all southeast asia and asia there are a lot of similarities. >> he is a male entity. he is not -- are you referring to the story? >> it's interesting you should say that. a unique indian concept is one of half male, half female. and that is -- unlike some dances the solo dancer portrays all of the parts in the story. you can portray a feminine aspect and then masculine aspect with the bow and arrow. the male has to portray feminine and the female has to portray masculine. there is a very fierce dance and a soft sort of dance and every dancer has to learn all those aspects. it's very, you know, my teacher i call him a guru in this art form you have to study very, very hard. you have to learn about all the cultural aspects. he says it's liberating because he enjoys and has to learn to bring up the feminine aspect. he's a strong character it's a challenge for him and he likes it. the stories are metaphor cal. i don't look at this that this is a man or woman. there are qualities we all have that some of us are in touch with and are not. in our culture we think people shou

myanmar's per capita gross domestic product is the lowest in southeast asia. the country receives support from china during its rule. but now he says it's eager to open its doors to western countries, too. >> whatever we received, there would be no problem. the matter is who will give us more benefit. we have to welcome to the investment from the west, too. >> reporter: he seems to suggest that the myanmar government will continue to maneuver for economic cooperation from the western countries and china. >> that will wrap up our bulletin. >> cruising northeast gentleman -- cruises in northeastern japan has been working nonstop removing rubble, repairing buildings and putting up new structures. the tsunami put countless assets at risk saving these national treasures is proving to be a difficult job as we find out in this week's road ahead. >> reporter: this man is a curator. he is in the no entry zone which was created after the nuclear crisis. the town government has a makeshift office in a municipality outside the zone. he's been trying to raise awareness abo

myanmar's per capita gross domestic product is the lowest in southeast asia. the country receives support from china during its rule. no but now he says it's eager to open its doors to western countries. >> whatever we received, there would be no problem. the matter is who will give us more benefit. we have to welcome to the investment from the west. >> reporter: the doctor seems to suggest that the myanmar government will continue to maneuver for economic cooperation from the western countries and china. >> and that will wrap up our bulletin. >>> crews in northeastern japan have been working almost nonstop over the last ten months, removing rubble, repairing buildings and putting up new structures. the march 11th earthquake and tsunami did not only wreck infrastructure. it put national treasures at risk. it's proving to be a difficult job to salvage these treasures. >> reporter: this man is a cur t curator. the town government has a makeshift office outside the zone. he has been trying to raise awareness about the body of assets for many years. but the proble

it is almost a european notion to bring these symbols and icons from southeast asia.corate their deities. it was a god they interacted with every day in a human way. the most important thing has been to create work that is appealing to me. i want to see vishnu to pick did in a modern way. it dawned on me by reinterpreting the deities in a way that is modern and reverent to the history, i am building a bridge for young and old audiences to make friends with the culture and these icons to learn their stories. ♪ >> sanrio famous for the designs for hello kitty. i thought i would try to make it as cute as possible. that way people might want to read the stories. then people might be open to learn about the deities and the culture. ♪ they reached out to make about five or six years ago because of the book published. they appreciated that my work was clearly driven from my research and investigation. after i contributed my artwork, the museum was really beside themselves. they really took to it. the museum reached out to me to see if i would be interested in my own space in

japan's biggest automaker is one such company with an eye on southeast asia. ai uchida from the business team has more. >> toyota has specifically thailand in mind, catherine. the flood disaster there has done nothing to scare the automaker off of the country. toyota motors says it will invest about $260 million in to a new plant there. the japanese automaker is set on winning the markets of emerging countries in asia. toyota plans to build the new plant at its facility outside bangkok. the complex was not affected by the october floods. toyota also plans to resume production line at an assembly plant of a group firm by the end of this year. the new moves will boost toyota's annual production capacity in thailand by more than 100,000 units to 760,000 units. thailand is southeast asia's largest automobile market, although automakers suffered in the floods, new cars in the country are expected to top 1 million units for the first time this year. major u.s. banks posted mixed earnings for the october to december period. a higher exposure to europe has left many f

