myanmar was under military rule for almost 25 years. the nation has been strengthening ties with japan and western nations since its transition to civilian rule in march of last year. but the country's leaders have also been trying to maintain close ties with china. japan's new government has promised to repair frayed ties with south dakota. he spoke with south korea's kim a day after taking office, saying south korea is japan's most important neighbor and they share fundamental values and interests. he alluded to a dispute over the senkaku islands in the sea of japan. kim said it's important to maintain close communications. they agreed to work closely on issues relating to north korea. >>> japanese government officials may be looking forward to the new year, but they have to sort through a slew of economic data first. so what can you tell us? >> you're right, they can't kick up their heels just yet, because they have a handful of economic indicators to sort through for japan for november. the jobless rate improved to 4.1%. officials a

on monday he took a one-day trip to myanmar's port town on the indian ocean. she met with the president to discuss the $50 billion u.s. dollar project which includes a deep seaport and power plants. it was the first visit by a thai prime minister since the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in 2008 to develop the area. >> translator: by april of next year, clearer details should be available, and we should also be able it to invite investors to join the prakt. >> the dawei project is set to become the major access point connecting the indian on or about ocean to the south china he sea. it should be a new trading route for thailand and for myanmar a gateway for foreign investment. the project gained extra attention since myanmar launched the open door policy along with economic and credit reforms. >>> land mines and unexploded ordinane ordnance is the danger of war. we have the story. >> a small village in eastern afghanistan mourns the loss of its children. on monday the bodies of 11 girls, aged between 9 and 11 years old, were laid to rest. >>

myanmar's per capita gdp is among the lowest in asean. the country may be exploring ways to develop its economy quickly by maintaining close relations with both superpowers. jun kobayashi, nhk world, yangon. >>> from one controversial mineral project to another, and this time in malaysia. a plant for refining rare earth metals has begun operations one year behind schedule, but protests continue by local residents concerned about the impact on health and the environment. australian mining company lynas began refining rare earths on friday at the plant in malaysia's central state of paham. the facility is the largest of its kind outside china. lynas plans to use it to produce about 22,000 tons a year of rare earths including neodymium. the substance is a key component of electric vehicle motors and other high-tech products. china dominates the rare earth market, and companies looking to diversify their supplies are keeping a close eye on developments at the plant in malaysia. and japan hopes to secure one-third of its annual supply from the

called off at myanmar's request. relations between japan and china remain tense. japan owns the islands, both china and taiwan claim them. myanmar has made other moves out of the consideration for china despite the criticism from the west in november. police in the country cracked down on demonstrations against a copper mine operated by a chinese firm and a firm linked to the military. over 70 protesters were injured and forged close relations with china during the military rule when western countries imposed economic sanctions on the country in the past two decades, investment from china has totalled $14 billion. >>> as china increases its economic and military clout, asean countries are pressed to come up with policies that combine hard and soft approaches to the neighbor. geothermal power is attracting global attention. the philippines is taking advantage of the sustained energy source and the usage rate is the second highest in the world and strengthening its industry by teaming up with counterparts around the wo

called off at myanmar's request. relations between japan and china remain tense. japan owns the islands, both china and taiwan claim them. myanmar has made other moves out of the consideration for china despite the criticism from the west in november. police in the country cracked down on demonstrations against a copper mine operated by a chinese firm and a firm linked to the military. over 70 protesters were injured and forged close relations with china during the military rule when western countries imposed economic sanctions on the country in the past two decades, investment from china has totalled $14 billion. >>> as china increases its economic and military clout, asean countries are pressed to come up with policies that combine hard and soft approaches to the neighbor. geothermal power is attracting global attention. the philippines is taking advantage of the sustained energy source and the usage rate is the second highest in the world and strengthening its industry by teaming up with counterparts around the wo

