and also eastern indochina peninsula, as well as bangkok. the winds are picking up just around this area, so we may see some waves that are going to be high, about three meters high. compared to last week, it's not too bad, but we want you to stay away from the coastal areas if possible. tokyo at 9 degrees, staying in the single digit, seoul as well at 3 degrees. talking about in the tropics, manila at 29, and bangkok at 30 degrees. now let's head over to north america and talk about what's happening here. we've got a trio of frontal system just one after another actually. so people in the pacific northwest, it looks like 2011 you're going to be ending on a wet and stormy note there. gusty conditions, coastal heavy rain and mountain snow to be seen there. out towards the east, this is what we're talking about. well severe weather here, atlantic coast. carolinas and georgia. you may be seeing some isolated thunderstorms. wherever you see the green is all going to be rain, coastal moisture is surging up here. heavy rain to be seen just from oh

i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> thanks. tokyo police have arrest ad two-time olympic judo gold medalist on suspicion of raping a female student from a college where he once taught. he won the gold at both athens and beijing olympic games after retiring from judo he was a visiting professor in southwestern japan. police say the suspect is accused of raping the teenager, a member of the college's women judo team at a tokyo hotel in late september. she had reportedly been drinking at a nearby bar with him and other members of the squad. he has denied the rape alleges saying the act was consensual. the college dismissed him late last month for what it deemed a sexual harassment of the student. >>> cyclones, tornadoes, torrential storms, extreme weather events are happening more and more all the time. experts think global warming may play a role. africa in particular has been battered by a spate of droughts and heavy rains. south africa, the venue of the u.n. conference on climate change is no exception. record rains hit durban

temperaturewise, manila seeing 32 degrees. 34 in bangkok. a cooler day for you in hong kong. in the upper teen there's. 10 in shanghai. a chilly day here as well. 4 for beijing with minus 11 in kuala lumpor and 9 in tokyo. into north america, looking at a snowstorm here in the four corners. we've also got another snowstorm dropping out of canada. so widespread snowfall. let's take a look at the big picture, in fact. i want to show you how this storm here is going to be stretching up towards the great lakes region, turning to rain as it pushes further towards the east. so the darker shades of gray show where the heaviest snow will be falling. wyoming, down into colorado and also much of new mexico picking up some of the heavier precipitation, and just along the border here where snow is turning to rain, we'll also find ice, making for very dangerous driving conditions. any of cold air is filters here as well to make some of that snow appear in panhandles of oklahoma as well as texas. further out towards the east, things looking more settled. temperatures not too bad. d.c., 14

temperaturewise, manila seeing 32 degrees. 34 in bangkok. a cooler day for you in hong kong. in the upper teen there's. 10 in shanghai. a chilly day here as well. 4 for beijing with minus 11 in kuala lumpor and 9 in tokyo. into north america, looking at a snowstorm here in the four corners. we've also got another snowstorm dropping out of canada. so widespread snowfall. let's take a look at the big picture, in fact. i want to show you how this storm here is going to be stretching up towards the great lakes region, turning to rain as it pushes further towards the east. so the darker shades of gray show where the heaviest snow will be falling. wyoming, down into colorado and also much of new mexico picking up some of the heavier precipitation, and just along the border here where snow is turning to rain, we'll also find ice, making for very dangerous driving conditions. any of cold air is filters here as well to make some of that snow appear in panhandles of oklahoma as well as texas. further out towards the east, things looking more settled. temperatures not too bad. d.c., 14

from bangkok. but the task seems never ending. water quality has severely deteriorated. there appears infectious diseases may spread. the government sent health inspectors to affected areas. >> translator: the water has grown so bad even aquatic creatures can't live. >> reporter: this is a temporary clinic for people in inundated areas. many patients have skin diseases from coming into contact with polluted water. >> translator: i told my daughter to be careful but she got a skin disease while playing in muddy water. >> translator: if the water quality continues to worsen i'm afraid more people will get infections. >> reporter: many districts remain cut off. this area about 50 kilometers west of bangkok is still under water one meter deep. residents of flooded farms have to live up stairs and it's hard for them to get out. this is one of them. his first daughter was born a few days after the flooding started. >> translator: these are the bags of food dropped by government helicopters. >> reporter:

