zblnchsz atom atomic ambition. iranian leaders are flaunting new nuclear capabilities. they claim recent advances have brought them closer to mastering production of nuclear fuel. they say they've introduced advanced centrifuges.

the announcement came in defiance of increasing sanctions from the west. nhk world reports from tehran. >> reporter: iranian's president announced the new sena centrifun wednesday. he said the new centrifuges have three times the production capacity compared to the older centrifu centrifuges. early he announced the nuclear fuel rod into a reactor near tehran. iran says the fuel rods and the reactor will be used to produce radi radioisotopes. they say the enrichment could be used for military purposes or face more economic sanctions.

it's expected to get strong reaction from the west. >> meanwhile, iran has told the european union it's ready to resume negotiations on its nuclear program. the eu's considering the offer. iranian media says the secretary of the supreme national security council sent a letter to eu foreign policy chief catherine ashton. the letter says iran is willing to resume talks in a manner best for both sides. success will depend on whether the west adopts a constructive attitude. she says she's evaluating the contents of the letter and will consult with the united states, russia, and other partners. the eu coordinator says they will not resume talks unless iran is prepared to discuss concrete confidence-building measures without preconditions.

last month eu announced plans to ban iranian oil imports in its toughest economic sanctions to date. japan's prime minister they met with israel's deputy minister. he told noda he wants international partners to cooperate and take tough measures against iran, including strengthening economic sanctions. noda said japan shares the concerns and is willing to cooperate through talks to put more pressure on iran, but he warned military action would only escalate the situation. noda wants a diplomatic and peaceful solution. investors worry there might not be enough oil from iran. ai with that story, ai, good

morning. >> good morning, there was definitely a scare over oil supply overnight. that's because there was a report from iran state-run media that the country would stop oil exports to six eu nations, including greece, italy, and spain. that sent crude oil prices surging on wednesday. the bench mark in new york exceeded $102.54 per barrel for the first time in one month but the market calmed down after the iranian government denied the report, saying it has not yet stopped oil exports to the eu. iran has reacted sharply to the sanctions, including an embargo on oil exports. iran has been looking for ways to impact the eu economies. actions include stopping the export of oil to some nations before they can find other sources. oil investors are keeping a close eye on what measures iran will take to deal with the eu

oil embargo. separately, the euro zone is expected to finalize a bailout package for greece on monday. the president says he is confident all necessary decisions will be made when the euro zone finance ministers meet next week. the ministers held a telephone conference on wednesday. they had planned to actually meet but decided to postpone it, saying greece needs to satisfy all conditions before receiving more financial support. after the conference call, the prime minister of luxemburg released a statement, a written pledge by the ruling coalition parties they will execute austerity measures. the statement also calls for further discussion on how to ensure greece will be able to conduct fiscal reform and repay its debts. still, the dow jones fell on

wednesday, after two days of gains, signaling concerns in europe are still overshadowing the markets. let's see how stocks here are trading this thursday morning. how are markets opening this thursday? >> going by the economic data in the u.s., not such a bad picture. we did see manufacturing for the new york region picking up and improved sentiment also for home builders and also the f.e.d. revising upwards this december industrial production from the previous month. so having said that, let's have a look at the opening levels for the nikkei and topix this thursday morning. a factor weighing on the dow was continuing concerns how greece is going to deal with the new austerity plan, which is coming difficult for politicians and leaders, as you can see there, nikkei and topix trading lower.

it has surged significantly this year, well above 9,000 level so we are seeing profit taking right now at these levels. also let me remind viewers foreign investors have been big buyers so far this year as well. with the worries over greece hanging over the markets, the yen may still gain a touch despite moves by the bank of japan just the other day to actually weaken the yen by increasing its asset purchases, but having a look at the foreign currency levels this morning, and again, just seeing a little bit of yen strength there against the euro. dollar/yen holding pretty steady, ai? >> we're going to monitor the oil markets, any effects of the media report about the embargo against iran? >> definitely, we're going to keep track of that. you already mentioned wti crude oil prices rising about 1% and markets taking in the daily

threats of oil supply disruptions and the geo-political risk. >> how about stocks in the energy sector? >> definitely, that's going to be a focus as a sector, but individually, we're going to be looking at the trading houses such as mitsubishi, but also specific oil companies such as shoa shell, we're going to track that. it traded higher yesterday, but we'll see how it trades throughout the session today. ai? >> thanks for that update from the tokyo stock exchange. the nikkei and topix lower. let's see where south korea's markets are trading.

