confirmed the death of a militant. it comes one year after many japanese first heard the name. they learned that he was holding two of the citizen hostage and threatening their lives. the islamic state group released it online and demanded a ransom. they want it had release of an iraq woman held. he had been covering the plight

of people caught up in conflicts. his focus was on the humanitarian side of the story. he was a self-proclaimed contractor and killed both men. last saturday the militants kidnapped 400 civilians in the city in eastern syria. an egyptian organization monitoring the groups says the number of videos dropped dramatically in recent months and credit the decline of air strikes. the group's media arm is thought to have been damaged. still the group's threat is widening. it said it will target countries made up the u.s.-led coalition. iran's supreme leader has welcomed the listing of international sanctions against his country but says there is still need for continued caution

against the united states. khamenei stated his opinion in a letter to the country's president. in his first public reaction to the nuclear deal he wrote it forced the west to back down. the u.s. and european countries lifted the sanctions last saturday after confirming that iran had met the requirements for scaling down nuclear activities under the 2015 accord but khamenei reiterated the need to be vigilant. khamenei's comments came after the u.s. government confirmed sanctions mpt the u.s. says the program is a significant threat to global security. he added that recent remarks by some american politicians are a cause for suspicion.

people in iran expect lifting of international sanctions will give a boost. nhk world has more. >> in morning with no sanctions. the sanctions have become a thing of the past. iranian newspapers carried headlines celebrating the lifting of sanctions. it is a welcome development. life has been tough for iranians and inflation hit 45% at one time. they have high hopes the new environment will reinvigorate the economy. >> translator: i am very happy. now inflation will end and prices will go down. >> reporter: the world bank projects the country's economy will grow nearly 7% in 2017 fiscal year. this training firm is based in the capital.

the boycotts hurt its business significantly. its purchase cost has risen six fold. the firm expects the purchase price to go down as the spending on energy development increases. >> translator: i hope that the economy will get out of the door jambs and recover. >> reporter: this tours agency expects more travelers will visit iran as international relations improve. iran is home to 17 world heritage sites, the most in the middle east. they include the area that dates back 2,500 years. the agency aims to use the country's rich history to develop tourism.

>> translator: our country used to be under sanctions and had a scary image. that is no longer the case. >> reporter: iranians are greatly looking forward to the country's return to the international community and the economy benefits that go with it. nhk world,. a suicide bomber has attacked in pakistan. the pakistani taliban claimed responsibility. the bomb exploded during morning rush hour killing at least 12 people and wounding at least 24. the bomber rammed his motorcycle into the check point near the border with afghanistan. the pakistani military launched

in 2014. the mountainous areas are regard as a safe haven and staging ground for attacks in afghanistan. police have beefed up security in the indonesian island of bali after receiving a letter threatening to target the resort island. the country is shocked by a deadly attack by a military group claiming to be the islamic state. >> translator: we have strengthened and offices of foreign representatives. >> the letter said some militants behind the jacquarda attack are plotting to bomb sight seeing spots. police are chasing the threat

back. on tuesday there was little sense of concern in one of southeast asia's busiest leisure destinations. >> in thirst's attack a group of menetonated a bomb. they killed four people and wounded 26 others. time for the latest in business. flood of data from china provided mixed cues for the markets and led to a choppy trading session. we are joined from the business desk. how is it looking today? >> trading was choppy. investors managed to eke out gains in tokyo and shanghai on expectations that gdp is putting

pressure on beijing for more stimulus. investors are nervous with oil prices under pressure. tokyo share prices opened lower. the nikkei is trading lower at the moment at 16,837, a loss of 1.25%. the index is erasing all of yesterday's gains. energy related shares are falling. a slightly firmer yen is weighing in. u.s. crude oil futures hit a preclow. it dropped below $28 a barrel for the first time since 2003. brent crude below $29 a barrel. the dollar is trimming some of its overnight rise against the yen. the pair at 117.37-38. that is after it went above 118 on tuesday. traders safe haven positions. the euro trading at 1.09.