across the south, 33 in bangkok and 17 degrees in hong kong. heading over to europe, a powerful winter storm has been battering northern europe. as you can see the isobars are close together, meaning that extremely fierce winds are blowing over the british isles, the southern scandinavian peninsula and the northern section of central europe, and on thursday the northern british isles were hit the hardest. we have some footage coming out of this area. coastal areas off the uk saw high waves and rough seas. hurricane force gusts well over 150 kilometers were recorded in scotland. the strong winds prompted bridge closures as well, not just winds but flooding rains and snow also affected parts of the uk and island. now the storm is headed toward the scandinavian peninsula and as it moves inland, it should weaken a bit. however though the strong winds will likely prevail across the wide area over the weekend. a bout of precipitation, heavy snow is moving northward over the scandinavian peninsula and mix of rain and snow moving over continental europ

as for temperatures, manila and bangkok, a pair of 30s. we're looking at ulan bator, the high for tuesday, minus 15, and 8 degrees for the tuesday high, chilly for us tomorrow. let's head over to north america and talk about this potent frontal system that will be disturbing this pacific northwest area for the next several days. i'm talking about coastal heavy rainfall as well as gusty situations. gusts could actually build up to about 100 kilometers per hour. heavy snow is not going to be seen in the central area, but gusts also very strong. this could actually also reach up to 100 kilometers per hour and sustained winds. we're talking about 50 kilometers per hour in some areas. so even if the snow is not too significant, that can combine and become blowing snow and blizzard conditions. now, here, gulf moisture. there's enough of that to bring you showers in the gulf states, which could be heavy at times. you see that heavy part, the pink area, that is moving through. heavy rain could even turn into snow in the overnight hours. chilly as

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

manila and bangkok staying very warm in the tropics in the low 30s.'s head over to the americas and talk about this storm that is going to be passing through new england and in towards canadian maritimes. we're talking about warm air that will be seeping in towards this system. ahead of it will be rain. most of the area and the southern areas. but north where we see snow. severe activity will be just around eastern texas. and the lower mississippi valley areas. we're not going to be even ruling out isolated tornadoes. one has touched down in louisiana yesterday that can't be ruled out yet. now, we talk about snow, that will be descending from northern rockies and in towards central rockies, talking about 5 to 15 centimeters of white stuff piling up in the higher elevations there. denver, two degrees tellwi s temperaturewise. atlanta, 20 degrees. that's well above average. let's head over to europe and talk about if you're going to be having a white christmas. we have images coming out from finland. white christmas is days away in santa's homeland here

. >>> next, we go to our bureau in bangkok. pachari raksawong is there to find out what's going on in the region. >>> we begin in afghanistan, where insurgencies have cost the lives of thousands of people in recent years, in an attempt to facilitate peace talks, the government is now considering letting the taliban set up a e liaison office in the country. the death in september of the government's key peace broker, rabbani, was a major blow to the already-fragile security situation in afghanistan. he was killed in a suicide attack in kabul. negotiations between the government and the taliban have been stalled ever since. president hamid karzai said on thursday that an office for the taliban should be set up in afghanistan, if the security situation permits. other possible locations include islamic countries such as saudi arabia or turkey. the taliban has vowed to continue fighting and says it will not engage in peace talks until all foreign troops have left afghanistan. it's not yet known whether the taliban will agree to karz

. >>> next, we go to our bureau in bangkok. pachari raksawong is there to find out what's going on in the region. >>> we begin in afghanistan, where insurgencies have cost the lives of thousands of people in recent years, in an attempt to facilitate peace talks, the government is now considering letting the taliban set up a liaison office in the country. the death in september of the government's key peace broker, rabbani, was a major blow to the already-fragile security situation in afghanistan. he was killed in a suicide attack in kabul. negotiations between the government and the taliban have been stalled ever since. president hamid karzai said on thursday that an office for the taliban should be set up in afghanistan, if the security situation permits. other possible locations include islamic countries such as saudi arabia or turkey. the taliban has vowed to continue fighting and says it will not engage in peace talks until all foreign troops have left afghanistan. it's not yet known whether the taliban will agree to karzai

