. >>> as military tensions on the korean peninsula and other east asian regions continue to increase, japan and the united states aim to boost their capabilities to jointly respond to any emergency. the two nations also hope that their coordinated efforts will act as a deterrent against possible future conflicts. >>> a chinese government official says the country will keep a close eye on an upcoming meeting between japan, the united states, and south korea, where north korean issues will be discussed. foreign ministers of the three countries will meet in washington on monday to discuss north korea's artillery attacks on south korea as well as recently confirmed uranium enrichment facilities. chinese foreign ministry spokesperson jiang yu said in a statement on thursday that the situation on the korean peninsula is sensitive and complicated. the spokesperson said china hopes the three-party meeting will help ease tensions on the korean peninsula as well as promote disxlalogue and non-conflict. she said china will keep a close eye on the outcome of the meeting. the spokesman called for

and south korea are scheduled to meet in washington on monday to address tensions on the korean peninsula. maehara said he wants to discuss with his u.s. and south korean counterparts which conditions must be met before the three countries accept china's proposal for talks. >>> large scale joint japanese-u.s. military drills have begun in various locations across japan. the eight-day exercise kicked off on wednesday involving 60 ships and 400 airplanes. 45,000 personnel from japan's self-defense forces and the u.s. military are participating. >> continuing to build the u.s. navy's relationship with the japanese self-defense forces is an important step forward as we work together for the defense of japan. >> the maneuvers include training on shooting down incoming ballistic missiles. they are simulating defensive drills in kyushu and okinawa. south korean senior military officials are expected to participate as observers forhe first time. the military exercises between japan and the u.s. come as tensions simmer in the korean peninsula and other parts of east asia. for more insight, we are

good spells of sunshine across the korean peninsula as well, and much of china stays dry.gets a little bit cloudy as we head to the southwest, some light showers here and over toward the northeastern corner an area of snow dropping out of mongolia. as for the indo-china peninsula, that rain in central vietnam is today, but for southern thailand continuing with some more showers turning heavier as we head into your thursday. we've got 16 degrees in chongqing today, 15 in tokyo, with sunshine to look forward to. 23 in taipei and 33 in manila. now as for the americas, the east is going to be contending with lots of stormy conditions over towards canada. for ontario looking at lots of snow and significant snow during the overnight hours into your wednesday. and along the eastern third of the u.s. as well contending with heavy showers. and then further towards the south, looking at very severe conditions developing here. so damaging winds as well as tornadoes are something to watch out for. but as you can see, it is going to be coming down, settling down as we head into your we

manufacturers have resolved to boost the domestic defense industry amid growing tensions on the korean peninsula. on thursday the south's defense ministry and arms manufacturers held a seminar to discuss the country's military capabilities. south korean forces struggled to effectively respond to a north korean artillery attack on yeonpyeong island last month due to problems with waep weapons deployed there. a member of the presidential advisory commission asked weapons manufacturers to analyze the problems and quickly improve domestic capabilities. an industry representative pledged to help enhance the country's defenses. an official said the government continues to support the defense industry as a pillar of the nation's growth strategy. south korea's government and military industry are jointly promoting arms exports. on thursday president lee myung bak agreed with indonesian president susilo bambang yudhoyono to export korean fighter jets to indonesia as part of a plan to boost defense cooperation. >>> japanese prime minister naoto kan has told a senior russian official that he is willing to

action center based on this many thanks for speaking to us on the situation on the korean peninsula remains very tense doesn't just. well it's an extremely serious and tense situation this is a fourth direct provocation of u.s. south korean military exercises in less than a month so you're talking about we're really talking about many many ships in the area fifty to seventy ships hundreds of aircraft tens of thousands of troops operating just a few miles three to seven miles off of north korea's coast many miles north of the demilitarized zone that in itself is a provocation most countries of the world have a twelve mile sovereign water limit and many claim up to two hundred miles so here is south korea u.s. and backing support and u.s. participation and the united states moving nuclear powered a nuclear weapon aircraft carriers still regularly into the region off the coast this these are really dangerous provocations and i think the u.n. security council meeting yesterday was an important effort to call on all sides but but nevertheless in the even in the face of that and world call