. >> democratization is taking route in myanmar. the country's president says there is much room for improvement in its government. our reporter in bangkok has details. >> the president spoke to the nation on wednesday in a speech broadcast nationwide via state-run television station. he urged government workers to do more. the president also said reforms are needed from the grassroots level up to the level of the central government. >>> in a speech broadcast through state-run stations, he described the country has falling far short of the international standards for good governance and urged government workers to do more. the president also said reforms are needed from the grassroots level up to the level of the central government. he called for the cooperation of bureaucrats as well as the general public to achieve a government free of corruption. he took office as president in march of 2011. he has been promoting a package of economic reforms. his efforts won the agreement of western countries to ease economic sanctions that were

officials from the governments of myanmar and japan signed a memorandum giving japan exclusive rights to develop a special economic zone. the park is 20 kilometers from myanmar's largest city. >> i possibly hope and i'm very confident that this creation and the friendship between the two countries will be even deeper and stronger. ever after and the years after. >> translator: myanmar has officially confirmed that we will take a leading role in the development. it is a huge step for japan. >> combining the strengths of its public and private sectors, the japanese government is trumpeting the industrial park as a flagship project. japan won the deal after facing competition from rivals, including china and south korea. a group of firms is currently conducting preconstruction surveys. the site will cover 2,400 hectares, making it one of the biggest industrial parks in the world. there will be challenges in tracting more companies to the industrial zone as vast areas are lacking power and water supply systems. >>> vietnam, another key partner for japan. in hanoi, general director level t

it could be a gateway for foreign investment in myanmar.roject has gained extra attention since myanmar launched its policy along with economic and democratic reforms. >>> it's a legacy of decades of war. land mines and unexploded bombs kill and maim people in afghanistan almost every day. more often than not the victims are civilians, a danger highlighted again this week when a group of girls stepped out of their homes to do a chore. nhk world's hideki yuri reports. >> reporter: a small village in eastern afghanistan mourns the loss of its children. on monday the bodies of 11 girls aged between 9 and 11 years old laid to rest. >> translator: the girls were trying to collect firewood outside the village. when they became victims of a landmine explosion. >> the explosion apparently occurred while the girls were getting firewood. one of them accidentally struck an explosive device with an ax. an estimated 10 million land mines have been buried across afghanistan since the soviet invasion of 1979 and during the civil war that followed. ngos wo

officials from the governments myanmar and japan signed an agreement. the park is 20 mill r kilom kil the largest city. >> i possibly hope and i'm very confident that this creation and the friendship between the two countries will be even deeper and stronger. ever after and the years after. >> translator: myanmar has officially confirmed that we will take a leading role in the development. it is a huge step for japan. >> combining the strengths of its public and private sectors, the japanese government is trumpeting the industrial park as a flagship project. japan won the deal after facing competition from rivals, including china and south korea. a group of firms is currently conducting preconstruction surveys. the site will cover 2,400 hectares, making it one of the biggest industrial parks in the world. there will be challenges in attracting more companies to the industrial zone as vast areas are lacking basic infrastructure including power and water supply systems. >>> vietnam, another key partner for japan. in hanoi, general director level talks hel

. >>> each year in myanmar there's a fire balloon festival. it draws thousands of people. there are images all over the internet. when you think of fire balloons you think of the small balloons. these are the size of hot air balloons. as they go into the air, there are also fireworks and rockets in the basket. pretty incredible if you get to witness this in myanmar. >> what if that thing lands on the roof of my house and sets my neighborhood on fire. >> you're on to something with the idea maybe there is a little fear involved. one video in particular that we found that was shot by a photographer named kyle mela from this year's fire balloon festival. notice the fireworks are beginning to ignite before this balloon is in the air. keep watching. >> oh! . >> geez. >> wow! >> that looks pretty bad. >> as you notice the people who were running toward that balloon are now high tailing it out of there and for good reason. apparently this kind of thing happens more often than you would like to think. he here's a video from 2009 of something similar happening. >> oh, no the firewo

