hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm keikichi hanada in tokyo with the latest at this hour. police in pakistan are investigating an explosion on a school bus. they suspect that it may have been the result of a faulty fuel cylinder. the explosion killed 17 children and injured 8 others. the incident occurred on saturday on the outskirts of the city of gujrat. the bus was carrying a group of elementary and junior high school students to school. local police officials say the explosion occurred after the bus driver switched the fuel from

gasoline to natural gas. investigators suspect the gas cylinder may have exploded. compressed natural gas is cheaper than gasoline in the country and many pakistani drivers own vehicles powered by both. however, experts say many cars are remodeled illegally and are unsafe. japanese prime minister shinzo abe is in myanmar at the start of a landmark trip. he's the first japanese prime minister to visit the country in 36 years. abe and his wife began the visit by offering flowers at the martyrs mausoleum in the largest city of yangon. it's dedicated to a general who was assassinated in 1947. he is known as the founding father of myanmar. he was also the father of

opposition leader aung san suu kyi. abe later visited the special economic zone where he oversaw the signing of a memorandum on a development project. he went to a site of a planned port where japan is playing a key role in the construction. >> translator: we're delighted to have one of the world's top leaders in myanmar. >> translator: we are proud of the japanese prime minister visiting myanmar, a country that is undergoing democratization. >> abe then toured an elementary school built in 2004 with money donated by a group of lawmakers from the liberal democratic party. an official explained that the school needs to be enlarged as it is too small for the increased number of students. for the increasing number of students, abe promised continued support saying that education will help with the nation's development. >> japan and myanmar's public sectors will help as the country

moves toward becoming a modern democracy. >> abe said the support will include not only building infrastructure, high-speed communication networks and systems for water services, but also fostering professionals such as lawyers and developing the country's legal system. she says she sensed many japanese as sincerely supporting myanmar and appreciates it. the opposition leader said investment by japanese companies should last and benefit both sides. she said she would like japan to take into consideration the different circumstances of each region of myanmar. the united states is calling

on north korea to take concrete steps toward denuclearization. this comes after a report that the north is willing to return to the six-party talks on its nuclear program. u.s. state department spokesman patrick ventrell says the u.s. and china agreed that denuclearization of the korean peninsula is essential to move the north korean diplomatic process forward. chinese media report that north korean special envoy told the chinese president that his country is willing to resolve problems through dialogue including the six-party talks on its nuclear program. observers say the u.s. sees the latest move by the north as an effort to draw china closer to it. china is a traditional ally of the north but has recently taken the harsher stance against the country. russia welcomes the move by north korea. russian foreign ministry special envoy told russian media that he views the move as a reversal of pyongyang's previous provocative

rhetoric and behavior. indian prime minister singh has expressed his desire for an early signing of a civil nuclear pact with japan. singh spoke to nhk and other japanese media in new delhi ahead of his visit to japan starting on monday. he said he hopes japanese industries will play an important role in infrastructure development in india. >> we have plans to invest 1 trillion u.s. dollars for infrastructure. we need japanese investment in energy, clean energy, renewable energy. >> he said that such investment would help resolve serious power shortages in his country. singh referred to the nuclear pact that would enable japan to export nuclear-related

technologies to india. he said he expects progress to be made toward an agreement. negotiations on the pact stalled after the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011. singh also said he hopes to see prime minister shinzo abe's economic policies boost japan's growth. he said efforts to revive the economy are good not only for japan but for india and the asian region. french prosecutors have decided not to place the head of the international monterey fund under formal investigation. they've been looking into abuse of power allegations against christine lagarde when she served as the country's finance minister. prosecutors reached the decision after questioning lagarde for two days and named lagarde as a supervised witness meaning in any future hearings she would answer questions as a witness accompanied by a lawyer. >> through this process, i was

able to provide information to demonstrate that i have always acted in the best interests of the state and in accordance with the law. >> there is still a possibility the imf chief will be put under investigation or indicted by a preliminary judge who deals with serious crimes even after being cleared. lagarde used arbitration to settle a court battle in 2007 between a businessman and a state-owned bank. she allegedly arranged a huge compensation payout for the businessman bernard tappi, using public funds. he was a supporter of the president at the time, nicolas sarkozy. japanese automakers are planning to increase their production capacity in the united states.

the moves come at a time when currency depreciation is benefiting exports by japanese automakers. honda motors decided to build a factory in the u.s. state of ohio by 2015. honda will spend about $69 million to convert a parts distribution center and a factory. fuji heavy industries plans to invest about $450 million to refurbish a factory in indiana for three years starting next april. the automaker plans to aim its annual capacity to 300,000 vehicles. fuji heavy industries is planning to produce some models of the subaru impreza in the u.s. toyota is also considering moving some of its luxury car production into the u.s.

new car sales in the united states are expected to grow. sales data show the year-on-year increase in april, marking a rise for the 23rd consecutive month. up next, the world weather forecast. and that concludes this edition of "newsline." i'm keikichi hanada. on behalf of our team, thank you for staying with us.