June

June 30, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki

1. Protests are continuing in Honduras one day after President Manuel Zelaya was ousted by its military.

2. Japan will send its second anti-piracy unit of two destroyers to the waters off Somalia.

3. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon will visit Myanmar later this week for talks with the country’s top military leader.

June 30, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. A day after he was forced into exile by the military, ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya is planning to return to his country in a bid to reclaim power.

2. U.S. military forces have completed their pullout of major cities in Iraq and have handed over their responsibility for the nation’s security to the Iraqi military.

3. In a partial recount, Iran’s Guardian Council has confirmed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as winner of June 12 presidential election.

4. The World Health Organization says the first case of the new influenza resistance to the anti-viral drug Tamiful has been reported in Denmark.

June 29, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki

1. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura has criticized moves within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to try and bring forward the party leadership election.

2. The interim president of Honduras is defending the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya by the military and the supreme court and has declared a two-day night-time curfew.

3. Japan’s industrial output rose 5.9 percent in May from the previous month, marking the third consecutive month of increase.

June 29, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. The leaders of Japan and South Korea have agreed to consider convening a meeting of five member countries of the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program.

2. Relations between Iran and Britain are being strained as the Iranian government accuses the British Embassy in Tehran of involvement in the post-election protests.

3. The world reacts as the president of the Honduras is ousted in an apparent cout d’etat by the nation’s military and the supreme court.

4. The newly privatized Japan Post holds its general shareholders meeting and re-appoints all nine current board of directors including President Yoshifumi Ishikawa.

  June 28, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. South Korean President Lee Myung Bak arrived in Japan on Sunday for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso.

2. Japan and Bermuda have reached a basic agreement to exchange information on taxes in an effort to combat tax evasion.

June 28, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yoko Ogasawara

1. South Korean President Lee Myung Bak arrived in Japan on Sunday for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso.

2. Japan and Bermuda have reached a basic agreement to exchange information on taxes in an effort to combat tax evasion.

June 27, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than one million people in the United States are suspected of having been infected with the new flu.

2. The G8 foreign ministers have adopted a strongly worded chairman’s statement condemning North Korea for its nuclear test.

June 27, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. The G8 foreign ministers have adopted a strongly worded chairman’s statement condemning North Korea for its nuclear test.

2. U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have shown a united front against Iran, condemning the ongoing crackdown on protesters there.

June 26, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto

1. Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone has urged all nuclear powers to reduce their stockpiles of atomic weapons.

2. Japan’s consumer price index for May fell over one percent from a year earlier amid falling prices of gasoline and electricity.

3. A group of Japanese researchers say they have succeeded in producing mice that show behaviors associated with human autism.

June 26, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. After a career of soaring heights and deep roads, American pop star Michael Jackson has died of an apparent cardiac arrest in Los Angeles at the age of 50.

2. One hundred thousand North Koreans gathered at a massive rally in Pyongyang to mark the 59th anniversary of the start of the Korean War.

3. Japan’s foreign minister is urging all nuclear powers to reduce their stockpiles of atomic weapons amid warnings that nuclear development by North Korea and Iran poses a serious challenge to disarmament.

4. The U.N. secretary general suggests that Japan should be more ambitious in setting targets to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

 June 25, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Miwa Gardner

1. The United States has renewed sanctions against North Korea for one year.

2. Iran is accusing the United States, Israel and European nations of fomenting mass protests in a bid to force an election.

3. The U.N. General Assembly is discussing ways to cope with the global financial crisis.

June 25, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. Iran is accusing the United States, Israel and European nations of fomenting mass protests in a bid to force a new election.

2. China is urging countries with a stake in the North Korean nuclear issue to seek a solution through dialogue to avoid a military clash with the North.

3. During talks in Paris, France’s president has urged Israel’s prime minister to immediately freeze all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.

4. The World Health Organization says the spread of the new H1N1 flu is accelerating worldwide, just two weeks after it raised the disease alert to the highest level, Phase 6.

June 24, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

1. Japanese and Chinese Foreign Ministry officials are meeting in Beijing for a strategic dialogue on the issues of mutual concern.

2. Iran’s top legislative body has announced that it will extend the deadline for receiving complaints about the presidential election by five days.

3. An international exhibition of solar power systems are now underway in Chiba, near Tokyo.

June 24, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. Delegates to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development are preparing for talks in Paris on stimulus measures and green energy development.

2. The vice foreign ministers of Japan and China are meeting atg this hour in Beijing for a strategic dialogue on the issues of mutual concern.

3. North Korea is warning Japan’s government of retaliatory action if it attempts to inspect its cargo ships probably from the North.