said he strongly hopes china will keep trying to persuade the north to raelgz a nuclear-free korean peninsula said that if tensions on the peninsula escalate it will affect china more than japan because it shares a border with north korea. he said china wants to resolve the problem through diplomatic efforts including the six-party talks in order to protect china's 1.3 billion citizens. yamaguchi and wang also discussed september's collision between a chinese fishing trawler and japan coast guard ships in the east china sea. they agreed that the current state of relations is not good and that japan and china will work to improve ties through exchanges by political parties and private organizations. >>> a new style of newscast is emerging from taiwan, filled with computer-generated animations and political satire. the web-based program is attracting a worldwide audience, but it's also inviting criticism that it's far from being journalism. robert jefferson explores the issue "one on one." >> reporter: today classified documents and videos are being leaked one after another, traveling instantly

japan ruled the korean peninsula before world war ii for 35 years. uth koreans are still wary of japan's participation in joint military activities. >>> a key member of japan's government is promising to do everything he can to resolve an international issue dragging on for decades. more than 30 years have passed since north korean agents abducted japanese citizens. chief cabinet secretary yoshito sengoku spoke at a symposium attended by families of the abductees. >> translator: the japanese government will do everything it can in order to resolve this abduction issue as soon as possible. >> sengoku said the abductions were an extremely serious infringement of japan's sovereignty and an unimaginable violation of human rights. he also expressed regret and apologized for not having been able to resolve the issue yet. the head of a group that represents the families of abductees complained it is hard to figure out who is in charge of the issue because the responsibility often changes hands. >> translator: there has been no tangible result, even though th

korean issue and is working towards calling attention on the korea -- calming tensions on the korean peninsula. he made the remarks at a forum attended by foreign diplomats based in beijing on wednesday. >> he stressed the importance of not enflaming intention and ask that the country exercise restraint. diplomatic sources say china will send two senior officials, one state counselor in charge of diplomatic affairs. and a special envoy on korean issues to the north. >>> observers say yang's remarks were aimed at rebutting criticism from the international community that china acts in favor of north korea. the u.s. naval fleet is taking part in an annual exercise with japan's maritime self-defense force. the uss george washington aircraft carrier is sailing towards waters near okinawa being accompanied by the uss shiloh, able to shoot shoot down ballistic missiles. this is based on the asums that north korea will launch one. a spokesperson said the u.s. will continue to work closely with south korea and japan and will be ready to respond to any situation. >>> meanwhile, a japanese government tas

meanwhile, it'll also push through the korean peninsula. although much of northern china and actually the rest of mainland china looking calm and dry. into mongolia, a little bit on the snowier side. some flurries in ulan bator. chilly day for you. minus 17 is your high. seeing highs around 7 in beijing, just 9 in seoul and 14 in tokyo. meanwhile, we start to warm up as we head to taipei, showers there at 24 and 22 in hong kong. what about north america? well, let's talk about the northeast real quickly. we have a very strong system that's off in the atlantic. but take a look at that. look at how strong it is. really windy, incredibly intense, high waves and surf across parts of new england. but in terms of wet weather, we're not going to see so much of it in the next few days. really what's going to drive all the wintery weather we're going to see here is going to be this area, this storm system across the northern plains and in the upper midwest. and this complex of storm systems out in the pacific. what we've got is just a pulse of moist

