welcome to "newsline" this tuesday, january 6th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. people in myanmar will be voting in a general election for the first time in six years, but opposition groups may boycott the vote over concerns military leaders still hold too much power. the union solidarity and development party won the first selection in 2010. many of its lawmakers are affiliated with the military dictatorship that rules myanmar for decades. the party of pro democracy

leader sue chiu boycotted the poll. it guarantees a quarter of the states in parliament go to military personnel. the date of this year's election has not been announced and leaders haven't said if they'll take part. they're demand inging changes to the constitution and the lek troll system. u.s. president obama has expressed concern over the slow pace of reforms an opposition boycott would cast further doubt. but many analysts see great promise in myanmar. they describe the country as asia's final frontier for its economic potential. they're looking to the election as a test for whether leaders can maintain stability while carrying out democratic reforms. former taiwanese president has been released temporarily after about six years in prison. authorities have granted him one month of medical parole.

they say he has been diagnosed with depression and other ailments while behind bars. he emerged from jail on monday after leaving a prison hospital. he waved to supporters from his wheelchair before getting into a car this took him home. he was convicted of corruption after eight years in power. he applied last month to receive treatment outside the prison and the medical team approved his application because of his deteriorating health. he first requested medical parole last june. but that was jekted. the dpp won a major victory in november and has been demanding chin be paroled based on humanitarian grounds. analysts from a u.s. consulting firm have listed this year's ten biggest risks. they say topping the list is the

politics of europe. they say as the new year begins political conflict among the world's great powers is in play more than any other time since the end of the cold war. analysts released top risk of 2015. the report says the political groups are gaining power in europe and that friction among eu states is worsening. it claims the external political environment is challenging. it cites the russian crisis and terror threats from militants. they name russia as the second largest risk. they point out that the country's economy is weakening and dropping oil prices. the report points out this affects the economies of brazil and other resource rich countries that rely on exports to china. >> the russians chinese, european americans, are moving

in very different directions. that is deeply unsettling for the geo political environment, deeply upsetting for the marketplace. >> he said he's sure 2015 will face big challenges. crude oil prices briefly dip below $50 a barrel in new york for the first time in more than five and a half years. concerns about excess supply prompted investors to sell. the benchmark west texas intermediate dipped just below the $50 mark on monday, the lowest since april 2009. the united states is expected to keep its output of shale oil high. russia and iraq say they'll maintain their high production levels. the wti prices have dropped by more than half since last july. saudi arabia has refused to lower production and global demand for oil weakened as the chinese economy slows. market observers say prices

could fall even further if greece's economic problems affect financial markets in europe. all this is making investors jittery. they're going ton a selling spree. oil, the euro stocks, investors everywhere. >> just look at equity markets. wall street europe now here in tokyo, stocks are taking a nose dive. cheaper oil, not necessarily a bad thing, but investors are worried it's a sign of a weaker global economy. let's look at what happened overnight. people on wall street had a rough ride. the dow jones industrial average plunged by more than 300 points. in europe, investors had other things to worry about. they heard the german government might let greece leave if they

back peddle. frankfurt stocks drop 2.9%. share prices in paris plunged more than 3.3%. investors in tokyo are worried about spliding prices. the nikkei is tracking overnight in europe. it opened 1.7% lower than monday's close. it is now down by just about 2.5%. the key index is below the key 17,000 level. analysts say a stronger yen is prompting the broad selloff, too. they're buying the yen because they see it as a safer bet when market volatility is high. the yen is trading well below 120 in the lower range and the

euro is being sold on worries of greece. trading lower by 1.1%. australia's is trading lower by 1.79%. a negative start to your tuesday morning. prime minister abe has vowed to revive japan's economies. he said he wants to show off their strength to the rest of the country and the world. government officials are working on a will that will help towns and villages specialty products. they say it will provide subsidies to local governments. they'll introduce the bill later this month. abe says he is ready to do whatever it takes to improve lagging, local economies.

>> translator: our priority is to develop regional resources. the government will help communities introduce their specialty fund. >> government officials plan to designate several special zones that will receive financial help. japanese government officials are preparing to spend big in the fis tall cal year ahead. they're drawing up a draft budget that's likely to hit a record 96 trillion yen. that's about $800 billion. the officials say a large chunk of that will go to social welfare. they're planning to set aside about $260 billion for medical costs, nursing programs and other initiatives for japan's graying population. they're also a planning to wrap up defense to more than $40 billion. but they have to put some other programs on ice. still, the officials expect tax

revenue to grow by more than $30 billion from this fiscal year to about $450 billion. that's the highest amount in 18 years and is due to robust company earnings. they plan to slash the amount of new government bonds to about $300 billion. but some experts worry the decision on the con sumssumption tax could make it hard for japan to get as public debt under control. execs of mcdonald's japan say they've suspended sales of some chicken nuggets after complaints of contamination. two customers complained of finding plastic. a customer up north reported finding vinyl inside the chicken nugget. a company spokesperson says it was the second such complaint in a week. a customer in tokyo reported a similar problem.