4. The U.S. government will provide low-interest loans to automakers Nissan and Ford to help create jobs and increase their production of environmentally friendly vehicles in the U.S.

June 23, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura

1. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has urged Iran to stop the use of force against civilians.

2. People in Japan’s southernmost islands of Okinawa are marking the 64^th anniversary of the end of one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.

3. The president of Toyota Motor has provided shareholders that the company will strive to reform and improve its performance.

June 23, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. A thousand supporters of former Iranian prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi defied a warning of the country’s supreme leader and gathered in central Tehran.

2. Japan’s prime minister is expected to confirm with South Korea’s president that the country won’t accept North Korea as a nuclear state.

3. The parliaments of Japan and Russia spar over a bill in Japan’s Lower House of the Diet regarding the sovereignty of four Russian-held islands claimed by Japan.

4. Security worsens as at least 22 people were killed in multiple bomb attacks in and around the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Monday.

June 22, 209 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki

1. Japan’s Prime Minister Taro Aso hopes that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will present a proposal to resolve the long-standing territorial dispute between the two countries when the two leaders meet in Italy in July.

2. North Korea has accused the United States of increasing tensions on the Korean Peninsula by tracking a North Korean ship.

3. South Korean President Lee Myung Bak will visit Tokyo on June 28 for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso.

June 22, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. Concerns are growing in Iran over a possible clash on Monday between the conservatives and the reformists for demanding a new election.

2. A rocket attack at the main U.S. military base near the Afghan capital of Kabul has killed three people and wounded five others.

3. The mayor of Hiroshima speaks before a disarmament conference in Moscow and calls for the abolition of nuclear weapons by 2020.

4. Japanese automakers are starting to increase their production in Europe in response to robust double-digit sales of new fuel-efficient cars in Germany and France.

June 21, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. In Iran, clashes have occurred between security forces and supporters of a defeated reformist presidential candidate despite the cancellation of demonstrations by the pro-reform bloc.

2. Saturday’s terror-attack using a truck bomb in northern Iraq has killed more than 60 people, the worst attack in Iraq this year.

3. A government survey shows that only one in every ten Japanese people thinks that their society is becoming a better place to live in.

June 21, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yoko Ogasawara

1. Thousands of people have taken to the streets in Tehran to continue their protests over the presidential election in defiance of the supreme leader’s warning to end the demonstrations.

2. In northern Iraq, a truck bomb exploded, killing at least 46 people.

3. Only one in every ten Japanese people thinks that their society is becoming a better place to live in.

June 20, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. U.S. media report that the U.S. Navy has deployed an Aegis destroyer from its base near Tokyo to the South China Sea to join an operation to keep track of a North Korean ship suspected of carrying banned weapons.

2. The U.S. Congress has adopted a resolution condemning Iran’s crackdown on demonstrators protesting the disputed presidential election.

3. The United Nations estimates that a record high of over one billion people will go hungry every day this year.

June 20, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. Following Iran’s supreme leader’s warning to end the demonstration triggered by last week’s presidential election, the reformist groups may stop their street protests.

2. The U.S. military is continuing to track a North Korean ship in the South China Sea that it believes is carrying weapons.

3. Japanese researchers have found that a new flu virus detected in China has mutated into a strain that multiplies easily in the human body.

June 19, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto

1. The U.S. military is tracking a North Korean ship traveling south off the coast of China on suspicion that it may be carrying weapons.

2. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, now visiting Japan, has expressed strong concern over the turmoil in Iran, following the presidential election there last week.

3. Japan’s Diet has enacted an anti-piracy law and two other important bills.

June 19, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. The U.S. military has placed a North Korean ship traveling south off the coast of China on the 24-hour surveillance, suspecting it may be carrying weapons.

2. U.S. defense secretary is expressing his concern about the possibility of North Korea firing ballistic missiles in the direction of Hawaii.

3. Opponents of Iran’s president staged a mass rally to mourn those killed in protest against the results of last week’s presidential election.

4. Somalia’s national security minister for the provisional government and at least 19 others were killed in a suicide bombing attack and also injuring dozens of people.

June 18, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Miwa Gardner

1. While the turmoil in Iran shows no signs of ending, a defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi has called for a day of mourning for those killed in clashes with security forces.

2. The International Atomic Energy Agency is urging North Korea to immediately stop nuclear development and to allow IAEA inspectors to return to the country.

3. Japan’s Lower House of the Diet has passed a bill to revise s law that expands organ plant donations.

June 18, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. The International Atomic Energy Agency is urging North Korea to immediately stop nuclear development and to allow IAEA inspectors to return to the country.