and part of the korean peninsula these what irritates north korea tremendously sort of feels threatened intimidated cornered. this very fact actually creates the paranoia from the north korean side and north korea has to spend more and more resources on its security and the south korea but they were in the south korea's doing easy aimed at counterbalancing the north korea's game so to zero sum game which is containing from the time of or cold warriors are now in running very long time here but when you talk about america having a military presence in seoul in the surrounding area in south korea there what is what's america's stake apart from having a military base there why would america be there essentially riling up tensions between north and south korea what is a what's washington's agenda here china's next door from the korean peninsula and of course if the united states loses control or influence over korea korean peninsula north korea if so unified korea becomes a new dependent state so it's an interest of the united states' national interests might be jeopardized so will be chine

scheduled but one south korean officer said that the head anyway because of the tensions on the korean peninsula which only makes sense if the intention is to escalate and aggravate those tensions the united states policy for the last sixty years has been to see the collapse of the north korean state and its absorption into the side of. the league government is more closely aligned with u.s. foreign policy goals on the korean peninsula then say the government's president's role in president kim i don't believe that peeling yang wants to retaliate but if it's attacked it really has few options to retaliate but at the same time recognizing that if it does. it will be pulverized president obama speaks of his dream of having a nuclear free world but that's a nuclear free world which is free of nuclear weapons except in the united states one of the principles of nonproliferation is that you don't provide smaller countries with a motivation to acquire their own nuclear deterrent the united states has targeted its strategic nuclear weapons on many north korean sites and it's because of the. north korea

over korea korean peninsula or north korea if say unified korea becomes a new dependent state well the certain interests of the united states' national interests might be jeopardized. go ahead a few moments or an r.t. tonight we reveal the secrets to staying strong inside very. willingly but this is the only way these way they have to show their strength they can also find many other ways like some siberia to. join our teams closer to the city will see what else people there are capable of the power. that is one of moscow's main airports that we did a version reportedly been fired for failing to deal with the chaos. caused by flight delays earlier this week severe disruptions in several air hubs across the capital thousands of people stranded freezing rain ruptured power cables leaving domodedovo without electricity for hours at another airport i stop runways meant that many planes couldn't take off for straight passengers said they weren't given any information about their flights they also complained of a lack of food and water as well as the hotel beds they were promised flights are

over korea korean peninsula north korea if say unified korea becomes a new dependent state well the certain interests of the united states' national interests might be jeopardized so we'll do see brief now the former president of israel moshe has been convicted of rape and could go to jail the three judge panel labeled his defense is riddled with lies in its ruling but it's not yet sentenced to women's rights groups who've long complained that israeli authorities shrugged off sexual harassment and workplaces welcomed the verdict he was found guilty of raping an employee as tourism minister in the ninety's ninety's and other sexual offenses when head of state between two thousand and two thousand and seven. days of dreadful reign of life eastern australia. worst flooding in decades thousands of people have been evacuated from affected areas but many remote communities remain cut off by high waters the government's declared much of the northeast a disaster zone and deployed army helicopters to assist with rescue efforts just a warning that even though the rains have eased off runoff f

over korea korean peninsula north korea if so unified korea becomes a new dependent state while the certain interests of the united states' national interests might be jeopardized. coming up here on our see in a few bubbles we reveal the secrets of siberian string. pulling money but this is the only way it is why they have to show their strength they can also find many other ways to flex some siberian muscle joint arteries closer to even the city of homs to see what else some of the strongest people in russia are paid a lot of where their power comes. the head of one of moscow's main airports debbie did a version reportedly been fired. head for failing to deal with the chaos caused by flight delays earlier this week severe disruptions in several they crossed the camp and left thousands of people stranded freezing rain ruptured power cables leaving domodedovo without electricity for hours at another airport i stopped runways many many planes couldn't take off frustrated passengers said they weren't given any information about their flights they also complained of a lack of food and w

china's next door from the korean peninsula and of course if the united states loses control or influence over korea korean peninsula north korea if so unified korea becomes a new dependent state well the certain interests of the united states' national interests might be jeopardized. let's not check some world news and brief the president of the markets out has been convicted of rape and could go to jail a three judge panel labeled his defense as riddled with lies in its ruling but has not yet sentenced him women's rights groups have long complained that israeli authorities are sexual harassment at workplaces welcome to the bad act he was found guilty of raping an employee as tourism minister in the one nine hundred ninety s. and other sexual offenses the one head of state between two thousand and two thousand and seven. two people have been killed in a series of blasts targeting the christian minority in the iraqi capital baghdad forty eight others were wounded the worst of that time was came in the district of the city sounds of christians have fled to the north of the country since an

