. neighborhood bombardment. security forces attack residents in central syria. even those not participating in demonstrations against the government. residents of homs are watching and running as channels rn down on their neighborhoods. they have been at the heart for nearly a ar w government forces seem intent on crushing the movement.

>> human rights activists report that more than 150 people were kiedcrs syria in the past two days. government forces have pounded residential areas of ms. one based in homs told nhk that stocks of medicines and medical supplies have run out. andoorre unable to treat me seriously wounded. >> the activist said myfhe cts e women and children. six gulf arab nations are withdrawing theirmbsars from syria and expelling syrian envoys. said in a statement it's ceartorenthe blood shed of the syrian people.

they have decided to withdraw their ambassadors. and they're demanding that syrian envoys leave their capitals immediately. th countries join six european nations include britain, france, and italy in recalling their ambassadors. on monday the united states closed its emssy. lavrov went to spoke face to ce. arrived on tuesday in damascus. a crowd of people waving russian and syrian flags welcomed them. lavrov brought with him a letter from russian president medvedev. to urge to hold tksith anti-government forces and promote political reforms. russia has friendly ties wh

syria and has a port there. they hope to win a breakthrough by negotiating directly with sad. the european union is considering additional sanctions against syria. the target this time is syria's central bank. the sanctions would freeze the bank'sssets in member countries and ban most transactions. the economic squeeze is aimed at forcing assad to end his crackdown on anti-government protesters. the eu has already frozen assets and imposed travel bansn syrian leaders and groups. it has also banned oil imports from the country. diplomat sources told nhk the eu is now k looing at a wider trade embargo. that would include the export of gold and other precious metals. wants to get a new line of sanctions agreed when their foreign ministers meet in

brussels. as we mentioned britain, france, and other european nations already pulled their ambassadors out of the country. western leaders are also focused on another dilemma in the middle east. how to deal with iran. israel is reported to be planning an attack over the iranian nuclear program. u.s. leaders want to weigh in. u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton met in washington. the meeting carried a serious sub text. the washington post reported earlier this month that u.s. defense secretary leon panetta thinks israel may launch an attack within month. president barack obama has expressed his preference for diplomatic solution. the state department has not released many details of the meeting between clinton and lieberman. >> with regard to iran, they talked extensively about the impact that the new sanctions

are having and our efforts to work with countries around the world to wean them from an iranian oil. >> clinton is believed to have asked lieberman to hold off on any military action. japanese electronics makers face stiff competition from tough overseas rivals. they're considering a merger to stay afloat. >> that's right. a handful of these firms are considering the merger. three japanese electronics makers are in talks to merge their talks known as systems lsi. system lsi chips are used in a variety of products like smart phones and car engines. nhk learned that panasonic and fujitsu are in talks on establishing a new company. as the firms suffer business

loss. if a deal is agreed upon, japan will have two domestic lsi firms. once led the world. but the strong yen and competition from overseas makers are making it harder for japan to stay ahead. japan's current account figures were released this morning. the strong yen, european debt worries, and flooding in thailand all contributed to a drop in the current account surplus for a tenth consecutive month. japan's finance ministry says the current account surplus for december plunged about 75% in yen terms from a year earlier to about $4 billion. the trade balance registered a deficit of about $2 billion. exports fell 7% while imports were up about 10%. meanwhile, the current account surplus for the whole of 2011 was down for the first time in two years with a drop of nearly

44% to $125 billion from a year earlier. greece continues to delay its decision on a debt deal. the ruling coalition parties have again postponed talks on whether to accept conditions for more international aid. the country could face a default in march without a bailout from the eu and international monetary fund. on tuesday, the government presented a final plan to the ruling coalition parties. the two sides were to discuss budget cuts and fiscal reform. but the meeting was rescheduled for a second day in a row until wednesday. the proposal includes cuts and fiscal spending pension as well as minimum wage. greece and the european union have not been able to narrow their defenses. the eu is said to have called for spending cuts while the greek ruling parties have agreed to only a 1.5% reduction so far. tension is mounting in the country as labor unions continue

to stage strikes to protest the proposed austerity measures. european commission president manuel baroso has urged greece to accept conditions for the bailout package. baroso said all is focusing on greece. >> it is very important not only for greece but the euro to keep greece in euro. for that we are urging the political parties in greece to make a commitment to the common goals. i think it's very important for them. >> and on the tokyo foreign exchange, the yen is lower against both the dollar and the euro this wednesday morning. that's on easing concerns over europe's debt problems. right now the dollar is trading against the yen at 76.92-93. investors are selling the yen and buying back the dollar and

euro. that's on speculation that greece and the eu will soon reach an agreement over an aid package. share prices are rising in tokyo pushing the key index closer to 9,000. investors are placing buy orders on export-related shares as the yen weakens against the dollar and euro. the nikkei a gain of half a percent so far. the broader topix also up by half a percent. an overnight gain on wall street also gave relief to investors. the dow jones advanced to its highest level in three years and eight months on tuesday. a look now at the long-term interest rates. higher by over one basis point. and let's also look at some other market figures.