2. As the turmoil in Iran shows no signs of ending, a defeated presidential candidate has called for a day of mourning for those killed in clashes with security forces.

3. Israel is opposed to a call from the U.S. Secretary of State to freeze the construction of new settlements in the West Bank.

4. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon is arranging to visit Japan later this month for talks with Prime Minister Taro Aso on North Korean issues and U.N. reform.

June 17, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

1. A top U.S. military officer says he believes the U.S. missile defense system has a better-than- 90 percent chance of intercepting any North Korean ballistic missiles.

2. Post-election turmoil continues in Iran as supporters of a defeated presidential candidate are planning another mass rally in Tehran.

3. The launch of space shuttle Endeavour has been delayed again due to a hydrogen gas leak during fueling.  Endeavour is due to blast off on Wednesday.

June 17, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. The leaders of the U.S. and South Korea say a closer alliance will help them deal with the North Korean nuclear issue.

2. At the first summit meeting of the BRICs, Brazil, Russia, India and China, the leaders of the four emerging economies are demanding more power to reform the global financial system.

3. As the turmoil continues in Iran over the disputed presidential election, the Iranian government has banned foreign reporters from covering demonstrations without permission.

4. Japan’s largest business federation, Keidanren, is calling for more government deregulation to help end the economic crisis.

June 16, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Miwa Gardner

1. The Japanese government has decided to impose a total ban on exports to North Korea.

2. Tensions are running high in Iran as a series of massive rallies are being held to challenge the results of last week’s presidential election.

3. Italia’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has indicated that the global financial crisis and clime change will be high on the agenda at the upcoming Group of Eight summit.

June 16, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Iran’s capital Tehran on Monday, claiming that last week’s presidential election was rigged and demanding a new vote.

2. The chief Palestinian negotiator in talks with Israel has criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for imposing what he calls “unacceptable conditions” for a Palestinian state.

3. South Korean president and U.S. secretary of state agreed in Washington that North Korea should understand it will have to pay a price if it continues its provocative actions.

4. The European Union has agreed to extend anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia for a year, as pirate attacks remain rampant in the area.

June 15, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki

1. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is willing to accept the creation of a Palestinian state, but only under certain conditions.

2. Newly re-elected Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that the polls were conducted fairly, and has indicated that his country won’t halt its peaceful nuclear development.

3. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura has urged North Korea to take specific steps toward giving up its nuclear and missile programs and resolving the abductions of Japanese nationals.

June 15, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is willing to accept the creation of a Palestinian state, but only under certain conditions.

2. Newly re-elected Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that the polls were conducted fairly, and has indicated that his country won’t halt its peaceful nuclear development.

3. A Chinese official says Japan should aim for a sharper reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as countries work on a new framework for combating climate change.

3. As Britain reports its first fatal case of the new influenza, a group of Japanese researchers say they have observed a mutation of a new type of protein in the H1N1 flu virus that helps it to multiply faster in humans.

June 14, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. In Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been officially declared the winner in Friday’s presidential election.

2. Finance ministers of the Group of Eight nations have agreed that the world economy has shown signs of stability and that they should begin preparing for ways to end their extraordinary stimulus measures.

June 14, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yoko Ogasawara

1. In Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been officially declared the winner in Friday’s presidential election.

2. Finance ministers of the Group of Eight nations have agreed that the world economy has shown signs of stability and that they should begin preparing for ways to end their extraordinary stimulus measures.

 June 13, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. The U.N. Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution imposing new sanctions on North Korea.  The new resolution is tougher than the one adopted three years ago.  Meanwhile, North Korea has responded to the new U.N. resolution with threats to boost its nuclear program and take military action against the United States and its allies.

2. The Iranian state-run television says the incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been re-elected by a large margin against other three candidates.

June 13, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. The U.N. Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution imposing new sanctions on North Korea.

2. Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is reportedly leading in the vote count for Friday’s presidential election.

3. Differences between industrialized nations and developing countries have deepened at the U.N. climate change talks that ended in Germany on Friday.

June 12, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto

1. The U.N. Security Council will likely adopt a new resolution against North Korea when it holds a plenary session on Friday.

2. Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Kunio Hatoyama has resigned, saying he wants to maintain his opposition to the re-appointment of the Japan Post president.

3. The World Health Organization has declared a global flu pandemic.

June 12, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. The U.N. Security Council has been deliberating a draft resolution that condemns in the strongest term North Korea’s nuclear test in May.

2. U.S. media are reporting that North Korea may be preparing to carry out a third nuclear test as the U.N. Security Council adopts a resolution calling for tougher sanctions against it.

3. After an emergency meeting with flu experts, the head of the World Health Organization declares a global flu pandemic.