the nonbinding resolution calls on the government of myanmar to investigate abuses.wo people have been killed in that country after a commercial airline missed the runway. 63 passengers were on board when it came down. 10 others are injured. a fire swept through two rows of apartments in the philippines. six people were killed, and thousands are now homeless. it is not clear how the fire started. it is thought the electric circuit might have been overloaded with holiday lights. an indian policeman who was injured during a demonstration in new delhi has died. the 42-year-old was reportedly beaten up by front esters. -- protesters. >> the barricades are up, and there is a heavy security presence with police lining the streets that were popular with protesters. the government has shut down all roads leading to the city center. the protesters say they will come in rally, and the process will go on despite the violence over the weekend. the police are investigating the death of a constable who was injured. the police have arrested a few people. they're going through telev

yes, myanmar.here he is, and this is how he characterized the vote today. >> frankly, i'm convinced that the president is unwilling to stand up to his own party on the big issues that face our country. >> all this for a bill that can't and shouldn't become law. joining us now is ron meier, spokesperson for american majority action and jared bernstein a senior fellow and an msnbc contributor. welcome to you both. jared, this plan b, it's not only an affront to what the president has been trying to do in terms of a balanced approach. it's also a colossal waste of time, isn't it? >> absolutely. i mean, i have been writing about this in terms of theatrics at a time when really nobody ought to be going to the theater. the fiscal cliff is way too close for this type of game playing and i just noted today that the gdp report for the third quarter got a little bit of a bump. it was marked up to 3.1%. we're actually making some progress on this economic recovery, but if we go over and stay over the cliff be

. >>> investigators are working to pinpoint what caused a passenger jet to crash in eastern myanmar on tuesday. government officials suspect pilot error. two people were killed in the accident. >>> an air jet landed on a road about 3 kilometers from its destination at the airport. the aircraft broke apart and caught fire, killing one passenger and one bystander on the ground. 11 others were injured. government investigators examined the charred wreckage during the first day of their probe on wednesday. airline employees and witnesses say that an engine exploded right before the plane touched down. this would indicate that the jet had serious problems before it crash landed. however, a passenger told nhk that the crew gave no warnings. >> so it wasn't anything unusual. or nothing to be concerned about. at that moment. but once we got underneath, there was immediately fields and when you look out, yep, there's something wrong. >> a dense fog covered the airport at the time, making for poor visibility. investigators suspect the pilot mistook the road for a landing strip at the airport and

. >> she was helping to provide a better life for her son that she left back in myanmar. now she is just surviving. >> did not ask me about my son. i miss him every day, and i am struggling because i do not make enough to carry me through the month. >> this could drive more of them underground, and giving their future in the place they came looking for a better life. scott heidar, while jazeera pinhole >> when of the more prominent symbols of capitalism is being sold to a rival firm. the new york stock exchange is owned by the atlanta-based intercontinental exchange. the deal is worth $8 billion. the brother of bernie madoff has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. pleaded guilty in june. bernie madoff lost a total of about $20 billion. africa's president has pledged to end poverty in his country. jacob zuma was speaking on the final day of the ruling party conference. what will it take to bridge the economic gap? >> she and her friends say they are struggling to look after children. their patience is running at all. -- their patience is running out. >> but the leader is

. >>> violence between buddhists and minority muslims in myanmar has continued for seven months. the country has not yet found a fundamental solution to the conflict and now the u.n. general assembly ask expressing serious concern over the latest surge of sectarian violence in the western state. the 193-member world organization adopted the resolution on monday. it urges government action to improve the situation of the minority and to protect all their human rights including their right to nationality. the clash betweenees first erup may. thousands of people have been displaced since june. clashes have become more severe since october when at least 84 people were killed and more than 120 were wounded. many buddhists in mean man view the muslims as illegal aliens from bangladesh. the government does not recognize them as citizens. bangladesh refuses to grant citizenship status. >>> that will wrap up our bulletin for today. >>> artists have tried since 1945 to make sense of the atomic bombings in japan. one of them, the menga comic artist has sadly passed away. he died of lung can