for more, i am joined by the director of the southeast asia program at the center for strategic and international studies in washington, d.c. thank you for joining us. why should the united states put more emphasis on the asia- pacific region, and less on europe, latin america, africa? >> this is the 21st century for asia, and 60% of the world's population is there. thethirds of world's -- of world trade travels through their waters, and the u.s. knows the security is in asia and that is what we're focused there. >> is it all about china and their threat to regional security, in particular dispute in the islands and their close alliance with north korea? >> actually, it is a big factor, but it is not a negative. i think the countries are worried about what china's growth means. on the upside, it is great, but how it affects their neighbors, what the the one in terms of sovereignty in the south china sea. but that their neighbors do not know the answer to that question and they have asked the united states to get more visibly engaged in regional security. i think that is part of the american motiv

growing economies home to large numbers of young consumers with money to spend, southeast asia is an attractive market, subcultures from japan like animation are already popular. now japanese talent agencies are turning their skills to creating pop culture. nhk world's mark ho files this report from singapore. >> this japanese all-girl pop group performs in singapore. japanese groups like are poe increasingly drawn to the potentially lucrative market in asia. a sister group was spawned in the indonesian cpa capital, gentlemjakart jakarta. it shows how far the influence is spreading. sea-a, is another group being promoted right now with four members from singapore and malaysia. their name comes from the initials of southeast asia, plus animae. >> the group is the invention of a major japanese talent agency, it plans to turn them into opinion-asian superstars. the group set its sights. new trends spread from here to neighboring malaysia and indonesia. so-called culture from japan has already taken root. so the promoter thought the group's anime and style would be a winner. >> i used to

another dictatorship where things seem to be improving is burma in southeast asia. today the obama administration said the u.s. will restore full diplomatic relations. that move came after burma's government freed more than 650 political prisoners. secretary of state hillary clinton visited burma in december, a reward for the government taking steps toward greater human rights. the financial crisis in europe took a turn for the worse today. standard & poor's, the rating agency, downgraded the credit ratings of nine european countries and if you think what happens there doesn't matter here, the commerce department reported today that u.s. exports to europe plunged to nearly 6% in november. anthony mason is here with more about the downgrade. anthony? >> reporter: scott, s&p sent a clear signal today that in its view the european debt crisis is not over. more than half of the euro zone countries were downgraded, including italy, portugal, and spain, which had their credit ratings knocked down two notches and austria and france which saw theirs cut by a notch. france,

it is almost a european notion to bring these symbols and icons from southeast asia.decorate their deities. it was a god they interacted with every day in a human way. the most important thing has been to create work that is appealing to me. i want to see vishnu to pick did in a modern way. it dawned on me by reinterpreting the deities in a way that is modern and reverent to the history, i am building a bridge for young and old audiences to make friends with the culture and these icons to learn their stories. ♪ ♪ [applause] >> de want to sit down? that is perfectly all right. -- do you want to sit down? let me called this meeting to order. it is the occasion when the mayor of san francisco is to take the oath of office. i believe this is probably the first major who has had all the other living mayor's as the 16 county of san francisco president for this swearing in. [laughter] but i do not take it personally. i did not even notice it. [laughter] of course, i should identify them quickly. to my left, she will be on later on in the program, but we will start with diann

for southeast asia, areas lithe philippines and the eastern and over toward thunderstorm 10 here and same in shanghai, upin beijing.kyo getting up to 8 degrees so than yesterday.americas, looking ontinent. weather starting to develop. for the pacific northwest, washington state and all the way down to northern california, quite a bit of snowfall. one centimeters and isolated regio eastern end here and we'll be loloping across the easterny the gray, region we're looking at some stormy weather possible f u.s. there's quit highs get up to 17 in atlanta.es here you're likely seeing rain rather ope, we have this fronta northern sections of pa mix of rain and sno continuing to develop in scattered showers here. for the brit dry but on areas like northern scot rainfall coming in, especi highs across the board on cow, highs remain as minus 5 degrees on tuesday. but that's asonal temperat those are your weather here's your three-day outlook.lead story this hour. people i working rebuild since the earthquake. demolished their 64 residents are mar this yearhe experience of p by the disasterrn j

