing business with iran's central bank essentially targeting the country's oil trade. >> as we seek to implement this new legislation we're encouraging all countries to do what they can to reduce their depends on iranian crude oil.

>> china imports more iranian oil than any other country in the world. so far it has adopted a negative stance over the proposed embargo. u.s. president barack obama is on a three-day tour of politically important states to win oover the middle class vote. in an interview with abc news on thursday, the president said he is determined to win re-election to protect the united states' economic future. obama says signs of a recovery are finally in sight and he wants to stay in office to continue implementing his policies. >> i think the country needs it. we started this journey in 2008 understanding that for a decade or more middle class families in this country had been struggling. >> obama's economic program has been under attack from republican presidential contenders including mitt

romney. obama cited general motors' return as the biggest car maker as a sign of recovery of the u.s. economy. turning to the republicans' call for small government, obama said he could not understand the idea of reinstating the policy that triggered the worst financial crisis in 80 years. oscar mf winning costume designer has died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 73. born in tokyo, she lived in new york city for many years and achieved great success. in 1993, she won an academy award best costume design in "dracula." she was also the art director of the opening ceremony of the 2008 summer olympics in beijing. people close to her say she had been ill for over a year. she returned to tokyo last september to be with family members. >> participants at the world

economic forum aren't just sharing ideas about how to fix the global economy. there's also talking about how domestic disasters can have an international impact. that's part of our focus on this week's road ahead. people gathered a couple days ago to talk about how to deal with global risks. the panelists discussed the impact of natural disasters and pollution on the society. japan's march disaster was one of the themes grabbing attention. >> we have the japan earthquake which was more than an earthquake, a tsunami, we had nuclear power plant problems. >> the disaster killed thousands of people. it also damaged factories throughout northeastern japan. this in turn disrupted supply chains for manufacturers around the world. >> it raises a whole set of questions and issues with respect to how we're going to deal with these global risks. >> participants emphasized the importance of cooperation between nations so the impact of

one country's disaster is minimized. the talk is also focused on how people in japan are recovering from the march 11th disaster. >> reporter: a calligrapher paints a dragon to represent this year's oriental zodiac symbol. schenn she completes the image with the chinese character for light. it's meant to represent japan's hope for the future. people who are attending the world economic forum are eager to find out about how the country is recovering. >> an amazing resilience. we would like japan to really come back strong and this is the opportunity to do that. >> we also had a nuclear disaster in ukraine. so with japan we have the common challenge, the radiation, how you deal with the pollution, and we are look at japan closely.

>> reporter: japanese actor came to the forum to call on the world to support his home. he's appeared in a number of hollywood block busters. now he's focused on his role as a philanthropist. he's traveled to disaster zones in the northeast. and he's offering encouragement to tsunami survivors through a website. fellow actor leonardo dicaprio and director clint eastwood are also taking part in the project. he spoke about the bonds that united japanese after the disaster. >> they supported each other and leaned on each other. this happened regardless of age, oppression or rank. this was a culture of bond.

and i also hope that the bond will not only connect people within japan, but go beyond and reach people all over the world. thank you. >> reporter: japan will continue to be the focus here at the world economic forum. nearly a year after its disaster participants are studying how the country recovers. they also tried to figure out how they could help. next, we go to bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >> tens of thousands of workers in indonesia took to the streets of industrial zones near the capital jakarta on friday

demanding wage increases. the disruption affected over 2,000 companies including foreign firms. >> reporter: the workers have stopped and getting out from the factory. the size of the demonstration is getting bigger and bigger. angry workers in the city of bekasi in west java stage large scale demonstrations to protest moves by employers to block a wage increase. the local government decided to raise the minimum monthly wage by as much as 30% from last year in some industries. but a business owners group filed a complaint and said they would not comply. local police say the number of

demonstrators total more than 30,000. >> translator: we are determined to continue our fight against insincere government officials and employers. >> reporter: some demonstrators blocked the highway causing congestion for more than ten kilometers and affecting supply chains. last year foreign investment in indonesia grew about 20%. but while the country's solid economic growth is luring foreign businesses, competition for labor is fierce. as living standards in indonesia rise, more people feel entitled to enjoy the rewards of the country's growing economy. investors who assume they can take advantage of cheap labor in indonesia appear to be reaching

a turning point. >> china eastertorial disputes with some asian countries have been causing friction in southeast asia. now there's another arena where chinese activities are attracting attention, the indian ocean. china is currently helping to construct sea ports in pakistan, sri lanka, myanmar and bangladesh sometimes referred to as china's string of pearls, the ports encircle india. some observers view them with suspicion evidence of alleged chinese ambitions over the region. today's report from sri lanka looks at a massive port facility china is building on the island and how india might respond.