also in bangkok. 11 in shanghai dropping into thursday to about 6 degrees. seoul's high of 4 on wednesday. also drops to about minus 3. basically what i'm telling you is a lot of very cold air is spilling in and bringing temperatures down by about 5 to 7 degrees. prepare for that. tokyo, 10 degrees on wednesday. and north america. the pacific northwest is going to be windy and we'll see snow as well with those two together, getting blowing and drifting snow potentially. that could be problematic if you're going to be driving. also a storm system here moving into the southeast. mostly going to be rain once it gets to the southeastern corner, but above that, there will be a little bit of a line, if you want to call it that. here we see freezing rain and sleet that potentially hits the great lakes and back in towards canada and parts of nebraska as well. here are your temperatures on tuesday. 8 degrees in vancouver. 8 in seattle. 2 in winnipeg. 3 in chicago. not doing too badly in l.a., another warm day at 19 degrees. and 17 in atlanta. now, just 7 degrees in n

. >>> next we go to bangkok to find out what is maybing headlines in the region. >> the death of kim jong-il shocked many people in southeast asia. a region that almost uniquely has long maintained friendly relations with north korea. governments here reacted quite differently to those in many other countries. in myanmar people learned of kim's passing via innet or satellite tv. many expressed regret on hearing the news. >> translator: i think his death is a real shame. because we were acting in trade after kim jong-il took power. >> we developed friendly relations, and i hope that won't change. >> indonesian foreign minister offered his government's condolences. >> we wish to express the hope and the confidence even that the people will be able to overcome. >> in jakarta, flowers were delivered to the north korean embassy. the sorrowful reaction reflects friendly relations between the nations and north korea dating back it years after world war ii. they were brought together under the nonalign movement is many of developing countries that said they belong to neither the eastern nor

bangkok holds out all the stops.t's a new year's eve tradition in thailand to set aside this night for total indulgence, they say. >>> and quite the opposite in syria. huge protest crowds are turning out across the country again today. and the death toll has grown. earlier today an activist network reported nine deaths in clashes with security forces. it has now changed the number of dead to at least 13. the united nations says more than 5,000 syrians have died since mid march. two opposition groups have reached a deal on a plan for democracy in case syria's president steps down. >>> back in this country, a magnitude 4.0 earthquake has rattled ohio near the urban centers of youngstown and warren. this same area has been the center of a lot of controversy over fracking, a method of getting natural gas out of shale rock. critics worry it could cause earthquakes and other damage. >>> and customers complained and verizon listened. the country's largest mobile phone provider is scrapping its $2 fee for customers to make a

. >>> next, we shift gears and go to our bureau in bangkok. >>> a pakistani investigative panel says it will complete a report by the end of the year on the time osama bin laden spent in pakistan. the al qaeda leader was killed by the u.s. military in the country earlier this year. there is keen interest in what the investigation will reveal. nhk world reports from islamabad. >> reporter: the investigative panel held a news conference in islamabad on thursday. it said it will complete all the interviews by the end of the month. >> the commission has examined more than 100 witnesses, including arabian air force officials, police and intelligence officials, the surviving members of the family of osama bin laden. >> reporter: osama bin laden was killed by u.s. forces near islam in may. his hideout was only 50 kill meters from the pakistani capital. the near military facility with tight security. suspicions were raised in the u.s. about the possible connections between bin laden, the pakistani military and the intelligence services. the u.s. mistrust had soured the relationship with isla

. >>> next, we shift gears and go to our bureau in bangkok. patchari raksawong joins us with the latest on what's going on. good evening. >> hello, michio. >>> a pakistani investigative panel says it will complete a report by the end of the year on the time osama bin laden spent in pakistan. the al qaeda leader was killed by the u.s. military in the country earlier this year. there is keene interest in what the investigation will reveal. nhk world reports from islamabad. >> reporter: the investigative panel held a news conference in islamabad on thursday. it said it will complete all the interviews by the end of the month. >> the commission has examined more than 100 witnesses, including arabian air force officials, police and intelligence officials, the surviving members of the family of osama bin laden. >> reporter: osama bin laden was killed by u.s. forces near islam in may. his hideout was only 50 kill meters from the pakistani capital. the near military facility with tight security. suspicions were raised in the u.s. about the possible co