that is the latest in business for this hour, back to catherine. >> thanks very much. we go to bangkok to find out what's making headlines in the region. >> investigators are hunting for clues following tuesday's explosions in bangkok that wounded five people, including an assailant. the united states and israel have suggested the blast could be linked to early incidents that took place in india and georgia. nhk world has more. >> 24 hours after three explosions rocked central bangkok, two of the three superintendents have been arrested. police say both men hold iranian passports. they are being charged with causing an illegal explosion in the public area and attempting to kill police officers.

the blasts happened one day after a car bomb went out in india and another device was discovered in georgia. israeli diplomats were apparently the target in both cases. israel accused iran and its allies of being responsible. the united states has implied iran may also be connected to the incident in bangkok. >> these events do come on the heels of other attacks targeted at israel and western interests, including an attack in hezbol h hezbollah-linked attack in bangkok, thailand. >> they denied involvement, calling it a plot to damage iran's relationship with thailand. security in bangkok has been tightened since last month when

a man was arrested for possession of explosives. the man was expected of having links to hezbollah, but a government spokesperson told nhk world that the event was unrelated. the bomb blast in thailand happened as confrontation between iran and israel intensifies over iran's nuclear development. their bid to find out more about those who believe to be responsible. turning to mirimar, a european commissioner has wrapped up a three-day visit saying the eu may lift sanctions if further steps are taken towards democracy. european commissioner for development held talks with mirimar's president and

pro-democracy leader. he later told reporters in bangkok on tuesday that he was optimistic about mirimar's progress. >> it is a process going ongoing. >> meanwhile, campaigning for elections has begun in earnest on the outskirts. nhk world followed the noble laureate as she appealed for support. opposition leader has began campaigning. she visited the consistency on saturday. her first official campaign appearance in the district she hopes to represent.

>> the most important thing is to create new jobs for people who are unemployed. if you believe in us, i promise to implement this without fail. >> she'll definitely win. >> we believe that she will improve our living standards. >> the district is home to about 80,000 vetters. farming is the area's biggest industry and most residents are from low-income households. it is also from a ethnic minority. instead of somewhere closer to her home. one reason to emphasize ethnic

minorities. the five members of this household are ethnics. after declaring her candidacy, she transferred her certificate to their home. >> we are very fortunate to be able to welcome such a famous leader. everyone in our district is rooting for her. >> two of the candidates are contesting the candidacy. so many are learning from the union solidarity party. with the hefty finals backing up the party, so many trying to garner support by emphasizing achievements, improving local infrastructure.

the usdp has been trying to provide infrastructure in this district, creating roads as well as improving agricultural irrigation. we'll see whether our efforts are recognized by local people as a result of the collection. >> even though she is at a disadvantage when it comes to campaign financing, she's expected to win by a landslide. >> only move forward by voting. she will definitely win. the april elections will be a bench mark in determining myanmar's progress towards democracy. attention is focussed on whether the elections will be free and

fair and just how many votes she's able to win. nhk world. >> thailand is taking steps to rebuild its reputation in the wake of recent floods. a devastated industrial park has begun construction of a huge wall designed to protect against future flooding. the complex was among several industrial zones hit by last year's record floods. weeks after, most water receded, many factories are still struggling to restart operations. on wednesday, a ceremony was held to mark the laying of the first piece of the flood wall. >> this protection wall will help them to protect the flooded

in the next season. >> there is only so much one industrial complex can do to fight massive amounts of water, so i'm pinning my hopes on the government's flood control efforts too. >> when finished, the wall will stretch 20 kilometers around the complex at a cost of about $19 million. that's it for our bulletin today here in bangkok. the head of japan's nuclear safety commission says he acknowledges the government guidelines for nuclear safety are insufficient and need to be reviewed. he made the remark at the panel investigating the fukushima nuclear accident. >> we have to admit the guidelines do not lay out effective measures against the tsunami and apologize for

inappropriate wording saying it is not necessary to prepare for long-term power loss. >> they also spoke about the handling of data for a computer forecasting system called speedy. the system is designed to predict the spread of radioactive substances. he says it's a misunderstanding to say a faster evacuation would have been possible if the data had been released more quickly, but he did admit the data should have been disclosed earlier.