but places like north and south korea and southeast asia that we need it because of our positions inhe world. >> why? why can't they defend themselves . >> some of them are like the south korea because of what happened in north korea. we are involved. we don't want to have to deploy over there because of north korea so belergerent. >> scouth korea can defend themselves. there is a treaty. treaties can be end. south korea president when bush was in office asked if we could end the war. >> they have more arstillly in the north korea and within 32 of 40 million people. >> true. true. but we help our friends. whether it is smaller, sure. the problem is i have cut them and bring them all home. >> cut foreign aid . cut to egypt and israel and everyone. >> first of the all israel wouldn't exist. >> it would. >> we have -- the dollars and helping them stay. >> three billion a year and one and half percent of the cogross domestic product. that is essential to the israelis . paul would say stop it. >> also stop it egypt and jordan. >> governor paul or congressman paul wants everything stopped

it is almost a european notion to bring these symbols and icons from southeast asia.hey decorate their deities. it was a god they interacted with every day in a human way. the most important thing has been to create work that is appealing to me. i want to see vishnu to pick did in a modern way. it dawned on me by reinterpreting the deities in a way that is modern and reverent to the history, i am building a bridge for young and old audiences to make friends with the culture and these icons to learn their stories. ♪ >> this is one of the museum's longest art interest groups. it was founded by art lovers who wanted the museum to reflect new directions in contemporary art. it has been focused on artists in this region with an eye toward emerging artists. ♪ it is often at the early stage of their career, often the first major presentation of their work in a museum. it is very competitive. only a few artists per year receive the award. it is to showcase their work to have a gallery and publication dedicated to their work. ♪ i have been working with them on the last two yea

clouded leopards are native to the tree tops of southeast asia.omewhere along the way, they began to mix with humans. they began desirable pets. and even more desirable prey. tonight, abc's dan harris crawls into their cage,series, "into the wild." >> reporter: they look pretty friendly. making meows and purrs. seemingly whining for attention. but this is the view from safely outside the cage. and this story requires that i go in. my last moments with all of my digits and limbs. these are clouded leopards. okay. hi, guys. sisters named belle and button. only a few months old. how are you doing? at first, they're not particularly interested in me. but then -- >> they like to pull you out. and don't be afraid to swat them. i mean, lightly. but they should know the word no. >> reporter: that hurt. next target, our camera. >> that's a close-up. >> reporter: since these girls seem very playful and nice -- you can really hold them like a cat, a baby. -- i decide to actually pick one up. what are you doing? ow. these are clouded leopard bite marks. not t

our southeast asia correspondent, rachel harvey, has been following this story from bangkok. >> snapshots of freedom. a gallery of dissidents and activists in prison for their beliefs. among the recent releases, min ko naing, prominent leader of the failed 1988 student uprising. outside burma's prisons, the crowds and the expectations grew. former inmates struggling to wakmake their way through. there has been amnesty before, but none as far reaching as this. some of those released today have spent more than a decade behind bars. among those set free, monks who took part in these street demonstrations in 2007. and some of the video journalists who shot the pictures. and a man who once stood on the other side. former prime minister and intelligence chief, khun tun. now he and most of those who served under him are free. also, members of burma's ethnic minority group, including one of the most senior shan political leaders. he called on the government to reach agreements with all of the people of burma. if you cannot make peace with one and fight with another. these scenes repeated outside

the disparaging sentiment of the armed fores was not only result of the misguided mission in southeast asiabut the authority powers at be kept us away from the gi's. and the treatment was horrifying. >> thank you, geraldo. up next. does president obama have more proud than king george did? our next guest said yes, he does. and that's bad. and 800 iu of vitamin d plus minerals. women need caltrate. caltrate helps women keep moving because women move the world. morning because my back hurt so bad. the sleep number bed conforms to you. i wake up in the morning with no back pain. i can adjust it if i need to...if my back's a little more sore. and by the time i get up in the morning, i feel great! if you have back pain, toss and turn at night or wake up tired with no energy, the sleep number bed could be your solution. the sleep number bed's secret is it's air chambers which provide ideal support and put you in control of the firmness. and the bed is perfect for couples because each side adjusts independently to their unique sleep number. here's what clinical research has found: 93% of participa

it is almost a european notion to bring these symbols and icons from southeast asia. they decorate their deities. it was a god they interacted with every day in a human way. the most important thing has been to create work that is appealing to me. i want to see vishnu to pick did in a modern way. it dawned on me by reinterpreting the deities in a way that is modern and reverent to the history, i am building a bridge for young and old audiences to make friends with the culture and these icons to learn their stories. ♪ >> thank you and good morning. i want to invite stephen barkley and mike from our staff who have been working diligently with the authority, many different agencies. of course, my point person for making sure we honor the public's request, to do this america's cup and the best possible way and involve everybody. let me start with some good news. in january of this year, we had an unemployment rate of 9.4% -- 9.5%. as we announced during a year, it steadily went down. as of today, it is 7.8%. sorry. the reason i have that number people, in less than one ye