i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >> patchari, thanks. >>> many developed nations have started to look into alternative forms of energy. but sweden has already made the switch. of all the energy consumed there, about half is from renewable sources. so what is the key to sweden's successful shift? next on 101, we talk to a man who played a key role in cracking the nation's energy policy. >> joining me now is tomas who left his job as director general of the swedish energy agency to take on the position as executive chairman in september. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> what was your impression after meeting with the government officials and people handling those energy issues? >> there is a strong interest and commitment to develop things in japan as well. japan has very good natural resources for renewables as well, and the main obstacle is that the excess to the market is not there, the monopolies controlling the grid and the existing power plants are not very effective in letting new competitors on to the market. >> talking of the changes, your company, sweden, carried out

hideki yui, nhk world, islamabad. >>> that wraps up our bulletin, i'm pachari raksawong in bangkok. >ks, pachari. >>> japan's diet has assembled a panel of experts to investigate the cause of the nuclear accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. the ten members of the panel which is independent of the government received letters of appointment on thursday, they include panel chairman, cure kau waugh, a former chairman of the science council of japan and a nobel laureate. he told the tanaka told the upper and lower houses of the diet that he is ready to take on this task. >> translator: i'm an expert in analytical metrology, not nuclear technology. but all sorts of knowledge must be brought together for analysis if we are to find solutions to the problems exposed by the nuclear accident. >>> unlike a separate panel investigating the same accident, the panel will basically open up its meetings to the public. it can demand the right to investigate state affairs and can summon officials of the government and tokyo electric power company and compel them to submit data. >>> the

i'm pachari raksawong in bangkok. >> thanks, pachari. >>> time to check on some of the stories we've gathered from broadcasters around asia. we're going to begin tonight with this item sent by mcot, thailand. thailand and cambodia have agreed to set up a joint panel to oversee the troop withdrawal from their disputed border, complying with the order of the international court of justice. the decision was reached after the two nations defense ministers met in phnom penh on tuesday. they agreed to allow international observers to supervise the pullout. thailand and cambodia have been involved in skirmishes since a world heritage site was established by unesco. >>> prime minister kula lum purr on wednesday. the five denominations have enhanced security features and include elements of malaysia's national treasures, culture and heritage. the 20 ringgit bill is being reintroduced. the central bank is reissuing three seshl bank notes to mark the occasion. >>> iranians celebrated the longest night of the year on wednesday. on yaoga night family and friends get together to enjoy eating pomeg

i'm pachari raksawong in bangkok. >> thanks, pachari. >>> time to check on some of the stories we've gathered from broadcasters around asia. we're going to begin tonight with this item sent by mcot, thailand. thailand and cambodia have agreed to set up a joint panel to oversee the troop withdrawal from their disputed border, complying with the order of the international court of justice. the decision was reached after the two nations defense ministers met in phnom penh on wednesday. they agreed to allow international observers to supervise the pullout. thailand and cambodia have been involved in skirmishes since a world heritage site was established by unesco. three years ago. >>> malaysian prime minister unveiled the country's new bank notes in kuala lumpur on wednesday. the five denominations have enhanced security features and include elements of malaysia's national treasures, culture and heritage. the 20 ringgit bill is being reintroduced. the central bank is reissuing three special bank notes to mark the occasion. >>> iranians celebrated the longest night of the year on wednesda

pachari raksawong in our bangkok studio has more. >> afghanistan's president, hamid karzai, met with the u.s. defense secretary in kabul to discuss military cooperation. amid the deteriorating security situation in the region. during karzai's meeting with leon panetta on wednesday, the two men took pains to praise 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. but 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, ten years beyond the planned withdrawal of international forces. but the taliban is expected to fight any extended presence of u.s. troops. it wants 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 in afghanistan where he repeat

. >>> next we go to patchari raksawong in bangkok to find out what's making headlines in the region.> pakistani prime minister yus avenue raza gilani is seeking assurances from the united states as his government reassesses bilateral relations. ties between the two countries have deteriorated following a deadly air strike against pakistani forces last month. gilani made a statement on tuesday setting out conditions necessary to maintain cooperation. >> under no circumstances could we accept flagrant transgression of our territorial frontiers. this remains our baseline, and there can be no compromise on sovereignty. >> pakistan summoned its ambassadors to 15 countries including the united states, china, and india to attend a rare two-day meeting to discuss policy towards the united states. gilani urged the u.s. to offer assurances that pakistan would never again come under cross-border attack from international forces stationed in afghanistan. last month's air strike on pakistani border positions killed 24 soldiers. gilani told the meeting that the raid constituted a huge setback in b

