speculation is growing that greece will receive a new bailout from the european union. under pressure from euro zone members the greek government accepted on thursday a new set of austerity measures. but the prospect of additional spending cuts is drawing fierce opposition from labor unions. we have a report 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. 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 a 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. >> the u.s. nuclear regulatory commission has given the go ahead to building the country's first new reactors in more than three decades. the head of the panel cast a no vote. he cited safety concerns stemming from the fukushima crisis. commission members voted 4-1 to approve the project to build two nuclear power reactors at a plant in the state of georgia. the chairman objected. he said builders need to commit to safety measures to address risks exposed by the accident last march. >> there are significant safety enhancements that have already been recommended as a result of learning the lessons from fukushima. and there's still more work ahead of us. knowing this, i cannot support issuing this license as if fukushima had never happened. >> engineers at westinghouse electric designed the reactors.

toshiba is the major other than of the firm. construction could begin this year. the reactors are expected to start operation in 2016 in everything goes according to plan. the u.s. stopped building nuclear plants after the three mile island accident in 1979. members of the administration say they will heed lessons learned from fukushima. still, president barack obama is sticking to his policy of promoting nuclear power. he wants to reduce depends on oil. the operator of a fukushima daiichi power lant is reprayering for the removal of spent fuel rods starting next year. it will be the first step in a four-year decommissioning plan. tepco says it has found no damage to fuel rods in the number four reactor. tepco released underwater camera video at the number four reactor building. the utility says debris fell on

the racks but caused no damage. visibilities is about five meters. the number four reactor was offline when a tsunami and earthquake disabled the plant last march. a hydrogen explosion blew off the roof and sent debris into the pool. the utility plans to further study the inside of the storage pool before removing debris and spent fuel rods. influential u.s. senator carl levin is welcoming the change of course for okinawa. the u.s. and japan have agreed to separate a plan to move thousands of marines from the plant relocate military base. levin chairs the u.s. senate armed services committee. the body oversees defense policy and spending. congress has limited funding for the transfer of marines from okinawa to guam from the budget. the move usa was part of a larger plan to relocate the marine corp. air station to another site in okinawa.

many congressmen said local opposition made the base relocation unfeasible. u.s. and japanese officials announced on wednesday they will separate the two issues. levin said his committee needs further information. he said members want more details on the realignment of marines before they approve the budget. japan's foreign minister says the government will ask the united states to return five land plots occupied by military facilities in okinawa. the return of the facilities is part of the agreement on the realignment of u.s. forces in japan. >> translator: with the number of marines declining, there should be prress ineturning the land used b.s ci t implementy zone, a deterrent

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drugs to prevent the onset of aids. gerigsre fm t same ingredients as those used in patented ugs. ten years ago before generic drugs became availaiv titsad t pay about $10,000 a year for diti. es days they paynl$60. but in the tpp negotiations, the u.s. has aued that medical patents should be better precdndas for longer. hiv as patients in mas s the u.s. proposal is approved, they will have to take s. me drugs which are nearly ten times me expensive. >> i may -- the high costs. the price of medicine is ihe states is not for the or yb for the rich country.

soe jt may survive very or >> reporter: the malaysian government plans to ask other countries in the tpp talks to understand its domestic tuio wer, it looks very difficult to find a compromise that will suit all sectors ofhe malaysian economy. >>asn is an increasingly vital growth enginefhe wld economy, but when it comes to oil reserves, most of theegn lacks reliable facilities. the current tenitti ou t sai o hormuz, the vital shipping route to the gu, isne reminder of the delicate nature ofhe inrniol l market. and with that in mind, the japanese government held a seminar in vietnam this week offering what itay is a potential solution. we have a report from hanoi.

>>epte t janese government and shipbuilders specializing in building rerve tanks are participating in this seminar. jan actively promoting its oil tanks that float on the surface of the sea. if japan manages to secure orrsit will revitalize its shipbuilders. japan is stressing the low cost of the technology when compared withuiin tanks on land. >> translator: storage on water was not an option for vietnam until today. t ielve tyow recognize the advantages of megafloat compared to storage onhe ou o underground. >> reporter: vietnam plans to build oil reserve facilities that can store 2.2 millionon cde to better prepare for market shocks. officials in hanoi say they will study whhe tapes technology is what they are

looking for. th iertial energy agency will stockpile 90 days of crude and gasoline. in june last year, its members ornad lee of their oil reserves to counter any impact on supplies from political confusion in the deast. but for asean countries, securing adequate reserves remains a priority for the region's economic future. >> translator: it's important to have resiliency against price hikes against oil. >> reporter: tokyo hopes its effort to help asean countries bud l reserves will help stabilize the oil market even in emgeie >> in afghanistan, the worst cold snap in many years has

deto suffering in the war torn country. people living in impoverished areas are specially badly affected. partsf kabul have experienced power blackout with temperatures as low as minus 16 degrees celsius. roads anduiin are covered with almost 20 inches of snow. refugee are amonghe wst affected. many live in snow covered tents and makeshift shelters at a camp west of the capital. wood and basic stoves are their only sources of heat. a number of children have reportedly died from the freezing temperates. one refugee mourned the loss of his 3-month-old son. >> tralator: i dn't have munch so i couldn't buy wood to keep him warm. nor could i take him to hospital to get medication. to keep him alive.