korean exercise could further destabilize the already volatile korean peninsula life. altering events for us over a new york this is where the threats of war on the korean peninsula seems to be a very real one doesn't is that one of the main power ways in the region and the un doing in this case to avoid the worst scenario. well you know alice the events of the last couple of days are definitely the threats and warning signs that have been coming from north korea have been having the international community certainly walking on eggshells here in new york the united nations security council has been meeting round the clock throughout the weekend these emergency sessions were called for by russia which is certainly not taking the tensions between south and north korea likely whatsoever for many different reasons one of them of course being russia's proximity to a possible conflict as well as a serious threat that any tensions including a war would cause to the international community let's take a listen to what the russian ambassador to the u.n. said here in new york las

china is next door from the korean peninsula and of course if the united states loses control or influence over korea korean peninsula north korea if so unified korea becomes a need to penn state certain interests of the united states' national interest might be jeopardized. coming up in a few minutes here on r t tonight we reveal the secrets of staying strong in siberia. pulling minibuses isn't the only way these weightlifters show their strength it can also find many other ways to flex some siberian muscles analyses closeups even the city of all skills to see what else people there are capable of doing and where they get their power from. the head of one of moscow's main airports delmar dead of has reportedly been fired for failing to deal with the chaos caused by flight delays earlier this week severe disruptions at several hundreds of cross the capital f. thousands of people stranded freezing rain ruptured power cables leaving domodedovo without electricity for hours at another airport meantime iced up runways meant that many planes couldn't take off for straight passengers said they w

over korea korean peninsula north korea if say unified korea becomes a need dependent state certain interests of the united states' national interest might be jeopardized. and we look at some of the major headlines around the world tonight the former front of israel had service been convicted in the rate could go to jail a three judge panel labeled his defense is riddled with lie drooling but has not yet sentenced him rights groups who've long complained that israeli authorities shrugged off sexual harassment in workplaces welcomed the verdict he was found guilty of raping an employee is tourism minister a nine hundred ninety s. and other sexual offenses were head of state between two thousand and two thousand and seven. days of torrential rain have left eastern australia facing its worst flooding in decades thousands of people have been evacuated from affected areas but many remote communities remain cut off by high waters the government's declared much of the northeast disaster zone and deployed army helicopters to assist with rescue efforts warn that even though rains have eased

over korea korean peninsula north korea if so unified korea becomes a new dependent state while the certain interests of the united states' national interests might be jeopardized. let's check some world news in breve this hour. in the business. has been convicted of rape and could go to jail a three judge panel labeled his defense as a riddled with lies in its ruling but it has not yet sentenced him women's rights groups have long complained that israeli authorities shrug off sexual harassment i don't want places welcome to the verdict of he was found guilty of raping an employee as tourism minister in the one nine hundred ninety s. and other sexual offenses when head of state between two thousand and two thousand and seven. at least two people have been killed in a series of blasts targeting the christian minority in the iraqi capital baghdad fourteen others were wounded the worst of their times came when the. district of the city thousands of christians hope fled to the north of the country since an upsurge in violence in october. days of torrential rains have left eastern austra

over korea korean peninsula north korea if it's a unified korea becomes a new dependent state well the certain interests of the united states' national interests might be jeopardized. couple of top will do stories in brief the former president of israel moshe katsav has been because of rain from could go to jail a three judge panel labeled his defense as quote riddled with lies in its ruling but it's not yet sentenced him women's rights groups who've long complained that israeli authorities struggle off sexual harassment workplaces welcome the very way he was found guilty of raping an employee as tourism minister and nine hundred ninety s. and other sexual offenses when head of state between two thousand and two thousand and seven. days of torrential rain of left eastern australia facing its worst flooding in decades thousands of people have been evacuated from affected areas but many remote communities remain cut off by the high waters of the government's declared much of the northeast disaster zone and deployed army helicopters to assist with rescue efforts we are just a warning that