they didn't realize they needed a visa, so they ended up in bangkok. rose: and the singaporeans are pretty tough on this. >> absolutely, absolutely. and thank god that's why they didn't have the meeting in singapore, it ended up in another country. so it was for us it created a lot of curiosity. why $36,000 come from a very poor country, yemen, and go to a more affluent country in southeast asia? we had a lot of options on the table thinking about them. maybe it's leftover money from a failed attack that they wanted to do during the millennium, which they had a plot to attack maybe there's an operation going on in southeast asia because he claimed he delivered the money during the millennium time, december 1999, january of 2000, the last week of december, first week of january. so if they were planning to do something in malaysia or bangkok or singapore or any of the southeast asian countries that were mentioned en most had probably failed and most probably they were repeated again because the sullivans failed a they had to repeat it again with the "co

head south to bangkok and most of them escaped the floods.al palace some stalls have closed their shutters. one sells drinks opposite the palace. she tells me people are starting to come back but nothing like before the floods. nearby clothes shop owner says "i never saw it so quiet during the floods. the streets were empty." but not all tourists have been scared away. >> they told us they wanted the people still to come to get the money into the economy. that's the reason why we came. >> reporter: the luxury hotel here lost 50% of its business due to cancellations. chief executive shannon tonowanic says conflicting messages did hurt. >> i think maybe too many people are involved. we have all kind of people going out and giving speeches and many of them have different opinion on how things should be done. >> reporter: a number of countries issued travel warnings for thailand which was particularly damaging for the tourism industry. the united states and the united kingdom both recommending against all but essential travel to certain parts of

you have some guys here, call them construction workers in bangkok.g some crane in there that's going to smash these posts into the ground, they decided to just kind of get three guys up there, get the fourth guy up there. now guys, what i'm going to need you to do is just jump up and down. see how good it works. >> i think they're making -- >> [ inaudible ]. >> i think i saw this on a cartoon once. pretty effective. >> manpower. it looks kind of fun, though. >> yeah. >> fun to get out there and just -- >> sense of accomplishment. what did you do today? >> did it ourselves. >> pounded in foundation by myself. >> i have to say, i like their array of hats. they've all got something different on their heads. can't teach that. >> bucket hat, safari hat, sombrero, old t-shirt. >> i think the job application was like, must be able to jump, must have hat. >>> we've shown you lots of crazy stuff today. so next, some incredible beauty. nice mix having some ♪ [ female announcer ] during the holidays, there's a lot to get done. and safeway select appetizers help

from bangkok. the british prime minister gave his account of what happened in brussels. vetoing a new treaty setting tougher rules on taxing. because it wasn't in the national interest. and this statement made to a packed out of commons, although the deputy minister chose not to attend. >> france and germany said in their letter last week thatut -- that the euro zone should provide safeguards, and i make no apology for them. and i have to tell the house the choice was a treaty without safeguards or no treaty, and the right answer was no treaty. >> how can the prime minister persuade anyone else when he can't persuade his deputies? >> he has chosen the party interest, we will rule the day when this prime minister left britain alone, it's bad for business, bad for jobs and for britain. >> that's the leader of the labour party in u.k. and we hear of canada leaving from the k yokyoto. >> yes, and this announcement comes after talks and what the agreement and what will take place when kyoto will resign. >> there were clear signs this was coming but now canada has pulled out o

in bangkok, thailand, again, floodings. to the contrary, in east africa, drought and famine. so i would like to extend my sincere condolences and sympathy to the victims of all those natural disasters. we talk about march 11, at the tsunami and the nuclear power accident. japan has faced tremendous difficulties. but with your compassion and support and encouragement, japan is now on the the way to recovery and reconstruction. [applause] thank you very much. thank you. with your determination and prayers, and again, support and friendship and from you, we will overcome this tremendous difficulty. thank you is again for your help, and thank you. [applause] i would like to extend my gratitude to the mayor. thank you. >> what a beautiful tree, and while we have the children gathering, i want to read one of the minute -- many wishes we got on the origami. it says i wish for a world for our children more just, more fair, and more kind than the one we know now, president barack obama. [applause] i think they're just about gathered. you will tell me when. this is the chinese-american