they have suspended sales at another plant in thailand. last year mcdond's japan got caught up in a separate scandal at a meat processing plant in china. that prompted them to move to thailand. >> a mcdond's scandal again? food makers should sell only safe foods. >> executives at the firm reported a sharp drop. i'll have more on these headlines for you next hour in business. i'll leave you with a check on markets.

people have clashed with police in bangladesh on the one year anniversary of a contested election. local media report three have been killed in the northwestern district and others have been injured. people joined rallies to show support for the bangladesh nationalist party. the opposition party boycotted last year's election saying it lacks legitimacy. the league party led by prime minister hasina won the vote. police have surrounded the office of an opposition leader to prevent her from leaving. they used tear gas on supporters who tried to break the blockade. she defend eded the government's

action and called on supporters to block roads and railways nationwide. authorities in new delhi are dealing with massive gridlock after a major highway collapsed. they say many commuters have been forced to walk to and from their destination. national highway 24 is a major artery connecting the indian kapp tall with the state in the north. reuters news agency says on monday morning, the cave in occurred. >> translator: due to the pressure of the water underneath it, the highway caved in. there was a long traffic jam and we are facing difficulties moving on the road. the police have come but we're having a lot of trouble going to work. >> local media is reporting that repair work is underway. analysts say collapsing roads are common in india. they say the country is struggling with ageing infrastructure and a surge in the number of vehicles. china has launched a large

transport ship that will send supplies to islands in the south china sea. the islands are the subject of territorial disputes. chinese media report a launching ceremony was held for the ship at a port on hainan island. the vessel will reportedly connect hainan island with the disputed paracel islands. it is over 120 meters long and is equipped with a helicopter pad. it can carry several times more cargo than the older ship it has replaced. it will also cut the sailing time by 1/3 to about 10 hours. china stationed troops on the paracel islands. it also built a government building there to administer islands across the south china sea. observers say the new ship may trigger a backlash from other parties that claim the islands, including vietnam. an armed man has been detained in northeastern china after apparently crossing the border from north korea and killing several residents. the case has prompted a reaction

from authorities in beijing. >> translator: we have already lodged a protest with the north korean side. chinese security authorities are handling the case in accordance with the law. >> sources in northeastern china say the man broke into a home in the city of helong on the border with north korea. he killed four people during an apparent robbery. the suspect was shot by local law enforcement officers. he was detained and taken to a hospital. local authorities say a growing number of impoverished north koreans are taking advantage of winter conditions to flee their country across the frozen river. they say some of these people commit acts of robbery and theft. japanese man is thinking outside of the box on ways to improve strained relations between his nation and china. he's going beyond diplomatic channels to bring various groups of people together and he's now looking to unite a younger

generation. nhk world explains. >> reporter: a toast to better understanding. members of this japanese study group about china meet every two months. they are experts in government, busy, and academia. they belong to an organization that form ten years ago with funding from companies and others who have ties with china. the organization aims to promote exchanges in science, technology, and culture. it hosted a big forum on the environment in beijing last year. this man is a key member of the organization. he's been following japan-china relations since the 1990s. >> translator: more than 40 years have passed since japan and china have normalized their relations. many members are getting old.

the challenge is how to pass on their experiences and know how to the next generation of members. >> reporter: he wants his organization to reach out to young people. one of them is kazuki nakayama. he studied for a year in china. he said the experience opened his mind toward japan's neighborhood. his organization was supposed to sponsor the exchanges. but he discovered that exchanges between young people continue unaffected. >> translator: the relationship between the two governments has been worsening but almost none of our events have been canceled, so i think we found an area with respect students can

make headway. >> he told the meeting he wants to expand cooperation with businesses and universities. his speech prompted various questions and comments. >> translator: can company employees join the events with students? >> translator: i wish you would set up exchange meetings for young businesspeople. >> reporter: at the end of the meeting, he stressed the importance of japan-china exchanges not for just students. >> on one hand, there are organizations that are active on exchanges and on the other, there are young people's groups playing a vital role for the future. the question is how to create opportunities for both.