. >> monday marked the first day of the lunar new year and people around southeast asia have been celebrating. let's take a look at how different countries are ushering in the year to have dragon. here in thailand colorful parades paved the way for locals of chinese desent and foreigners to kick off the celebration. crowds packed shrines throughout the kingdom to pay their respects and wish for health, wealth and good luck. in malasia a dragon and lion dances spy spiced up festivities in neighborhoods as locals invited the troupe to bless their homes. the two-day public holiday is widely celebrated by the local chinese population who make up a quarter of the country's 28 million people. in the philippines, fire crackers echoed in the streets as crowds watched colorful performances in china town. chinese fillphilippinos travele a shrine signifying a blend of catholic and chinese tradition. many believe this year's symbol the dragon is the most suspicious of all of the signs in the chinese zodiac. that wraps up our bulletin. >> we have sports up next. >> welcome to the sports report. today we'r

laos, in southeast asia, is a natural treasure trove with by a diversity sustained by best forest used to cover most of the country. here, too, the trees are under threat. in 1940, 7% of the land was forest. today, it is just over half. the german aid process has teamed up with locals in a bid to hold this downward trend. >> these women are searching for the next meal. they find everything they need to survive in the forest, such as grasses, roots, and bamboo. this is still a fairly pristine in mind, located in a natural reserve. -- environment, located in a natural reserve. the local population can live off of the forest. just a few dozen kilometers away, loggers have destroyed. they are transporting ely lilly- logged tropical timber. these people are not interested in permits. there after a quick money and to get it will sacrifice the forest. the unique habitat is fragmented by deep corridors of cleared forest. bush's are all that grows back. >> laos has good forests that cover most of the country, but illegal logging in some areas is a problem. the loggers deal with the locals who h

it is almost a european notion to bring these symbols and icons from southeast asia. deities. it was a god they interacted with every day in a human way. the most important thing has been to create work that is appealing to me. i want to see vishnu to pick did in a modern way. it dawned on me by reinterpreting the deities in a way that is modern and reverent to the history, i am building a bridge for young and old audiences to make friends with the culture and these icons to learn their stories. ♪ >> i am the director of visual arts programming at intersection for the arts. intersection for the arts is based in san francisco and has always been an organization that looks at larger social political issues through the lens of practice, and we are here today at our exhibition of "chico and chang." the original inspiration was drawn from a restaurant chain in new york city. half of their menu is -- what struck me was the graphic pictures and a man in a hat on a rig truck carrying take that time is containers and in the black sea to representation of a mexican guy wearing

their name comes from the initials of southeast asia, plus animae. >> reporter: the group is the inventionf a major japanese talent agency. it plans to turn them into pan-asian superstars. the agency set its sights on singapore as a gateway to asia. the city state is located in the middle of the region. new trends spread from here to neighboring malaysia and indonesia. so-called otaku has already taken root, so the promoter thought the group's animae and costly style would be a winner. >> yay! >> i used to watch like videos in the cafes and akihabara and i'm always very amazed and inspired. i just feel like, you know, i want to do this, too. >> reporter: the promoter wants fans to follow these ordinary girls on their journey to stardom. japanese agents typically use that strategy to build a loyal fan base. >> translator: in japan, it's important for idols to share their path to stardom with their fans. this concept is new to overseas audiences. i'm sure it will work here as well. >> reporter: one year after they were first recruited, the group's debut has come. their first live performance

we're going to leave you with images of what it might look like to backpack across southeast asia forwo full months. enjoy. we'll see you next time. >>> we've been following the case of a local paver accused of overcharging customers. there he is, tommy clack. over the weekend he was arrested. we'll tell you what's next for tommy clack. >>> he was swept into office top change the way -- to change the way the state prosecuted criminals. what has changed since craig bernstein took over. >>> it's producing wintry weather. if you're waiting for a commuter, the area