n beijing. 19 in hong kong and 30 for bangkok. heading over into europe, it is il wdy and gusty picture for much of northern europe. we have been hearing very strong gusts reported in the area. mainly across tcandinavian region. also for the uk as well. and in fact let's get a look at what some of these areas have been peenngsome very gusty conditions we do have footage here starting in norway early monday morning here. looking songus wppg the region bringing down signs and even some of the buildings here. also high waves being recorded along coastal areas. also black-outs. now later on monday, it did get windy for people here to too. along the coastline, that means very high waves. can you see the ferry tinto ge through rough sea conditions. it's been causing quite a few problems. right now we are seeing the same set up continue. these lines sced cse together across the region. denoting very strong winds. and it is going to be easy. lookg at songusts to pass the peak. but you do want to watch out for strong winds, really for the

ian williams, nbc news, bangkok. >>> elsewhere weekend, the leader of a very different kind of union. the czech rep leader died after a long time communist rule. there was a peaceful uprising in november 1989 that ended soviet backed rule. just over a month later, havel became president. the sweden foreign minister called havel simply one of the greatest europeans of our age. >>> now to washington where the fate of the payroll tax cut is once again up in the air. after the senate and the white house agreed on a two-month extension, house republicans are now saying they're not on board. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on that. tracy, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. house republicans led by speaker john boehner say they don't want a two-month extension, they want a full year extension and they'll vote down that temporary extension later today. this after 89 senate democrats and republicans compromised, voted on the two-month extension and then left town. even senate republicans are urging their fellow republicans in the house to do so today, but it looks like

let's go to bangkok first. happening right now. this is in bangkok. thailand, i'll tell you what's going on there. our folks at cnn website go, part of the cnn family say fireworks are going off all over the city including central world annual celebration. of course, this year is named smile up to 2012. over to the vatican now, a live service going on there, even though it's not midnight there. later a service of thanksgiving. it is there right there. pictures right there. there's a service right now in thanksgiving is the vespers service. later there will be st. peters basilica, still five more hours. okay. so let's see. let's jump over to hong kong. this is interesting over victoria harbor. >> sure looks extraordinary. >> beautiful, one of the many pieces of video we're getting in. hong kong, golden dragon spiraling up a building. the year of the dragon. zodiak. i promised you unprecedented. are you ready for this? let's go to sidney, sidney, australia, always goes all out. >> listen to this as we watch this we want to tell you about it. fifteen mon

ian williams, nbc news, bangkok. >>> elsewhere weekend, the leader of a very different kind of union. the czech rep leader died after a long time communist rule. there was a peaceful uprising in november 1989 that ended soviet backed rule. just over a month later, havel became president. the sweden foreign minister called havel simply one of the greatest europeans of our age. >>> now to washington where the fate of the payroll tax cut is once again up in the air. after the senate and the white house agreed on a two-month extension, house republicans are now saying they're not on board. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on that. tracy, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. house republicans led by speaker john boehner say they don't want a two-month extension, they want a full year extension and they'll vote down that temporary extension later today. this after 89 senate democrats and republicans compromised, voted on the two-month extension and then left town. even senate republicans are urging their fellow republicans in the house to do so today, but it looks like

she is identified by lilly as the woman who trafficked her from bangkok to london.ornwall police meet their thai counterparts at children and women's division known as cwd and learn something terrifying. >> so that they reported that someone similar to jaju 's description was threatening her, and so the cwd officers -- [ speaking foreign language ] -- they got immediate orders to go to the hometown in that area and contact the local police and have them work on finding 0u9 out where jaju was. and so when they went up there, they saw that jaju was walking around under that area. and so they brought her in for questioning. questioning her background. and they also brought a picture for the victim to look at. [ speaking foreign language ] >> translator: and when picture of jaju was brought to the victim, the victim affirmed that that was jaju. you can see a picture, the picture in the lower left corner is actually when she was arrested. her arm -- her arm's injured but not due to the arrest by the police or the cwd. >> if i can ask, if convicted, what are the offenders