. >>> the golden triangle where the borders of myanmar laos and thailand meet has been known for illegal cultivation of opium. now they are producing a more luxurious product made with the help of some gentle giants. i went to the regionen to see what's brewing. fog often blankets the scenic mountains, jungle canopies keep the area cool. elephants, thailand's best known animals roam the lush landscapes of this border region. i'm here at one of the luxurious hotels in a northern province, sampling black ivory coffee, one of the world's most expensive brews and is made by elephants like this one right here. coffee made from beans picked from elephant dung does not come cheaply. a single cup costs $50 but affluent tourists are willing to pay. >> wow, the smell is great. very, very good. >> we have a lot of people coming for the elephants, for activities. they want to experience something special on the top. it's amazing. >> reporter: the coffee's made at the golden triangle asian elephant foundation. many of these animals were taken to cities to perform in the streets for money. now the fac

the chinese government has also extended economic aid to bangladesh and myanmar. the combined efforts are known as china's strain strategy. india is concerned that china's growing military presence may spread beyond the straits of malacca into the indian ocean. this situation has prompted a rapprochement between india and the united states. the two nations share the view that any threat to the freedom of navigation runs counter to their national interests. india is also likely to develop cooperation with asean and japan as part of a strategy against china. abhishek duel ya, nhk, new delhi. >>> thailand's auto industry was one of the hardest hit by last year's devastating floods. automakers are a pilar of the thai economy, but with factories ruined, production was halted for months. this year, though, has seen a drugmaker turnaround with record high production as nhk world reports. >> reporter: the thailand international expo is taking place here in bangkok. 38 automobile companies are showing off their newest models. thailand's model show is one of the big events

. >> the rights group says civilians are being forced from their homes to fight with myanmar,'s army. this is said to show aerial attacks near the border with china. unrest has continued, despite ongoing peace talks with separatist rebels. blocker is -- bloggers in china will no longer be able to comment anonymously. post maybe easily deleted, and information may be sent to authorities. more from hong kong. >> 500 million and growing. the sheer number of internet users and the kind of information they share has long been a source of anxiety for chinese authorities. new measures mean bloggers will have to provide their real names. service providers are required to take down any posts that break the law, and report them to the authorities. the internet has been responsible for uncovering scandals involving corrupt local officials. the government said it wants to encourage more of this, but it seems only up to a point. >> activities on the internet that have seriously infringed on legal rights of the general public have threatened a state, leading to demands from various parts of society

it had just taken off from the myanmar's largest city.o far no word on what forced the pilot to land that plane. >>> and police in upstate new york still don't know why a man shot and killed two for thes who were try -- firefighters who were trying to respond to a house fire. >> awful story, cbs news is in western new york a town that's clearly in shock. >> reporter: candles are burning for two firefighters killed in an ambush the day before christmas. >> our men are hurt and they're not going to be home with their families now. >> reporter: police believe 63- year-old william spangler intentionally set fire to a house and car in order to lure first responders to his neighborhood. >> oh i'm sorry, i just -- it's just christmas. i mean who targets people on christmas? >> reporter: authorities say spangler injured two volunteer firefighters and killed two more before shooting himself. 19-year-old thomas k achouka was filled in for married firefighters. mike ciporini was named firefighter of the year two weeks ago. >> so it's very -- it's a

leadership see should be non-negotiable for the country would look pretty sure has come right here on myanmar. across the board but even here. it was. kind of a struggle between iran. even. want blood pumping blood cells and their life which is preventing the blast that killed them and serious husband was seduced shown that the clock in the living room stopped at the time of his death both the west and iran are equally failing to move forward iran has long insisted on its rights to develop a peaceful nuclear program but suspicion in the west has led to more and more severe sanctions the more iran resists the more the pressure builds and both sides show little sign of giving up and while the west says only dangerous intentions people here in iran believe it's all down to pride and prejudice. in our tea from teheran israel is using iran as a convenient bogeyman to justify its own nuclear weapons program this is according to iran's former top diplomat in an interview with our team that's coming up in full next hour but here's a preview even today israel is the are always using your own issue. to