>> reporter: construction is well underway at this sea port in southern sri lanka. some facilities began operations in 2010. 85% of the cost of construction is being shouldered by china. the government claims that once complete, the port will be one of the biggest in south asia with capacity for 33 vessels including some of the world's largest ships. hambantota is situated as the midpoint of a crucial sea lane. it's an attributive position for a maritime hub. >> translator: located in the middle of a sea lane, we are well placed to offer shipping and fuel services. it's a good opportunity for sri lanka to develop. >> reporter: the port is being built by chinese companies and almost all the workers are

chinese. the massive project is already a popular tourist attraction. >> translator: we're really grateful to china. it's thanks to them that we can build such a port. >> reporter: but chinese activities in the town aren't limited to the sea port. this international airport has 3.5 kilometer runway and is due to open this year. here too, china is paying for some of the construction. the main contractor is also chinese. massive amounts of chinese aid are transforming this once normal town into a transport center for the entire region. some observers are concerned. they fear china might use the facilities for military

purposes. but that's not a position shared by the sri lankan government. it welcomes chinese economic support. >> reporter: india is looking on with caution. it opened a consulate in the town in november 2010 to gather information. for india economic growth is a top priority. confrontation with china is unappealing. for now, it has little choice but to try and keep the peace with the careful eye on the developments taking place around the shores of the indian ocean.

>> that will wrap up our bulletin. online thieves are looking for new ways all the time to steal people's identities. so computer security experts are forced to keep pace. they're scanning eyes, fingerprints and other body parts to keep consumers' information safe. >> reporter: this advanced bank atm scans veins in the user's finger before authorizing access. that's one form of biometric authentication. many new technologies are coming into use including the fingerprint i.d. used by some personal computers. the latest forms of authentication are stress free. in some cases the user doesn't even know he or she's being checked. a camera has been installed at the entrance to this lab.

it can determine if the person approaching is authorized or not. employees with registered i.d.s can walk through without even stopping. the system can authenticate 60 people a minute regardless of the angle of the person's face. how is this possible? each employee provides only one portrait photo. highly advanced software uses it to generate a 3-d image. from this, 35 images from different angles are created and stored. when the subject approaches the camera captures his or her face. the system searches its registered data for images from the same angle and compares them with the person's face before granting access. it's the creation of japanese

security firm which believes it can be used not only to control access, but also in hotel and other service businesses. >> translator: when important guests are coming, this system can identify them. the person in charge can then immediately go to greet them or an announcement can be made about who's arrived. >> reporter: some universities have started developing stress free biometrics. this chair can identify the person sitting on it. it's developed by this man an associate professor at the advanced institute of industrial technology. he says each person's buttocks have unique features just like faces. 360 sensors measuring one square centimeter each are installed within the seat. they register up to 256

different degrees of pressure at each point. everyone's weight, posture, pelvis and body shape is unique. everyone has their own way of distributing pressure when they sit. for example, the yellow parts on the screen indicate high pressure points which vary depending on the person. such characteristics identify individuals. >> translator: if installed in a car seat, the system can tell if the person at the wheel is the owner or not and this might prevent theft. i hope to find uses like this. from fingertips to faces and even bottoms, biometrics researchers are finding the personal features about us that know more about us than we may know. >> people who live along japan's northeast coast reloi on trains

to get from city to city. the tsunami last march knocked many of them off the tracks. miraculously this train was spared. all 60 passengers survived. now ten months after the disaster, drawns on that line are running again. >> reporter: this is the same train that survived the tsunami unscathed. one of the passengers on that day was this woman, a vocational school student. now ten months later, she's come to ride on that same train again. >> translator: i don't know what to say. i can't believe this is the same train i was riding on that day. >> translator: the train was about one kilometer from the coast when it was hit by the massive jolt of the quake and made an emergency stop. there were about 60 passengers

