i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.

i'm catherine kobayashi. a united nations report claims the syrian government is committing serious human rights violations. it estimates over 8,000 people have been killed since last march when anti-government protests began. the human rights council released a report based on interviews by phone or directly with 370 people in syria and neighboring countries. the report says government troops have been firing at crowds of protesters in various locations in the country. it also says they interrogated demonstrators using electric shock at a hospital in the central city of homs. the number of seer i don't know government officials and others involved in the crackdown was submitted to the human rights chief. >>> a series of bombings and attacks killed 39 and wounded more than 230 others around the iraqi capital of baghdad. a car bomb exploded in central baghdad near a police checkpoint on thursday morning followed by a second car bombing a few hundred meters away. another checkpoint was attacked by a group of ar

i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> the emperor is having surgery for his heart. it will be his first operation since he had surgery nine years ago. he is 78 years old. doctors at the university of tokyo hospital examined him to check his coronary arteries and flow of blood to his heart. they found his symptoms were getting worse. the emperor has been receiving medication since last year when part of an artery was found to have narrowed. the imperial household agency told reporters sunday that it had decided to proceed with the heart bypass because his condition deteriorated in the last year. a team of doctors from university of tokyo will perform the surgery. the emperor should be able to leave the hospital about two weeks after the procedure. >>> greek lawmakers approved new austerity legislation necessary for the country to secure a massive bailout from the eu and imf. in response, violent protests are spreading across the capital. greek parliament had a special session from sunday to monday and approved the bill by majority vote. approval of the belt tightenin

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us.

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. we'll be back at the top of the next hour. want to feel cooler - or warmer - without running up your utility bill? you can reduce your bills with a flip of a switch on your ceiling fan. in summer, set your fan counter- clockwise. it stirs up the cool air that hangs near the floor in winter, just flip the switch again so your fan runs clockwise on low speed. this pushes the warm air down where you need it. and if you're buying, choose an energy-efficient fan. now that makes sense. >> "california's gold" is prod

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. tokyo. thanks for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. back with more updates at the top of the next hour. top of the next hour. see you then. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

i'm catherine kobayashi. stay with us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. tokyo. thanks for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

i'm catherine kobayashi in to o tokyo. tokyo. thanks very much for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com see you again. >> bye-bye.

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do join us again. we'll be back at the top of the we'll be back at the top of the next hour. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo.o stay with us for more do stay with us for more updates. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com