i hope this china seminar will become a model platform. [ applause ] >> reporter: regardless of their specialization or their age, some japanese people are trying to rise above the challenges they face and help the two countries mend their ties. nhk world, tokyo. china's rise brought in wealth power and problems, but income gap divideses its people and differences over territory. strained relss with its neighbors. find out the challenges china faces only on "newsline." pope francis is laying out a new vision of the catholic church's identity. he has named 20 cardinals from across the globe. the pontiff announced his

nominees sunday in st. peter's square. cardinals are the most senior clergymen clergymen. five are from europe, five from asia pacific, five from latin america and two from africa. it is the first time cardinals from myanmar and tonga have been nameded. the pope also appointed five who are more than 80 years old. he said the church men come from every continent to show the strong ties between the vatican and catholic churches around the world. a former fighter pilot is preparing to prove you're never too old to change careers. he'll travel to the international space station station and become japan's tenth man to reach outer space. >> he has been training in

russia for his trip on the spacecraft. he flew back and spoke to reporters about his upcoming mission. >> translator: i spent the new year's holiday, the typical japanese way. relaxing at home, drinking sake and watching a marathon race on tv. >> he has been training for the last six years. he is preparing for a long stay in a space station. he has had an unusual career path for an astronaut. he graduated from the national defense academy and joined the air force defense force and he said his experience flying fighter planes will help his work in space. >> i had no problem getting used to strong g-forces in training. as a fighter pilot, i've experienced up to 9 g's, and the training in russia was about 8 g

>> he is due to stay on the iss for about six months. he will operate japan's cable laboratory and other facilities conducting scientific experiments in a gravity free environment. >> translator: we're going to try to robotic an arm on earth from the space station. it will be the first time it's ever been done. i think i'll be assigned to experiments like that. >> reporter: the 44-year-old says been undergoing hard physical training for his mission and he is confident he's got the strength. he hopes he's change of career will inspire other people. >> translator: people might think they have grown old and missed their chance to start something new.

but i don't believe that's true. i want to show people that i have many possibilities. i want anyone, regardless of their age, to set their goals high. >> reporter: yui is now training at a space under north of tokyo. he will fly to the u.s. to work with nasa. before beginning the mission he hopes will inspire others to embark on their adventures. it's time for a check of the weather. people in lebanon are dealing with heavy snow. the cold weather conditions are especially hard on the more than 1 million syrian refugees in the country. >> a great level of instability continues in southeastern europe and the middle east. we're concerned with the families living in lebanon, especially the refugees. take a look at some photos here.

thousands of syrian refugees continue to live in tents. with the onset of temperatures these will make life much difficult for these families. many people living in these communities have little more than cloth or food and are unable to buy proper supplies for winter. a storm is setting up and could bring over 50 centimeters of snow. this could be a very dangerous situation for those braving the cold out here in the temporary shelters for the next few days the weather will not be cooperating. beirut, we're looking at stormy conditions on tuesday. milder conditions on thursday neighboring countries also are looking at snow on thursday. take a look at -- thursday minus 10 degrees. out here across these locations, we're seeing a chance of tornados in and around athens and we'll see snowfall as well.

snow will be piling up in and around austria. one of which is to be blamed for one of the two u.s. ski team member members that were training in europe. snow will also be piling up across the sand knave arean peninsula with just 1 degree forecast in stoke home. as well as gusts reaching up to 112 kilometers per hour. out here across the u.s. we have this incoming system with the windchill factors down to about minus 20 degrees. that's bringing heavy snowfall. the midwest will be piling up as much 18 centimeters and coastal flooding is going to be at risk. western washington has flood warnings in place. olympia marked 62.5 sent meres, which is a record for the day. the snow is going to be piling up across new england. spread about 5 centimeters will be possible. meanwhile, we're looking at los angeles, quite nice at 26

degrees. here across the eastern continental asia, a high pressure system is predominant across the northern locations of china. shanghai, you're going to be seeing hazy conditions, but we have an incoming system which is bringing very strong winds across the western coast and that's pulling into western japan. we have a report of 92 kilometers per housework winds already, but that's likely to continue throughout the day. it's already disturbing traffic here and gusts up to 126 dmom terrors per hour will be possible. the sea will be very choppy as well. as these two systems combine, that's likely to pull away and bring winter pressure pattern, which is typical, but likely to see up to 40 centers of snowfall around hokkaido. temperatures in tokyo, not bad at 15 degrees. very mild conditions but on wednesday, it could drop to possibly single digits. seoul looking at that arctic

chill at minus 1 degree for your why on tuesday.

of knews line. thank very much for joining us.

>> hello, and thanks for tuning in to the show. we have a festive start to the program today so let's find out what is on the way. la fete de lumieres lights up lyon. leap of faith. the daredevil stunts of scottish trials biker danny macaskill.

ancient world -- we visit the roman town ruins of herculaneum. the 8th of december marks a french, lyonnaise tradition that has become known as the festival of lights. back in the 17th century, when the city was struck by the plague, residents promised to pay tribute to mary, the mother of jesus, if the town was spared. and so, for centuries, locals held an annual candlelit procession in her honor which in