on board. the train crew guided them to the exits and they gathered outside. but one passenger who was familiar with the local terrain suggested that it would be safer to stay on the train. this is where the train came to a stop. the track runs through some hills and is slightly higher here than surrounding area. it was a man who suggested they get back on the train. >> translator: i knew when the tsunami reached the hills it would go to the left and right. the train would be safer where it stopped. >> translator: back on board, the passengers anxiously waited and wondered whether they had made the right decision. she started writing a farewell message on her cell phone. >> translator: i wasn't sure we'd be safe. so i wrote a message to my family just telling them thank

you for everything. >> reporter: the tsunami arrived about 30 minutes after they got back on the train. this photo was taken by one of the passengers. the water surged close to the tracks but stopped just short of the train. >> translator: i'm so glad we didn't leave the train. if we had, no one would have survived. >> reporter: the surrounding area was left flooded and the train was stranded. the passengers all gathered in one car to try to keep warm. they plugged the gaps in the doors with advertising posters to keep out the freezing air and shared what food they had. as night fell, people began feeling more and more worried. then something happened that changed the whole atmosphere. there was a young schoolboy who'd been traveling alone. his mother arrived at the train after the dark soaking wet. she'd come looking for him.

>> translator: everyone on the train started clapping. for the moment we first started to feel hope that we would survive. >> reporter: they spent the whole night in thetrain. by the next morning, the water had receded and they were all able to leave the train safely. ten months have now passed. services resumed on this line on january the 16th. six days later, she traveled on it again. >> translator: i will never forget the kindness of all those people on this train that day. i feel a deep gratitude to them. knowing that this train is up and running again, will inspire me to keep on trying in my own

life. "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." >> let's get a check on the weather. >> thank you very much. well the period of very heavy snowfall is going to be weakening just a little bit, but ongoing snowfall which could be heavy at times and very strong winds are going to be continuing in the western half of japan. we're talking about snowfall accumulation of 177 centimeters here. and this is historical record

breaking amounts. here it's almost as much as four meters high. all the way down towards the south 250 centimeters. lots of snowfall. and unfortunately this is going to continue. in the next 24 hours we're expecting 70 centimeters of new snow to pile up as well as strong winds picking up those waves up to as much as three to four meters high. elsewhere in japan just across southwestern islands of japan is very heavy rain at times also isolated thunderstorms could be erupting there as well. and here in the pacific side we're looking at very cold and dry conditions that will be persisting throughout the weekend. we're look at 6, just 6 for the high on saturday. that's going to actually further

become colder around 5 for the high on sunday. so it's going to be very chilly here in tokyo for us in the weekend. seoul same story it's going to be dipping down towards the weekend as well. now here in the tropics, though, staying very warm or hot 31 in bangkok and manila at 32 degrees. heading over to australia we'd like to talk about a lot of stuff here. we've got a tropical cyclone. a northwestern monsoonal flow making the land very saturated in the coast. another low pressure system descending down towards southeast in queens lan and then that flooding situation in and around brisbane that's not alleviated yet. let's talk about the tropical cyclone iggy now moving in a southeasterly direction at a speed of 14 kilometres per hour. the speed has picked up. looks like it's going to become a category three by saturday local time. looks like it's going to intensify as it approaches the

northwestern coast of west australia in and around the onslowe area. i dead mention the northwestern flow is in effect. staggering amounts of rainfall accumulation that's more than 400 millimeters that could be possible just around the area. this is the next couple of days but here also in queens lapd you can see these staggering amounts could trigger flooding and not to mention here, that situation still not alleviated yet. very saturated land could trigger further flooding situation. we'll keep a very close eye on this for you. now heading over to europe, we've got a weakening atlantic system that's going to be bringing lighter showers in the british isles. we have a low pressure system that will be heavy rain at times as well as thunderstorms could

erupt from this system in northern coast of africa spain as well as france. but towards the east as you can see a huge high pressure system that will keep things cold and dry and next in line with this condition is turkey and balkans. well, the temperature's already dipping down no mos kous minus 12. in lisbon pretty nice at 14. here's your 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.