it is almost a european notion to bring these symbols and icons from southeast asia.hey decorate their deities. it was a god they interacted with every day in a human way. the most important thing has been to create work that is appealing to me. i want to see vishnu to pick did in a modern way. it dawned on me by reinterpreting the deities in a way that is modern and reverent to the history, i am building a bridge for young and old audiences to make friends with the culture and these icons to learn their stories. ♪ >> the question when i started 11 years ago when i started doing resolution work is can anything be presented on a really low resolution device where it is potentially a digital image? can anything be presented that way? or will it feel cold and electronic? >> the imagery will change. there will be four different sets. it is a two dimensional image. it is stretched out into three dimensions. the device is part of the experience. you cannot experience the image without the device as being part of what you are seeing. whereas with the tv you end up ignoring i

southeast asia and. mediterranean away called a cold water but now. it's a warm water computor here. in order to get to the depths of the want to see winter divers first have to break through the frozen sea. the thickness of ice is about forty to fifty centimeters in the diving school. it is hard work so the divers take turns to short intervals. the word for this device was invented by ancient people it's a type of lever that was taken it a step further and designed an intelligent device for snow bills to lift chunks of ice nothing of the kind anywhere else in the world this original structure does the job of fall barely man to that of the. i starting in the white sea is a serious challenge in winter the water is bitterly cold. several hot spots bonuses are situated near every water hole here the divers change and comfort themselves after diving. according to international diving regulations should be certified by the professional association of diving instructors before venturing on to the ice because divers must be wearing dry suits to make sure the

to the south, southeast asia, areas like central southern sections of the philippines will be looking again at chances of heavier downpours so watch out for that. highs on tuesday look like this. 9 in tokyo. seasonal. 1 in seoul. 9 in shanghai and 20 degrees in taipei. getting over into the americas, it is going to be a picture for the gulf coast. trio of lows here and continue to bring in more moisture, trigger some stronger storms in texas. looks like we'll continue to see some stormy weather for the lower mississippi valley as well as in towards texas and oklahoma. now towards the north a lot of this precipitation is going to be falling as snow. heavier snow expected to spread in the northern rockies and really central, eastern sections of canada looking at a little bit more snowfall for the course of tuesday. highs across the board look like this. 8 in new york. wild on the aseaboard. 11 in chicago. 9 one denver and seasonal 6 degrees in seattle. lastly getting into europe and here the alpine region has been dealing with quite a bit of snow since the weekend. plenty of heavy snows

southeast asia is becoming an increasingly attractive destination for both companies and job seekers from japan. with their home economy in a protracted slump, japanese willing to relocate often have better luck in this part of the world. we met with one hopeful candidate in singapore as he tried to kick start his career. >> reporter: singapore's economy grew a record 14% in 2010. businesses from around the world have set up their asian headquarters in the city state. they include more than 1,000 companies from japan. many of these firms are hiring locally. this job agency says the number of openings at japanese affiliated firms has doubled in the past two years. that includes positions for new graduates with no work experience. >> translator: anyone with university level qualifications can apply. even if they have no experience. >> reporter: the number of new graduates seeking jobs in singapore is also growing. this man is one of them. after graduating from university, he obtained a working holiday visa because he wanted to work in an asian country with a booming economy. he's been

to help with a number of humanitarian aid disasters around the world, such as the tsunami in southeast asia a few years ago, hurricane katrina, and burst recently, we held out with the earthquake and tsunami that hit northern japan in march but this year, we're dedicating the tree to the victims and survivors of that disaster. [applause] over the last 11 years, rainbow world fund has distributed $3.2 million in humanitarian aid on behalf of the lgbt and friends community. besides distributing humanitarian aid, we worked to inspire hope in our projects around the world, and we have come to learn that is equally important, if not more so, to foster a spirit of hope in people's lives. i have always believed that hope is the most important energy in the world. we have seen people living in the most desperate circumstances with very little resources, making positive changes in their lives with just a little support. the support that rainbow world fund gives creates hope in people's lives just by letting them know that someone cares about them. that alone is very powerful. we decided six years ag