let's take a look. south korea kospii is trading lower. australia is managing to be in the negative modestly. construction is about to begin in japan on a station for a train that can reach about 500 kilometers per hour. it will knock off more than half the travel time between two major cities. the central japan railway company plans to start running trains in 2027. the 286 kilometer trip will take about 40 minutes. company officials say they will start the construction next wednesday. they say the station will be 40 meters below ground right under a bullet train line. officials say it will be a difficult job as trains need to be kept running during the work. last month the company began

working on the southern alps and aim to start building the nagoya train before the end of march. global business and political leaders are gathering at an annual meeting. leaders from about 40 countries and more than 2,500 business people are meeting for the world economic forum that starts on wednesday. a four day conference will cover tumbling oil prices and other resources as well as effects of last month's u.s. interest rate hike. participants will discuss china's unclear economic prospects. financial markets have been in chaos since the start of this year. another topic will be the growing -- europe's influx of refugees -- participants will go

over the latest efforts using robotics, artificial intelligence and information technology. environmental issues will also be discussed. last month many nations akbrgre on a new framework. international monetary fund officials downloaded the global economic growth forecast for 2016. they say tumbling crude oil prices are hurting emerging countries. the officials expect growth will come in at 3.4% down 0.2 percentage points from october. they lowered projection by 2.6%. they say the economy remains strong. more positive about the situation in europe lifting the forecast for the eurozone to 1.7% up 0.1 percentage point. the officials kept the forecast for japan at 1%. they said better wages and other factors will create stable

growth in the world's third biggest economy. they predict china's economy will expand by 6.3% well down from last year. they say the economies of brazil and russia will likely shrink for the second straight year. russia's by 1%. they say the plunge in oil prices will hurt the economy of saudi arabia which they predict will grow only 1.2%. vietnam's booming economy is creating lifestyle changes. not all of them welcome. obesity is a growing problem and a third of the country's young are reportedly overweight. one result is growing rate of diabetes sufferrors. nhk world reports on what is being done to bring the disease under control. a hospital waiting room. many of these people are suffering from diabetes. the hospital used to treat about

100 diabetic patients a day but now on busy dayathize number exceeds 1,000. diabetes is known as a silent killer. in early stages many people don't notice the symptoms. by the time they visit a doctor the disease has begun to destroy organs and limbs. doctors are expecting more diabetic patients in the future. one reason is what is on the dinner table. traditional food consists of things like tofu, vegetables and fish. now people are surrounded by fast food options of the west like pizzas, hamburgers and fried chicken. diets are changing. young people especially have developed a taste for fast food. >> translator: i like spaghetti and pizza. >> translator: i don't like this kind of food but i came here because my grand child likes it.

>> reporter: one main challenge is the shortage of doctors. this doctor has been treating diabetic patients for more than 20 years. he is one of only a few hundred doctors capable of treating diabetes and they have the job of looking after 5 million patients. >> translator: there are more patients but not enough doctors and hospitals. we can't spend as much time as we would like to on each patient. >> reporter: he says the shortage of experts makes it more critical to educate the public. there is even a smart phone app that caught his eye. users can search for the closest diabetes specialist and local hospitals. the app keeps track of blood sugar levels and exercise. it will allow patients to send the data to their doctor so they can be treated without visiting

a hospital. he often meets with the developer of the app to give advice. for the app to succeed it needs to be easy to use for both doctors and patients. >> translator: the developer built a technical platform to allow patients to contact a doctor anytime anywhere. it will be an effective app because patients will be able to manage diabetes on their own. >> health officials meanwhile are working to train more experts. in 2013 the government set up the first nutrition course at the medical university. when they graduate the certified nutritionists will be sent to medical institutions and schools to spread the word on importance of nutritious diet. awareness is growing and some people are becoming more proactive about healthier life

styles. these children are taking part in a weight loss program. 50 kids are signed up. they exercise four times a week. >> translator: i want to lose weight to be healthy and be more attractive. >> reporter: these youngsters have a chance to make a fresh start but there are no quick cures for the diabetes plight facing their country. for vietnam health authority the hard work is just beginning. nhk world. >> and tomorrow we will bring you part two of our special series on vietnam with a look at expatriots returning home to be entrepreneurs. here is another check on markets.

there are fresh tensions between vietnam and china over disputed waters in the south china sea. officials are raising concern over a chinese oil rig that was at the center of a previous standoff. a foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed the rig had been moved to waters outside the gulf, an area where the country's continental shelves overlap. the ministry asked china not to use the rig to drill and to move it from the area. in 2014 crews on vessels from both sides crashed repeatedly near the islands. analysts say the government is nervous about china's maritime activities. the communist party convention will open on thursday to decide national policy for the next five year. china considers most of the

south china sea to be its sovereign territory. other countries and territories have similar claims there. china's ambassador to japan says his country plants to built civilian facilities on its artificial islands in the waters. ambassador said china's reclaimuation project are to protect its sovereignty and said the philippines and other countries have carried out construction projs in the area. he talked about chinese test flights carried out using a run way on the island. said the flights were in accordance with international law using civilian aircraft and added the air field will be used for rescue operations and plans to build facilities for maritime traffic safety, weather surveying and ocean research.