ian williams, nbc news, bangkok. >>> and elsewhere this weekend, the leader of a very different kind of revolution. the czech rep leader died after a lock respiratory illness. havel led the velvet revolution that ended soviet-backed rule. just over a month later, havel became president. and later leader of the newly formed czech republic. the sweden foreign minister called havel simply one of the greatest europeans of our age. >>> now to washington where the fate of the payroll tax cut is once again up in the air. after the senate and the white house agreed on a two-month extension, house republicans are now saying they're not on board. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on that. tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. whether payroll taxes go up 2 pest in 12 days is in limbo yet again. we thought we had a deal. only the senate. 89 democrats and republicans supported this. voted on it and went home. a two-month extension of the payroll tax break along with unemployment benefits and, yes, that controversial keystone xl pipeline, speeding up an approval process

and 11 in shanghai coming in at 35 degrees in bangkok with the chance of showers. heading over to the americas, a winter storm is now impacting the four corners region. especially snowy across arizona. we're expecting more than 45 centimeters of snow in the mownmown -- mountain areas. the same system will create ice and rain across the southern plains on friday. now, back behind the wet weather, extremely fierce winds are blowing over southern california and nevada raising the risk of wildfires. up towards the north, an area of snow is moving through eastern canada reaching ontario as well as the northern rockies in the next 24 hours. but otherwise, it will stay largely dry across the eastern half of the u.s. we're expecting 11 degrees in new york and 13 in washington, d.c. but in denver, still cold but a bit warmer compared to thursday. and coming in at 22 degrees in houston. and 19 in los angeles. finally let's go over to europe. an active low pressure system is still bringing wet and windy conditions across the scandinavian peninsula. and the associated front is

i am patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> patchari, thanks. >>> the leaders of japan and the u.s. supported the move of a u.s. military air base. okinawa has been hosting a base since world war ii. now a play group is acting out an old story to give people a fresh perspective on life. here is nhk world's jun yatsumoto. >> reporter: performers make last minute adjustments. their play becomes a real life drama. june 30th, 1959, a u.s. fighter jet crashes into a village on okinawa. it skids into an elementary school, killing 11 children. six people who live nearby die. more than 200 others are hurt. this woman works with the play group. she remembers that day. >> that year was after 14 years after world war ii. okinawan people were poor, but they had a hope with their children. but suddenly they lost their lives. >> reporter: the play also deals with the impact u.s. forces had had on okinawa. they took over in 1945. then gave control back to japan 27 years later. but the bases stayed. okinawa accounts for less than 1% of japan's total land area. but about 70% of all u.s. military fac

. >> next we go to bangkok to find out what's making headlines in the region. >> hundreds of shiite muslims gathered in the capital of kabul on wednesday to mourn those who died in the latest suicide attack. bereaved family members formed a funeral procession as they carried coffins and posters of their children who were killed in tuesday's blast. locals are demanding justice. >> translator: we want our government. the international community and those involved in afghanistan's affairs to find the perpetrator of yesterday's attack and we want to know the haters behind the attack. >> the suicide blast occurred in the heart of old kabul as hundreds celebrated the festival, the biggest religious event for shiite muslims. 50 died and over 160 were injured. a second simultaneousuous blast struck a northern city killing at least four and analysts say the attacks may have been aimed at stirring up ethnic tensions and sabotage efforts to achieve peace. in the week following hillary clinton's historic visit, myanmar made a stride towards opening up to the outside world and promoting trade. on monday

then heating up to 31 in bangkok. over towards the americas, we are looking at plenty of activity moving through the mid-section of the united states. snow has been back in the southwest. central plains states. while in the south here across texas and towards oklahoma, showers and even some severe weather impacting the region. tonight it is on the move, however. looks like rain will spread into the mississippi valley as well as the midwest. chances of freezing rain. temperatures are starting to look pretty low in the area. for the pacific northwest it's british columbia that will be dealing with cold rain, freezing rain even as well as upper elevation snow. highs on tuesday looking at 3 in winnipeg and same in denver. 2 only in oklahoma city. that's going to be a big drop compared to monday. then east coast, 7 in new york. 9 in d.c. and reaching 17 degrees in atlanta. lastly, a look at europe. it is going to be a largely unsettled picture across the region. we do have scattered showers and thunderstorms for areas in t