syria's state-run television says the government has announced it will hold a referendum on a new draft constitution at the end of the month. the move comes as the government is intensifying its military offensive on the central city of homs. the draft constitution states the tenure of the presidency will be seven years with a two-term limit. the government apparently aims to avoid pressure from western nations over its crackdown on civilians by showing progress toward democratization. the referendum is set to take place february 26th. >> an explosion has hit an oil pipeline in homs. the cause is unknown. video shot near the site shows black smoke by a pipeline blanketing the city. government forces have been shelling the opposition stronghold for more than ten days. a series of explosions have hit

pipelines since the military crackdown began. human rights activists say government tanks surrounding homs are gradually advancing towards the city center. more than 6,000 are reported to have died since the crackdown began last march. the former director of the israeli intelligence agency has warned of chaos if the government falls. it would have implications across the middle east. >> i think it's very, very dangerous to have a situation which there's chaos in syria. there may be a leadership vacuum, who will be the leader of syria? >> he expressed concern the unrest in syria could lead to weapons falling in the hands of hezbollah. the group is hostile to israel. israel cannot afford to overlook situations that threaten the poilt balance in the middle southeast. he suggested israel might take some sort of military action to

safeguard its security. now, after a warm evening, tokyo commuters are once again bracing against the chill. which way is the mercury headed? rachel ferguson joins us with the world weather forecast. >> well, as you guessed already, catherine, it is going to be plummeting today across much of the country. cold air is taking a grip of much of northern parts of eastern asia and while the continent is quite quiet and clear up towards the north, in fact, these showers here in the southeast of china will be moving out as well, we will see temperatures descending as the cold air also descends down in towards parts of southern china, even hong kong going down to 15, 14 degrees in the next couple of days. while things dry in the southeast of china, we are going to see shower s blossoming in england, getting heavier into friday. the eastern flank and down in

towards the south as well, cambod cambodia, most of vietnam, you're going to be seeing showers and more heavy rain for the philippines, this, of course, could be problematic because it has been ongoing for the past several days, if not weeks. particularly are going to be at risk for floods and landslides. last but not least, japan, starting to dry out today, but there is going to be another system on the way, bringing yet more rounds of heavy snow, parts of nigata could see more than 40 centimeters of fresh snow, strong winds accompanying that as well and that's going to be bringing in cold air from the arctic, bringing our temperature in tokyo to 6 degrees for the high today. that's about seven below what it was yesterday. we're also going to be feeling those bitter temperatures in seoul, back into beijing as well, shanghai cooling down 7 on thursday and 19 in hong kong. in to north america, inland snow

there too, in another low here over southern california will be descending down bringing rain, but not before it brings 40 centimeters of snow, excuse me, to the mountains of arizona. as we head out towards the east, there's still potential for a few more storms to turn nasty anywhere from eastern texas in towards western mississippi, but then it should start to settle down, rain rather than storms going to be hitting the mi mid-atlantic. dashing across the great lakes, snow, also freezing rain warnings parts of southern ontario thursday morning. temperatures set up like this, warmer day and sunny in los angeles at 22 degrees. 8 in seattle, you'll be seeing rain showers. 11 in oklahoma city, not too bad there. 6 in chicago. meanwhile, in the capital, d.c., we're going to see 10 degrees and the rain showers i was talking about, 7 and wet day for

you in new york city also. in to europe we go, we were talking yesterday about the front moving in through europe, this bringing a mixture of rain to the valleys, but as it heads down into the southeast and the balkan peninsula, that turns to heavy snow. after one system moves out, central locations clearing up, but there's another one on the way, it's going to follow almost exactly the same path through poland and then turning over to lots of heavy snow for the balkin peninsula. that snow has been ongoing for the last several weeks and is causing many, many problems as many of you know. temperatures are going to continue to improve across the west. double figures in london, 10 degrees, 9 in paris, 11 in madrid, along the south we're managing to get above 10, 10 for rome, 12 for athens, but as we head towards the east, the bitter cold is in place, ankara 1 degrees. here's your extended forecast.

our lead stories this hour, iran has begun to load domestically made nuclear fuel rods into a research reactor near tehran. the move comes in defiance to toughening western sanctions over the country's controversial nuclear program. iranian president ahmadinejad loaded the rods on wednesday. he said iran has also developed a new centrifuge, which speeds up the enrichment process, but the president stressed the country's activities are only for peaceful purposes. some western states say the enrichment program could be used for military purposes. they've been calling on iran to halt the program or face more economic sanctions.

the most recent development is expected to draw a strong reaction from the west and israel. crude oil prices surged in the new york commodity markets on wednesday. this was in reaction to a report from iran's state-run media that the country would stop oil exports to six eu nations. these include greece, italy, and spain. the bench mark wti crude oil futures in new york exceeded $102.54 per barrel for the first time in a month, but the market calmed down after the iranian government denied the report. iran has reacted sharply to the eu sanctions, including an embargo on oil exports. the ban will come into effect in july. iran has been looking for ways to impact the eu economies. actions include stopping the export of oil to some nations before they can find other sources. oil investors are keeping a close eye on what measures iran

will take to deal with the eu oil embargo. that wraps up this edition of "newsline."