you asked congress to support myanmar and her people and i am happy to report we have not. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the senator from california, the hon. dianne feinstein. >> mr. speaker, nancy pelosi, mrs. bush, harry reid, leader mcconnell, secretary of state hillary clinton and my colleagues in government this is a special day to honor a special person in a special place. for many years i have followed tragedies and victories of this uncommonly courageous and persistent woman. in 1988 she quickly rose to be the voice of democracy in burma creating the lead for democracy, elections followed in 1990 when her party won 80% but that joy turned to tragedy and the the military junta and aung san suu kyi spent 3 decades under house arrest unable to visit her dying husband. in 1996 i recall senator bill cohen approaching with senator mccain to sponsor a burma sanction bill, sanctions were put in place in 1997 and only loosened in july of this year. senator mcconnell became one of aung san suu kyi's chief advocates and we continue to work on behalf of the people of bur

it was headed to up of myanmar's most popular tourist spots. >>> a u.s.rew thought they smelled fuel while their empty plane sat parked in phoenix. they checked it out and saw flames shooting out of the tall. a small engine under the tail was probably the problem. >> and former president george h.w. bush will be spending this christmas day in a houston hospital. the nation's 41st president has been there for more than a month battling a persistent bronchitis-like cough. doctors were hoping to send him home for the holidays. the 88-year-old bush has developed a fever and is weak. we wish him well. >> nelson mandela is also spending christmas day in a hospital room. he's been battling a lung infection and the first time he won't be home for christmas since 1989 when he was still jailed for leading the struggle against apartheid. the current president says the nobel prize winner is looking and feeling much better. >> santa is done delivering his goodies this morning, so we are going to take over and we're going to look at his naughty and nice list. we'll mak

>> the group says, we have been kicked out of other countries like china and myanmar, i know the u.s.not want to be on that list. >> greta: i was right. do you know all about this. >> i learned from you. >> greta: coming up, san diego's newest baby panda gets a bit distracted. the adorable and must-see video is next. hey, look! a shooting star! make a wish! i wish we could lie here forever. i wish this test drive was over, so we could head back to the dealership. [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. test drive! but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a jetta. that's the power of german engineering. get $0 down, $0 due at signing, $0 deposit, and $0 first month's payment on any new volkswagen. visit vwdealer.com today. share "not even close." share "you owe me..." share "just right." the share everything plan. shareable data across 10 devices with unlimited talk and text. hurry in for a droid razr m by motorola for $49.99.

>> the group says, we have been kicked out of other countries like china and myanmar, i know the u.s.oes not want to be on that list. >> greta: i was right. do you know all about this. >> i learned from you. >> greta: coming up, san diego's newest baby panda gets a bit distracted. the adorable and must-see video is next. (announcer) when subaru owners look in the mirror, they see more than themselves. so we celebrate our year-end with the "share the love" event. get a great deal on a new subaru and 250 dollars goes to your choice of five charities. by the end of this, our fifth year, our total can reach almost 25 million dollars. it's a nice reflection on us all. now through january 2nd. get 0% apr financing for 36 months on a 2013 subaru forester and we'll donate 250 dollars to your choice of 5 charities. can i still ship a gift in time r christmas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery. >>. >> >>. >>