>> and that is the latest in business. back to catherine. we're going to toss over to bangkok to find out the news. >> famous for their sandy beaches and clear blue seas, but there's trouble in paradise. the country's president resigned on tuesday following weeks of public protest that has rocked this young democracy. demonstrations in male have continued for weeks. anger flared last month when the

president ordered to arrest the senior judge. the same judge had early ordered the release. protesters on fuse took control of the state broadcaster. that afternoon, the president played a televised statement saying he agreed to step down for the sake of the stability of the nation. the archipelago of 300,000 people was under autocratic rule for years. but parliament is dominated by his opponents efforts to tackle issues such as rising prices and causing widespread public unease. several asian nations and the united states began annual military exercises in thailand on tuesday. an opening ceremony was held at an air base in northeast thailand. the united states and thailand are the core members.

but this year a total of 13,000 military personnel from seven countries are taking part. they include japan, south korea, singapore. it has been held for the last 31 years. the exercises have gained significance since the obama administration places asia pacific at the center of u.s. foreign policy. also an increasing factor around the region. china is one of 20 countries officially observing the exercises. it will take place over 11 days and across various parts of thailand. peace keeping and humanitarian assisting drills are also on this year's agenda with the intention of improving international cooperation in those fields. turning now to myanmar. the country's leaders are already planning for life after economic sanctions.

with reforms regressing, western countries have indicated that sanctions on myanmar could be lifted within months. with that in mind, the president is inviting foreign companies to consider investing in his country. leaders from japan are in myanmar to assess the opportunities. during a meeting on monday, laid out a proposal to turn the airport into a transport hub. the airport opened in december last ye, but so far only serves domestic routes. the president's also invited companies to invest in highway linking myanmar to thailand and other countries in the region. >> translator: through his work, i understood his strong commitment to reform in myanmar.

>> foreign investors look at myanmar as the last frontier of southeast asia. it has a wealth of natural resources and plenty o cheap labor. with the end of economic sanctions in sight, chances to secure business opportunities are likely to intensify. one of the largest thermal power plants officially opened on monday. the new facility reflects surging demand for power as indonesia's economy expands. foreign companies from several companies are competing. >> reporter: with a maximum amount of capacity of 2,000 megawatts, a power ply of 12%. a group of japanese firms

invested about $5.2 billion to construct the power plant in java. the island is home to about 60% of indonesia's 240 million people. officials say the plant will help address the problem of regular electricity shortages. demand for power is growing rapidly. and many power plants are under construction. companies from china, south korea, and japan are competing fiercely for orders. the japanese energy consortium is led by corporation. while engineering and building led construction. but that's not the end of the story. the consortium will also run the plant maintaining steady business other many years.

that's the japanese group's unique selling point. >> translator: i think if we perform at a high level, we'll get another level. good results lead to more business. >> translator: we hope to gain momentum in responding to demand for building infrastructure overseas. . >> reporter: instead of just selling a product, these companies try to offer everything from funding to operations. the japanese government is strengthening its support for infrastructure exports like this as part of its growth strategy. nhk world, indonesia. >> and that wraps up our bulletin. i'm raksawong in bangkok. pushing with russia until it returns four islands claimed by japan.

>> translator: russian president dimitry medvedev and i recall the need to restore the issue last year. we also agreed to continue discussions while respecting each other. >> noda spoke at an annual rally that calls for the island's return. a new government will take place in moscow in may. the strategic environment in the asian pacific region is changing too. february 7th is northern territories day in japan. japan and russia signed a treaty on the day in 1885 that recognizes the islands as japanese territory. vladimir putin served as president for eight years then prime minister for the last four 37 political analysts say they expect putin to win, but