almost a month ago japan and south korea reached a final settlement on the issue of those referred to as comfort women. the deal brought closure to the greatest cause of tension. the south korea's government is struggling with mounting public opposition. the deal that was supposed to solve risks has ended up creating new ones at home. nhk world reports from seoul. >> reporter: at her first news conference of the year south korea's president reiterated her call for support of the agreement with japan on the issue of comfort women. >> translator: the process to reach the agreement was strenuous beyond words, the fruits of those efforts must be respected even if the deal is not perfect. >> reporter: but not perfect was an under statement for some. as her news conference were

ending people gathered to protest in front of the japanese embassy. a south korea civic group that supports former comfort women has been protesting there every week for 24 years. >> the number of people taking part in the rally has been growing since the dpreemt wagre reached. they insisted a deal that doesn't recognize japan's legal responsibility is unacceptable and the group firmly refuses to remove or relocate the statue

that symbolizes the women. that has been a point of tension with japan. the group says it will build more status in south korea and abroad. >> translator: they say they will give us money if we remove the statue. how is that acceptable? >> nearby, a conservative group accused the protesters of taking advantage of the issue to stoke anti-japan sentiment. it called for them to disband. the conservative group is also urging the public to accept the deal. >> translator: the government negotiated well. the issue was repressed for so long. the fact that it has been resolved is great in and of itself. >> translator: i hope both countries set the record straight and work for new growth together. >> reporter: but many south koreans seem to disagree.

opposition is increasing according to the latest poll. 54% express disapproval. more than twice as many of those who approved. and it's even higher for young people at 76%. even female university students with a favorable impression of japan are against it. they demonstrated by tearing up mock copies of the text. >> translator: i'm furious that both governments pushed us to accept the agreement although they haven't explained it to the former comfort women properly. >> reporter: opposition to the agreement shows no signs of abating and that is casting doubt on the future oriented

relationship the deal was supposed to usher in. nhk world, seoul. people in northern japan are seeing severe winter weather. skiers may be happy seeing fresh snow but not everyone is welcoming in the flurries. >> across much of northern areas of the country we are continuing to see the white stuff come down. it's not just coming down heavy, it is including whiteout conditions. we have had wind reports up to 162 kilometers per hour on tuesday. look at the snowfall reports near a meter of accumulation there in northern areas of hokkaido in the past 48 horz. you think that is just northern prefecture as we extend west we are seeing upwards of 80 centimeters. i want to show you video out of hokkaido where you are looking

at these white out conditions. definitely dangerous traveling. look at the cars getting stuck in the snowfall. we have seen dozens of flights being cancelled. it's not just there. this is south of tokyo looking at delays because the snow is coming down. it's not just on the roadways. people just sometimes it gets a little slick while they are walking along. make sure you have the right winter weather gear if you are out and about during the duration of the storm. it looks like it will continue through the rest of the week. back here towards the west should start to finally thursda it is definitely still at least ongoing for now. we continue to see winds 100 to 140 kilometers per hour. additional on top of the snow fall reports towards the north 80 centimeters expected to fall throughout the next 24 hours. this is definitely an ongoing

story. and then as we head into the weekend we got another round of rough weather. that is developing here in southeastern china pulling towards the northeast. as it does so by saturday could bring a few more centimeters even into the tokyo area. behind it dragging down the cold air beijing only with a high of 0 on wednesday. seoul getting up to minus 4. tokyo 10 and expected to cool down. taipei at 18. by the way, sunday you are looking at a high of about 7 to 8 degrees. here into the americas we have a low pushing through the central plai plains. north of this warm front you are seeing snowfall and moving towards the great lakes region where you have the lake effect snow machine continuing to crank up there for you. back towards the west we have several low pressure areas moving to the pacific northwest.

this is a big deal not only here but by the end of the week into the weekend moving into the eastern seaboard interacting with the cold air and that will bring snowfall. for now new york and washington, d.c. you have sunny to partly cloudy skies. your highs lingering around the freezing point. let's wrap things up here into europe. we have a storm system that will start to work its way into the picture across parts of the iberian peninsula. we have high wind warnings in effect for those areas. back towards the east we have this storm moving across italy into the balkan peninsula bringing severe weather. we are looking at snowfall. one of the big deals is just towards the north of that look at your cold temperatures on your wednesday. here is the extended outlook.

and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.

host: hello and welcome to "global 3000." so here we are again in this pre-holiday season that for some reason always turns out to be hectic and stressful. in this edition of our program, we'll take the opportunity to slow things down a bit and introduce you to people who turn to the calming powers of nature. we'll also hear from someone whose reflections about political crises are really good food for thought. so here are the stories we have coming up for you. on a quest for the meaning of life, a trip to the arctic ice of greenland. what our millennium teen enjoys about his life on the islands of the seychelles.