hello. you're watching "newsline." i'm shery ahn. toyota cars are the subject of a new safety investigation in the united states. they are looking into federal reports of fires in two toyota models. the investigation kafrz cam rary sedans and rav4 sports vehicles from the 2007 model year. federal regulators received six complaints of fires starting in the power window switch on the driver's door. they are looking at 830,000

cars. toyota officials say they are cooperating with the investigation. at least 28 people have been killed and more than 200 wounded in two bomb attacks in syria. the bombs went off at military and security buildings in syria's second city, aleppo. syrian state-run television says the attacks were carried out by terrorists. antigovernment activists say the government orchestrated the attacks to deflect attention from its crackdown on opposition. syrian government forces have been attacking opposition activists for more than a week, mainly in the central city of homs. a human rights group says the death toll is rising across the country. egyptians are planning a nationwide strike on saturday. they want the interim military government to step down. [ chanting ] >> young people held an antigovernment demonstration in cairo's tahrir square on friday.

>> translator: we want a free constitutional and electing the president. the supreme council is the same as the old government. we don't need it. >> also in cairo, demonstrators marched to the defense ministry and faced off with soldiers. young political activists are urging workers to cross the country to strike on saturday. subway, bus and airport workers say they plan to take part. the interim military government is trying to quell the unrest. it's promised to allow candidates to begin filing applications for the presidential election a month earlier than initially scheduled. speculation is growing that greece will receive a new bailout from the european union. under pressure from eurozone members, the greek government accepted a new set of austerity measures on thursday, but the prospect of additional spending cuts is drawing fierce opposition from labor unions.

yasushi kudo reports from athens. >> reporter: major greek labor unions have launched a two-day strike. they are protesting the ruling coalition's acceptance of new austerity measures that include lowering the minimum wage and pension benefits. >> translator: we're not responsible for the country's debt. salaries, pensions, education, medical care, we need all of this. >> reporter: the strike has paralyzed transportation systems across the country. state-run railways and subways have ground to a halt. the walkout has disrupted other public services, too. schools are closed. so are hospitals and administrative offices. the eu bailout is meant to avert the risk of an immediate default. greece needs to repay more than 40 billion euros' worth of bonds

by march 20. the funds are tied to a number of conditions, including the greek parliament's approval of the austerity plan. so the government finds itself sandwiched between the demands of the european union and its own citizens, who believe they have sacrificed enough. yasushi kudo, nhk world, athens. the european union and india have agreed to speed up negotiations for a free trade agreement. leaders from the eu and india said the free trade deal needs to be signed as soon as possible to boost the european and indian economies. >> europe's recovery is also essential for ensuring the recovery of the global economy and bringing back market confidence. >> trade is a key component for our economic relations.

european union remains india's biggest trading partner, and the trend remains positive. indians with hiv and aids protested against the free trade talks with the eu. they say european demands for protection of intellectual property rights could stop india from producing cheap versions of aids drugs. >> we really don't want the indian government to sell our human life. >> generic aids drugs made in india are also used by more than 80% of patients in africa and other developing parts of the world. the operator of japan's crippled fukushima daiichi nuclear plant is getting ready

for a 40-year decommissioning program. the first step will be removing spent fuel rods. tokyo electric officials showed underwater video from the spent fuel storage pool in the number four reactor building. they say the spent fuel rods don't look damaged. the number four reactor was offline during the disaster last march. a hydrogen explosion a few days later caused debris to fall onto the rack containing the spent fuel rods, but the debris did not damage the fuel rods. tokyo electric says visibility in the pool is about five meters. japan is looking to meet some of its energy needs using methane hydrate from the seabed around the country. the japanese government has unveiled a deep sea drilling ship that's about to start exploring. the chikyu has advanced gps and control systems that let it stay in position even in rough seas. the ship will be drilling for methane hydrate 1,000 meters

below the seabed. methane hydrate is an ice-like substance in which methane gas is trapped in water crystals. japan's efforts to extract methane hydrate from the seabed is the first in the world. >> translator: if we get this first step right, the development will go smoothly. so we want to make it a success. >> scientists at the european space agency say an ocean may once have existed on mars. the scientists made the announcing after analyzing data from the mars express orbit. they say it found sediments of low-density material beneath the surface of much of the red planet's northern hemisphere. they say the sediments show that an ocean may have existed billions of years ago. the scientists say the ocean may have been created by melted ice.

they say the ocean would not have existed long enough to sustain life. here's now your extended weather forecast.

and that's all for now. i'm shery ahn. stay tuned for more news on nhk world.

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