issue a new passport to the formerly -- after clashes between his supporters and security forces in bangkok. well, the current government led by his sister saying the passport is going to be issued as a new year's gift. >> advising football's organization has now cut its ties they were unhappy two of its key recommendations have been ignored. fifa has made no comment. russell's here. let's move away from fifa and move towards the clock ticking with a big challenge between the ukraine and poland. >> yes. the draw takes place today in kiev. ukraine in particular delighted i think to have got on the this stage, because just 21 months ago, the head threatened to withdraw the matches from the ukraine because the construction was way behind schedule. >> i would say it was relatively easy to organize the euro tournament in austria and switzerland in well-developed or well-organized countries, so our task was double or even triple, because we had to overcome a lot of problems in terms of infrastructure development and other construction. so for me this project is mostly a gentlemeno political proje

coming in 35 in bangkok with a chance of showers. heading to the americas. a storm in the four corners region with huge amounts of snow as well as strong winds. we are expecting 45 centimeters or more in arizona. the snow continues throughout friday. you notice that developing over the central plains friday. across canada, another roupd of snowy weather is moving to the eastern half of the country rgs reaching ontario and northern rockies in the next 24 hours. temperature wise, expecting only 1 degree in denver, very cold. warmer than what we saw thursday. 4 degrees in chicago, 9 in oklahoma city. getting up to 19 degrees in los angeles. very strong santa ana winds are blowing here, raising the risk of wildfires. finally let's go to europe. very active low pressure system has been bringing wet and windy conditions across the scandinavian peninsula as well as finland and the associated front is producing rain from the baltic states to the northern iberian peninsula. rain could become heavy across belgium, france and spain, and in spain, you may see some snow

and then low 30s for ma minila well as bangkok. storms on the northern tier of the continent here. nothing much towards the south but we have a couple of very potent storms. one on the pacific northwest here. this is bringing plomountain sn. and rain towards the coast, now parts of southern bc, can you see about 50 millimeters of rain. that is certainly enough to cause flooding problems and there are warnings issued. southern albertoalberta, and gu to a hundred miles an hour. this is snow rather than rain and there are winter storm watches into effect for places in the reej rio de janeirogion. canada has another storm. this bringing snow into quebec and nova scotia. there will be gusts up to about 130 kilometers an hour. things are going to be considerably warmer though down toward the south. we have 18 degrees in oklahoma city. 19 in houston. 24 in l.a. and not a bad day in denver either at 11 degrees. for europe, while the windy and wet conditions will continue across the northern tier as well. scotland back into scandinavia, starting to get rid of one system. but another one com

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all the details long in bangkok. what did he say about the king? u.s. citizen, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years jail here in bangkok because he insulted the king. now his crime, he translated a band biography and posted the link on-line. we can't repeat his remarks or what was said in this particular book because we will be charged with breaking the law. this, carol, is only 2 1/2 years. he was facing 20 years in jail, but because he pleaded guilty and cooperated with authorities, they reduced his sentence to 2 1/2 years. he spoke to his lawyer after the verdict and he said they will be applying for a royal pardon. carol? >> is it likely he'll get one? >> well, he, the king, has granted royal pardons in the past. i want to tell you about these laws, because they're quite unusual to the rest of the world. the laws protect the monarchy and countries that have monarchies, most of them have actually phased out these particular laws, but thailand has the harshest laws in the world. now if you insult, criticize or threaten the king, the monarchy or any membe

. 12 degrees in tokyo, seven in seoul. 2 degrees in beijing with a low of minus 6 and up to 30 in bangkok. heading to the americas, the four corners region still dealing with heavy snow, but we are anticipating another 20 centimeters of snow. things get calmer wednesday, and stormy weather will target midwestern states and southern plains wednesday. texas will experience the brunt of it. severe thunderstorms, hail, and damaging winds are likely, are possible here wednesday, and the rest of the area will see a mix of rain and snow and freezing rain. across the west, offshore low pressure system is approaching the west coast, and that will bring cold precipitation across the british columbia area, vancouver will see snow wednesday. we are expecting 3 degrees here and 6 in seattle. across the eastern u.s., we're going to see a significant warmup. 11 in chicago, and 18 in oklahoma city, and getting up to 25 in houston. finally, to europe. the northwestern portions of europe are still dealing with inclement weather. a series of low pressure systems will continue to bring fierce winds and heavy