the meeting comes on the biggest rise of tension on the korean peninsula in over a decade find out more from me in just a few minutes. let me know the layout of the. american activists accusing us of a posse claiming it campaigns for human rights abroad but keeps political prisoners locked up at home. it's three pm here in moscow this is our coming to you live first up this hour deformed unborn babies and children eating dirt these are just some of the shocking scenes being used in a controversial new anti drug push in russia the creators say it may seem extreme but that's what it takes these days to fight the huge problem in the country and you may find some of the images in re of the notion as report disturbing. means a happy motto for the kemar she says masha i used to smoke marijuana when i was pregnant with the bee gees internet ad is part of the stomach churning ninety drunken pain of sashing sashenka i was already on heroin then. surprisingly it's the least offensive five percent of the series designed to shock some of them may leave a bad taste in your mouth quite literally like

over korea korean peninsula north korea if so unified korea becomes a need to penn state while these certain interests of the united states' national interests might be jeopardized. the head of one of moscow's main airports domodedovo has reportedly been fired for failing to deal with the chaos caused by flight delays earlier this week severe disruptions at several air hubs across the capital left thousands of people stranded freezing rain ruptured power cables leaving dr dead over without electricity for hours at another airport i stop runways meant that many planes couldn't take off for stated passengers said they weren't given any information about their flights they also complained of a lack of food and water as well as the hotel beds there were promised flights are they're getting back to normal but many people saw their holiday plans ruined. world news in brief the former president of israel moshe katsav been convicted of rape and could go to jail for a three judge panel labeled his defense is riddled with lies in its ruling but has not yet sentenced him women's rights groups w

prime minister, is your assessment of the korean peninsula? your foreign minister last week said there's a colossal danger of an escalation there. do you share that fear? >> translator: yes, indeed. the situation is very worrisome and very acute. and we can't but be worried about that. whatever happened is in the very vicinity of our -- if it were. having said that, we can't a lot on the fact that the prudence will get upper hand there. emotions will be shelved. and the dialogue will be started. without a dialogue, it is not possible to come to an agreement. jointly with the partners, including the united states of america, we've been working closely as regards to the settlement of the north korean peninsula having to do with the nuclear programs and settlement regarding the direction and relations between the two parties involved and at different stages of this effort. this work provided us with different outcomes. sometimes very positive and impressive results. and i count a lot that we'll resume this positive trend of action. >> larry: chin

tension on the korean peninsula. the north threatens secret war against the south. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america, also around the globe. my name is mike embley. coming up later for you -- getting back on their feet. help japanese robots are helping brain-injured patients wall. and bringing christmas cheer to millions. we'll hear from three different santas as they prepare for the big day. hello. at least 170 killings, mass arrests, reports of mass graves. the u.n. secretary general on voice stopped at gunpoint when he tried to investigate. the situation in the ivory coast is living up to the worst fears of observers. as the situation escalates, the president is still unwilling to sit down, and the man internationally acclaimed as the new president remains in a hotel. we have this. >> in port districts of the country's commercial capital, a stronghold for the man widely believed to have when the disputed election. people try to get on with their daily lives, but the neighborhood is not as busy as usual. the residents live in