. >> some countries have been causing friction in southeast asia. now there's another arena where chinese activities are attracting attention, the indian ocean. china is currently helping to construct sea ports in pakistan, sri lanka, myanmar and bangladesh sometimes referred to as china's string of pearls, the ports encircle india. some observers view them with suspicion evidence of chinese ambitions over the region. today's report from sri lanka looks at a massive port facility china is building on the island and how india might respond. >> reporter: construction is well underway at this sea port in southern sri lanka. some facilities began operations in 2010. 85% of the cost of construction has been shouldered by china. the government claims that once complete, the port will be one of the biggest in south asia with capacity for 33 vessels including some of the world's largest ships. it's situated at the midpoint of a crucial sea lane that connects the persian lane with a strait. it's an attributive position for a maritime hub. >> translator: loca

it is almost a european notion to bring these symbols and icons from southeast asia.corate their deities. it was a god they interacted with every day in a human way. the most important thing has been to create work that is appealing to me. i want to see vishnu to pick did in a modern way. it dawned on me by reinterpreting the deities in a way that is modern and reverent to the history, i am building a bridge for young and old audiences to make friends with the culture and these icons to learn their stories. ♪ >> i came out to san francisco about seven years ago. i was trained as a carpenter. i got sick of the cold weather and the hot weather. i wanted to pursue art. i thought i really be here for about three years. here i am, 7 years later. ♪ i have problems sleepwalking at night. i wanted to create a show about sleep. a mostly due painting kind of story telling. these are isolated subject matters, smaller studies for the larger paintings. i fell in love with it and wanted to create more of them. it is all charcoal on mylar. it is plastic. i was experimenting and disc

for southeast asia, areas like the philippines and the eastern end of the indochina peninsula and over toward cambodia, scattered showers and some thunderstorms for you. tuesday's highs look like this. 10 here and same in shanghai, up to 5 in seoul. expecting 2 in beijing. tokyo getting up to 8 degrees so that will be slightly warmer than yesterday. as we look toward the americas, the series of storm systems are looking set to just track right across the continent. as we head to midweek we're talking about a lot more wintry weather starting to develop. for the pacific northwest, especially this western end of washington state and all the way down to northern california, areas are looking to pick up quite a bit of snowfall. one area could get ten centimeters and isolated regions could get 30 centimeters or more. and aiming for the eastern end here and we'll be looking at widespread rainy area developing across the eastern half of the united states, especially the gray, region we're looking at snow and then rain and then even some stormy weather possible for the southeastern corner of th

one of the poorest in southeast asia. >> reporter: about 600 lawmakers from the upper and lower houses of parliament attended the session. the government forecast for annual income was $52 billion. it said it would allocate funds to upgrading myanmar's infrastructure. and invite foreign companies to help. the nation needs to build irrigation systems, power stations, and communication lines as a foundation for economic growth. myanmar will hold a by-election in april. democracy leader kyi is standing in the poll. during tuesday's session, a lawmaker from one of the country's ethnic groups withined the prospect of kyi entering parliament. >> translator: her presence will be welcome and force changes here, too. >> reporter: about a quarter of the seats in parliament are affiliated with the military. those lawmakers were more cautious on the topic of kyi. but they were welcoming of the reforms. >> translator: her arrival is immaterial because we like her are taking the stance of democratization. >> reporter: rebuilding myanmar's economy urgently requires the lifting of economic sanctions.

. >> china eastertorial disputes with some asian countries have been causing friction in southeast asia. now there's another arena where chinese activities are attracting attention, the indian ocean. china is currently helping to construct sea ports in pakistan, sri lanka, myanmar and bangladesh sometimes referred to as china's string of pearls, the ports encircle india. some observers view them with suspicion evidence of alleged chinese ambitions over the region. today's report from sri lanka looks at a massive port facility china is building on the island and how india might respond. >> reporter: construction is well underway at this sea port in southern sri lanka. some facilities began operations in 2010. 85% of the cost of construction is being shouldered by china. the government claims that once complete, the port will be one of the biggest in south asia with capacity for 33 vessels including some of the world's largest ships. hambantota is situated as the midpoint of a crucial sea lane. it's an attributive position for a maritime hub. >> translator: located in the middle of a sea