>> kabul is located in a narrow valley in eastern afghanistan at about 1800 meters above sea level. this is a first major snowfall the city has seen in recent years. that will wrap up our bulletin. >> china's overall trade posted a decline in january for the first time in over two years. it indicates a sign of weakness for the country's economic outlook and the ongoing european debt crisis has taken a toll on chinese exports. china's authorities said on friday that exports amounted to just under $150 billion in the month. that's down half a per cent from a year earlier to mark the first fall in 26 months. imports also fell. they came in at nearly $123 billion. that's down by over 15% in the first decline in 27 months. imports were dampened by less mand for raw materials in exporting industries.

the price of goods traded between companies in japan dipped in january for the first time in three months. the decline was due to fall in the prices in iron ore and coal amid the global economic slowdown. japan's central bank said in preliminary report on friday that the corporate goods price index stood at 104.5 last month. that's down 0.1% from the month before. tin decks for steel use for car answered other products fell 0.6% from the previous month. a group of survivors from the march 11th disaster are using melody to deliver their message of love and they're doing it in an unusual way. their instruments are made of debris sam vaj from the disaster zones. in this week's road ahead we hear how their musical beats are reaching deep into people's

hearts. >> reporter: musicians are held a concert in memory of the victims. the musicians are from one of the hardest hit prepecktures. they want to make sure that the people who died in the disaster aren't forgotten. >> translator: this part is all made from debris. >> translator: this man organized the cob certificate. he used to work in the town and lost friends in the tsunami. he thought about what he could do to honor the people who died. he came up with the idea of creating musical instruments of using debris from the disaster areas. >> translator: i feel like pressing my hands together before the instruments to show my respect to the victims.

>> reporter: he rushed to many shelters after the march 1 19 disaster to distribute aid supplies. >> translator: many supplies were sent from western gentleman pand they reached us soon after the disaster. i'm so grateful to those people. >> reporter: he remembered another powerful quake that hit western japan 17 years ago. thgreat earthquake killed more than 6,000 people. he wants to repay the people of western japan by playing music. he visited a monument in kobe for the 1995 quake. he made a renewed pledge to work with his friends to pass on memories of both disasters. >> translator: i believe human bonds and friendship survived

both disasters. >> reporter: the concert was held at a department store in osaka. >> translator: received great support after the march disaster after people in western japan know what the survivors are facing. i hope you will enjoy our concert. >> reporter: the sound created from the salvaged debris is touching the hearts of the audiences. >> translator: the concert reminded me of the disasters in western and northeastern japan. and i cried. i believe long-term support is necessary. i'll try to remember last year's disaster by putting myself in the survivors' shoes. >> reporter: to hand down the

memories of the disaster he will continue to strike the chords of his new guitar. >> more news in brief from around the world. a new report warns that up to 4.7 million people in south sudan could face famine this year. the number has jumped from 3.3 million in 2011. the u.n. food and agriculture organization says demand for food in south sudan has jumped significantly since the country gained i understand pence from sudan last july. they warn the situation would worsen iffeth nick unrest continues. the united nations has chosen an oyster farmer in northeastern japan as one of the first recipients of the forest heroes award. the man was recognized for his decades long efforts to keep sea water clean by planting trees along a local river. he is among the six winners of the new award.

another celebration paul mccartney has become the last member of the beatles to receive a star on hollywood's walk of fame. he was hon in order for his long standing contribution to the music industry mainly for his activities as a solo artist. the beatles were checkively given a star in 1998. we have weather up next with weather. >> welcome back. finally the peak of heavy snow in western half ojapan is over. that doesn't mean we're not going to see snow. we are still expecting about half a meter of snow to pile up. fresh snow piling up in the next 24 hours. so there's still a high risk of avalanche. however, mean while the rest of the country will be remaing calmer and drier. looking fine here in the east

continental asia. this increase of rainshowers will then be spreading in central to eastern areas. that's going to be warmer conditions actually. so the temperatures in shanghai will be improving by next monday we may see double digits. and this condition will be spreading towards the korean peninsula and in towards japan by next week. in the philippines still we do have this active low pressure system just in the coast. this will then be traveling towards the north. thundershowers will be predominant in much of the country throughout the weekend. and those conditions will be remaining for the next couple of days. winds are also very strong picking up high waves. so further landslide risks are going to be very crucial for the quake hit region. manila 31 degrees temperaturewise. shanghai at 5. look at tokyo at 8 for this

saturday high. let's head over to the americas. the pacific northwest will be seeing some rain and mountain snow. cust gi condition is going to be winding down there. we will see some snow to accumulate down here towards the northern rockies. accumulation could be as much as five centimeters in the mountains. here widespread showers will be remaining in the gulf states and the southeastern states will be seeing some chance of thundershowers and thunderstorms could be a chance as well there. and widespread showers there. towards the northwest of appalachians that's going to be snow and dipping do you think the cold surge arctic air will be in effect in the great lakes region. lake effect snow. you will see some snow dump here in new england as well. as i mentioned that arctic air

will be dipping those temperatures down. minus 14 sunday in quebec and washington friday 11. down to just freezing point on sunday. let's head over to europe. the unrelentingly cold, cold weather still remains here in much of europe. we will see chilly rain and sleet in northern parts of british isles due to seral fronts approaching the area. but southern areas we'll see snow and wintry mix precipitation down here in northwestern parts of norway. here in the mediterranean sea area italy to balkan regions that's going to be a storm system moving through. and in southern italy as well as southern balkans warmer conditions and wet weather will be prevailing there. mountain snow could be in effect and it's going to be windy. in the mountains you may see some blowing snow. that system will be gradually

weakening by next week. athens at 12 degrees temperaturewise. you're going to see some sunny spells here in paris. minus 2 for the high. london so that 2 degrees for the high. lisbon keeping itself warm at 14. but out here in moscow, minus 17. here's our extended forecast.

that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline." we'll be back with more news in half an hour. thank you for watching. bye-bye.