one myanmar quibble with your presentation and then a question. so, the quibble is that you mentioned in passing that human cloning is banned in the united states. that, to my knowledge, is not true. federal funding is prohibited from going cloning in the same way under the rider. there are other provisions. >> you may be correct on that. my knowledge is that cloning for the purpose of creating a human being is, you know, legal. that was my understanding of it. am i not right about that? i am happy to chat some more after. .. here are some things we would like to encourage. other avenues. just this week the nobel committee announced a researcher, who discovered induced stem cells -- in particular, -- gord had done cloning work with frogs decade ago. but yaminaka discovered a kind of stem cell that prevents the need to tee destroy human embryos and create embryonic stem cells. he would be sharing the nobel prize this year. coming around to the question. here's president bush's policy, put in place to stop incentivizing and stop the funding -- preve

less myanmar shawl and lars larson. feds are saying we are going to subsidize health insurance for the people who can't afford it. it's like an orbitz. you go online. megyn kelly new york, how old are you -- you can like the up. medical background. race. they ask you all your background things. you plug in your information and somebody has to set up the online thing and be on the receiving end to process the info such as they can return back to you. if you qualify for the gold plan at this rate. this is the amount of subsidy you would get and this is how you go about getting it. 25 states have default ought states entirely and another 7 said we want at a minimum to partner with the feds. so you have got 32 states saying the federal government will be entirely or partially responsible. they didn't plan on that. how are they going to get this done? >> i think the money is actually there. what i hear is job creation whether it's on a state or federal level. megyn: there were reports they were talking about robbing peter to

the bank admits laundering money from iran, libya and myanmar. grassley calls the lack of charges a declaration that "crime does pay." the justice department did not comment but defends its nearly $2 billion settlement with the bank. >>> two massachusetts costco workers are splitting a $50 million powerball prize. rosa deleon buys two tickets every day and shares them with her co-worker reginald. on wednesday the tickets finally paid off. the two will each get $11 million after taxes. congratulations to them. very lucky. >>> there is a machine that could one day be used to make homemade guns, not only that, it could make plastic guns that a metal detector won't find. you can believe some people are worried about it. here is joe johns with more. >> reporter: in the this northern virginia gun store you can buy all sorts of weapons but what if you could make weapons in your own home using a three-dimensional printer. sounds like science fiction but to some it's not far-fetched. >> primarily 3-d printers are used to manufacture parts for antique cars

it's already formed alliances with banks in indonesia, myanmar and is looking in thailand and india for new partners. asia, especially southeast asia is an emerging hot market for other japanese lenders, too. mizuho will set up firms which set up shop in laos given its labor costs and low political risks compared to china. >>> now let's get you the latest results of spain's auction debt. the country is seeing lower yields than the last time it went to market and higher demand. 2015's bid to ratio, 4.8 versus 2 the last one, 3.1 versus 2.6 for the 2017 and the 2040 saw a 2.1 bid to cover. of course, when it comes to the yield, i would give you a sense of what we're seeing on these. 2015 maximum yield coming in just under 3.43%. that's roughly where we stood on the last go around on december 5th. for the 2017, we saw 4.24 versus 4.5, so an improvement. for the 2045 .9 the%. backing up quite a bit relative to the 4.8%. although the last time we saw an auction there was in march 2009. to walk us all through this, let's get back to sylvia peruzzo from nomura. what's your reaction? >> i think

these sanctions around libya, myanmar, syria and mexican cartels, this is what hsbc says, wants to puthe whole matter behind this. "we accept responsibility for our past mistakes, we have said we're profoundly sorry for them. the hsbc of today is a fundamentally different organization from the one that made those mistakes." they were rubber stamping transfers and one economic it any of an e-mail said "what is this, the school of low expectations banking?" this executive was appalled by some of the practices of a mexican affiliate of hsbc. let me tell you about the fine here, ted, $1.92 billion, standard chartered a fine of $667 million for some similar charges of violating u.s. sanctions on transactions with iran, burma, libya, sudan. ing bank a $619 million for covering up transfers in violation of u.s. sanctions against cuba and iran. again, the banking industry has to know its customer and in this case it looks as though this bank was looking the other way and a lot of this money around the world. >> you look at the $1.9 billion find, geez it's going to take a long time to pay the b