nationwide protests over suspected corruption underscore some deep dissatisfaction. >> reporter: during a recent rally, temperatures hovered at minus 20 degrees celsius in central moscow during the day. people braved the cold. white balloons in hand, a symbol of their hopes for a fair election. in the crowd was beljito. he was one of the organizers of the demonstration. beljito's involvement in the process began after he witnessed people being arrested for openly opposinghe government. he also said the government conceals unflattering news through its control of mainstream media. >> translator: the economy may have improved, but we are losing

more and more. no place if had the prosperous country of russia. >> reporter: he says his distrust in politics deepened after authorities banned an opposition candidate from running. yevlinski is part of the party. the russian central election commission denied his bid to register as a presidential candidate. the commission cited invalid signatures in his application as the reason. >> translator: lists of signatures are more than just pieces of paper. they represent people's desires and wishes. the refusal to register someone as a candidate is a foolish decision that ignores the people's will.

>> reporter: participants in saturday eess rally says russia's government is trying to exclude liberal politicians from the race. in order to smooth putin's re-election. >> translator: i want to see a fair election that brings politics in the real sense of the word to this country. putin must go. >> reporter: there is no end in sight to the protests against vladimir putin. the prime minister has made some attempts to quell the outpouring of public anger. but opponents aren't satisfied. it remains to be seen how far the protesters will go in the run-up to election day. "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. researchers say they have detected high levels of radioactive cesium in earthworms around the damaged fukushima daiichi power plant. the researchers are from the forestry and forest products research institute. they checked cesium levels in earthworms at three locations. one sample was checked from 30 kilometers from the plant. they detected about 19,000 becquerels of cesium in every kilogram of worms. they took a second sample 70 kilometers from the plant. those contained 1,000 becquerels per kilogram. they took a third sample 130 kilometers from the plant. the levels there were about 290 becquerels.

the researchers say cesium levels rise in proportion to the radioactive levels of topsoil. the worms feed on decomposed leaves in the soil. >> translator: i'm concerned that earthworms with high level of cesium will have an impact on forest animals. >> he says researchers will need to monitor the radioactive impact on these creatures to prevent contamination throughout the food chain. the number of children and young adults has significantly decreased in the three prefectures hit by the march 11th disaster. a survey by the education ministry shows as of may 1st last year, the population in iwate, miyagi, and fukushima prefectures fell by more than 27,000 from 2010. the total is about 834,000. fukushima saw the biggest decrease at 5.8% or more than 17,000. this is followed by a fall of

2.3% in iwate and 1.7% in miyagi. the ministry says the accident at the fukushima daiichi plant is to blame for the decline in the number of kindergarteners and elementary school children in the prefektures. it says smaller children are more vulnerable to radiation and are likely to have been sent to other prefectures. the warm spell in tokyo ended and residents are again dealing with cold weather. >> hello. time now for your weather update. let's begin with japan. we are looking at a typical wintry weather pattern. what this means is cold temperatures nationwide and snowy weather on the western side. we're expecting more than 20 centimeters from hokkaido down

to niigata prefecture. and winds are picking up. so that is leading to blowing snow conditions. and the risk of avalanches are getting extremely high here. but most of the pacific side will remain largely dry today. but the exceptions will be the tokai area. there may be accumulating snow. as for the korean peninsula, the southwestern corner will see snow showers all day today. meanwhile, a high pressure system is in control bringing dry conditions to most of china. but snow showers will be moving in to the inland sections in the next 24 hours. down towards the philippines on monday, a massive earthquake occurred in the central portions of the country. and it caused deadly landslides. however, thundershowers are expected. so that could worsen then

situation. today's highs are looking like this. 19 degrees in taipei with light rain showers. and seoul dipping to minus four degrees. and tokyo in at seven degrees for the high. heading to the european countries, arctic chill continues to bring cold air. to give you an idea how cold the conditions are, let's look at some photos coming out of the southwest portion of europe. ukraine has been the hardest hit company in the freeze recording more than 130 deaths from the cold. this cargo ship stranded in icy waters in the sea of azof. emergency officials deployed a helicopter to rescue a crew. this is from serbia. temperatures dropped to minus 16 degrees on tuesday. but animals don't seem to be enjoying the snow very much. unfortunately the cold conditions will continue throughout the week in the

european countries. and in fact, the cold wave is starting to impact southern europe. we will show you the figures in just a moment. meanwhile, stormy weather continues in the mediterranean countries. and in greece you're going to see rain rather than -- i should say snow. rather than rain because temperatures are dropping down to six degrees on wednesday. and it'll go down to four degrees on thursday. meanwhile right at the freezing point in paris with some snow showers. and minus five in berlin. all right. here's your extended forecast.

and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. ????ovív"dd