. >> my primary mission was to offer proposals to get a dialogue started again on the korean peninsula, and i believe we've made good progress. >> he said north korean officials told him they will accept the inspectors from the international atomic energy agency. richardson revealed they agreed to sell spent nuclear fuel rods to foreign nations. the rods could be used to develop nuclear weapons. the diplomatic sources confirm north korea is considering inviting u.n. inspectors to yongbyong but it wants the u.s., japan and south korea to compromise on the nuclear program. japan has learned north korea has set a high price for the sale of nuclear fuel rods. five times the going rate. this is seen as a sign the country has no intention of selling the rods. china is calling for an emergency meeting on the six-party talks on the nuclear program, but the u.s., japan and south korea have rejected the plan. speaking to nhk, japan's top nuclear negotiator used a baseball metaphor to describe the situation. >> translator: north korea is throwing a breaking ball, and the world needs to watch the

says the country has boosted its troops strength near the demilitarized zone that divides the korean peninsula. the defense ministry released its biannual defense white paper on thursday. it says the north korean military has a total of 1.19 million troops in ground, naval, and air forces. that's unchanged from two years ago meaning the north has been shifting personnel between forces. the defense ministry notes north korea's reinforcements near the dmz including a new model battle tank and special operations forces able to carry out missions such as assassinations. the defense report says north korea deploys 60% of its naval forces in its southern waters, ready for a landing operation on to the south korean coast. it also says the north is developing a new kind of torpedo similar to the one used to sink a south korean ship last march. following a recent series of attacks including an artillery strike in november, the document describes north korea as the enemy for the first time in ten years. the white paper also estimates that north korea has about 40 kilograms of plutonium that could be use

. >> in the context of our interest in a stable and secure and denuclearized korean peninsula, china has a critical role to place, and we look forward to working together in a way that can demonstrate to all that our partnership is effective. >> steinberg also said the united states does not consider it productive at this point to convene a meeting of delegates to the six-party talks, as proposed by china. he stressed north korea first needs to take concrete steps toward denuclearization. >>> a british court has denied bail to wikileaks founder julian assange and kept him in custody for possible extradition to sweden on sex crime allegations. assange appeared before the steve westminster magistrates' court in london on tuesday after turning himself in to scotland yard earlier in the day to face a swedish arrest warrant. the 39-year-old australian told a british judge that he does not consent to his extradition to sweden. he denies allegation that he sexually assaulted two women during a visit to sweden in august. the london court sent assange to jail until his next hearing on decembe

staff vice chairman james cartwright has expressed concern that tensions could escalate on the korean peninsula. >> if that is misunderstood or if it's taken advantage of as an opportunity, if north korea were to react to that in a negative way and fire back, that would start potentially a chain reaction of firing and counter firing. >> he added that the u.s. military will send observers to the drill. cartwright's remarks apparently indicate that the u.s. and south korea militaries are trying to avoid giving north korea an excuse for provocation. >>> japan is shifting its approach to defense. it plans to upgrade the mobility of the self-defense forces to enable them to respond to moves by north korea and china. the cabinet endorsed the guidelines on friday. they are the first in six years. the guidelines call north korea an unstable factor in the region's security. china, they say, is a growing concern for the international community as that country becomes more active in waters near japan. e plan calls for boosting the surveillance capabilities of the sdf and enabling troops to be more mobile.

foreign policy goals on the korean peninsula than say the governments of presidents rohan presidents kim. in south korea president lee is often times seen as a puppet of the united states and the area around his office is called by many south koreans the news united states of south korea south korea certainly seized on any opportunity it can to escalate tensions there is the sinking of the south korean corvette chain on the hand which was immediately blamed on north korea over north korean denials and there are many in south korea who do not believe the official inquiry then we have the artillery exchange that happened on november twenty third which has been blamed on north korea however the exchange was triggered by south korea and marine garrison on an island that lies very close to the north korean coast you consider that you consider president leaves hostility toward north korea . it's his policy of confrontation the escalating war games and it's hard not to conclude that south korea is trying to precipitate a fight to to pick a fight and trying to provoke its northern neighbor w

the visit comes at a time of heightened tensions on the korean peninsula since last month's deadly exchange of artillery fire. the delegation is being led by deputy secretary of state james steinberg. they arrived in the chinese capital on wednesday. during their three-day stay the group will meet state councillor in charge of foreign affairs dai bingguo. the u.s. delegation is expected to ask china to put more pressure on north korea to dissuade it from taking any more provocative actions. china is expected to call on the u.s. to agree to an emergency meeting of the six-party talks on the north's nuclear program. dai has said that north korea responded positively to the proposed meeting when he met north korean leader kim jong il last week in pyongyang. >>> the u.n. security council has decided to partially lift sanctions on iraq in a move that would allow the country to develop a civilian nuclear program. the sanctions have been in place for nearly two decades. the council met to discuss iraq on wednesday. with u.s. vice president joe biden serving as the chair, the united states this mon

from a diplomatic dispute with china to a territorial tiff with russia and to the crisis on the korean peninsula. the public is disappointed. >> that obviously is reflected in his poll numbers but he's trying to regain support. do you think he can recover? >> he has embarked on a program to demonstrate that his administration is ready to address pending issues, that includes his decision to cut corporate tax by 5%. companies of course are welcoming the tax cut, but the administration has to find some way to live without the lost reven revenue. kan also wants to wrap up the okinawa base relocation issue. japan and the u.s. agreed to move the futenma air station to okinawa, which has angered local people. he's trying to show that he is involved in advancing the plan forward but he has failed to get okinawa's governor on his side. some people close to him told me that many of the things he has been doing are just off the top of his head. so nothing significant was expected to happen. >> looking ahead, what will kan face in 2011? >> well, public opinion for any government ebbs and flows, but kan is

tensions on the korean peninsula. i have asthma.my symptoms came back i'd get this tightness in my chest. so i went back to my doctor again. we chose symbicort to help control my asthma symptoms all day and night. [ man ] symbicort improves my lung function, starting within 15 minutes. symbicort will not replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. it is a combination of two medicines and should not be taken more often than prescribed. symbicort contains formoterol. medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems, and children and adolescents may have an increased risk of being hospitalized for asthma problems. symbicort is not for people whose asthma is well controlled with a long-term asthma control medicine like inhaled corticosteroids. once your asthma is well controlled, your doctor will decide if you can stop symbicort without loss of control, and prescribe a long-term asthma control medicine. be sure to see your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. symbicort is a good choice to help

stocks began in asia with the korean peninsula -- i'm sorry with the military drills on the korean peninsulathe asian markets. japan's nikkei lost nearly one%. while hong kong's hang seng was down just a fraction. wall street begins the holiday-shortened week trying to hang on to the week's gains. most analysts expect a quiet week with many traders either on vacation or already locked into profits. last week, the dow gained more than half a percent while the nasdaq edged up a fraction. >>> it's beginning to look a lot like a pre-recession christmas for retailers with sales up across the board. according mo mastercard americans spent almost 10% more on clothing, 2.5% more on luxury items and 3% more on furniture than last season. malls reported high traffic this past weekend especially super saturday, the last one before christmas. and the best news for retailers, more than a third of americans still have some holiday shopping to do. >>> don't look for an early christmas gift at the pump. gasoline prices rose another eight cents the last two weeks to an average of 2.99 a gallon. the highest i

later, tensions remain high on the korean peninsula, the u.s. reassures seoul it's committed to south korea's defense. 30 years after john lennon's tragic death beatle fans look back on his legacy. the founder of the wikileaks website julian assange nb in custody for a week after -- has been in custody for a week. prosecutors want to talk to him about allegations the sexual monthliestations and rape. his supporters put up a large sum of known get him out on bail but this was refused. staff on his whistle blowing website plan to carry on releasing leaked diplomatic correspondence. frank gardner's report contains some flash photography. >> a media scrum this afternoon as the elusive wikileaks founder was brought to court in west minister. julian assange is accused of sex crimes in sweden which he denies. the judge refused him bail pending extradition. >> i believe mr. assange could have been safely released today. the judge took a different view but it was clear that it was a close call in his mind. and he's of course asked now to see the evidence

implemented could ease is crisis, which by all accounts right now is the most serious crisis on the korean peninsulason arrived in north korea on thursday on a four-day trip. he's not there as an official u.s. envoy. the government is urging both sides of the peninsula to use maximum restraint. we don't know if and when they'll go forward. canceled again for the time being because of bad weather. >>> turn to washington now. that tax cut extension. it's a done deal at this point. seemed to split some republicans who are thinking ahead. our deputy political director paul steinhauser standing by for me in d.c. it's amazing. they learned, they know this game well. what they say right now -- their words -- are going to come back and bite them if they want to run for president in 2012. so they're being very careful here. >> very careful. and this is a tough one, a tricky one for some of the republicans who want to run. we don't have candidates yet, but potential candidates. why is this one tricky? well, because this compromise that the president signed into law yesterday, it extends tax cut rates for all

." >>> overseas, now, we are following some breaking news on the korean peninsula. as south korea carries out its largest-ever set of wintertime military drills. they're taking place about 20 miles from the border with north korea. korea. hundreds of troops, along with tanks and fighter jets, are involved. drills are in response to last month's bombardment of a south korean island by the communist north. >>> tensions between north and south korea will top the agenda when the chinese president visits the white house next month. the white house has announced an official visit by hu jintao. president obama visited china last year. >>> and the president begins his hawaiian vacation today. and he's doing it on a high note. nearly all of his top legislative priorities were approved during the lame duck session of congress. lawmakers were passing bills even in the final hours. here, now, is jonathan karl. >> reporter: supporters call it a christmas miracle. >> this christmas will be the best christmas that i've ever known. >> reporter: it didn't happen until congress' time

and in fact for more on what's happening on the korean peninsula we're now joined by your guitar ryan the director of korean studies at the institute of economics in the russian economy of sciences thank you for joining us here on north korea has threatened to retaliate hasn't it nothing's happened as yet but what do you think. the next move will be well this is really tense now and. you can have predict when and if the conflict would happen unfortunately at this point of time we have to depend more on the supposed unpredictable irrational regime in pyongyang rather than on the actions of the south korean government who shows no restraint and it's very pitiful i think that north koreans will try to. restrain from unprovoked action but who knows where the limit of patience is if the shells start full of north korean territory they could start the fire in bed and we would never know what happened really what really happened who started this fire indeed and a south korean war games are seen as a provocation but in the so what is south korea continue to do that well then this is not only

the foreign ministers of russia and north korea have agreed that the crisis on the korean peninsula and the result through diplomatic means closed door talks are being held in moscow at a time of growing tensions in the region following a recent fatal exchange of artillery fire over south korean island russia said it of rove expressed concern that the south of the recent live fire military drills are very aggravated the hostility said the current situation demands both korea show restraint and avoid escalating the crisis the ministers also agreed on the need for a six party talks between the lunched on the east asia told r.t. that russia has a pivotal role in helping to stabilize the region because its goal is peace not political muscle flexing. russia is the only country that does have a stake box no specific interest. rates actually there's a difference between russia and the european union so russia can actually be a trustworthy and reliable mediator neutral broker who want interest that russia doesn't concern cruise stability whenever there is a situation emerging market for a major

there's more than the eye going on in the korean peninsula and the results could be global. doesn't seem that the united states is restraining the south korean president lee myung bak who we have to remember is a right wing very conservative president who has a lot of support from the south korean evangelical community and now we know that they're going up to the d.m.z. and they're being allowed to like at the light of christmas trees which the north koreans are saying this is a provocation maybe north and south korea are acting as proxies for big power politics in the region but i think all the big powers russia china the united states and japan should be restraining their respective parties the north and the south if the north attacks south korea the united states will respond. commensurately i think. you know it's very possible we could see this go nuclear the last few presidents south korea had had what were known as sunshine policies with the north they opened up to the north they they had cross border visits trade all that has been stopped by this present south korean p