4. Iranians are casting their ballots on this Friday in a presidential election that is expected to be a contest between the conservative incumbent and the reformist former prime minister.

June 11, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Miwa Gardner

1. The U.N. Security Council agrees on a draft resolution condemning North Korea’s recent nuclear test, and demands it conducts no further tests or missile launches.

2. The World Health Organization is due to hold an emergency meeting to decide whether to declare a new flu pandemic.

3. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei 225 rose briefly above the 10,000 level on Thursday, for the first time in about eight months.

June 11, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. The U.N. Security Council agrees on a draft resolution condemning North Korea’s recent nuclear test, and demands it conducts no further tests or missile launches.

2. North Korea’s U.N. ambassador shows his contempt for the U.N. Security Council’s move by throwing to the ground a copy of the draft resolution a reporter handed to him.

3. In the Philippines, a massive protest opposes the ruling party’s move to revise the constitution to stay in power beyond the expiration of her term.

4. After Japan’s parliament approved an international ban on cluster bombs, the Defense Ministry announced its plan to dispose of its stock of weapons.

June 10, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

1. The U.S. special envoy on North Korea says it is unlikely that North Korea will change its provocative stance toward the rest of the world during the next several months.

2. Senior Japanese and U.S. officials have agreed that the conduct of the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program should be reviewed.

3. A car bomb exploded at a luxury hotel in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday night, killing 11 people and wounding 54 others.

June 10, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. The permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have again failed to reach an agreement on a draft resolution on sanctions against North Korea.

2. The head of the World Health Organization says now is the time to decide whether to raise the flu pandemic alert to the highest level.

3.Police in the city of Peshawa in northwestern Pakistan say a 500 kilogram car bomb exploded at a luxury hotel on Tuesday night, killing 11 people and wounding 54 others.

4. Japan’s government is likely to set  a mid-term target of 15 percent for returning  greenhouse gas emissions to 2005 levels by 2020.

June 9, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura

1. Japan’s chief delegate to the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program has been briefed by U.S. officials on the process of deciding whether to put the North on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

2. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has expressed deep concern about he sentences that North Korea has given two U.S. journalists, and called for their immediate release.

3. A U.S. Defense Department spokesman says Defense Secretary Robert Gates has recommended the F-35 to Japan for its next mainstay fighter jet.

June 9, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. U.N. Security Council discussions on new sanctions against North Korea are at a standstill, as China remains cautious about adopting additional sanctions.

2. China overtakes Britain to reach second place in military spending in 2008 with the United States in first place.

3. Japan’s defense minister is not giving up his pursuit to buy the American-made F-22 as the nation’s next mainstay fighter jet.

4. The latest NHK opinion poll shows that support for Prime Minister Taro Aso and his Cabinet has declined, taking the disapproval rate to 60 percent.

June 8, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki

1. Japan’s Coast Guard says North Korea will ban vessels from entering a sector of the Sea of Japan, starting from this Wednesday until the end of the month.

2. North Korea says it has sentenced two U.S. journalists to 12 years in prison on charges of illegal entry and hostile acts.

3. Tokyo stocks hit a new high for the year on Monday.

June 8, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuriko Yamada and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. Japan’s Coast Guard says North Korea will ban vessels from entering a sector of the Sea of Japan, starting from this Wednesday until the end of the month.

2. Japan’s chief cabinet secretary says North Korea could soon launch ballistic and other missiles in response to future U.N. Security Council resolutions.

3. China remains cautious about tough sanctions on North Korea in response to the country’s nuclear test last month.

4. Vote counting continues in Sunday’s election in Lebanon and an anti-Syrian coalition has apparently defeated the pro-Syrian Hizbollah party and its ally in parliamentary elections.

June 7, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. Japan and China have begun ministerial-level talks on their economies in Tokyo.

2. U.S. President Barack Obama has indicated a tougher stance toward North Korea, condemning the country for what he called its “extraordinarily provocative” actions.

June 7, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yoko Ogasawara

1. U.S. President Barack Obama has indicated a tougher stance toward North Korea, condemning the country for what he called its “extraordinarily provocative” actions.

2. Japan and China have begun ministerial-level talks on their economies in Tokyo.

June 6, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. The United Nations Security Council is still divided over imposing fresh sanctions on North Korea for its recent nuclear test.

2. The IAEA says Iran is continuing to expand its uranium enrichment program despite international condemnation.

3. U.S. President Barack Obama expressed hopes of progress in the Middle East peace process by bringing Israel and Palestine back to talks.

June 6, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai

1. The United Nations Security Council is still divided over imposing fresh sanctions on North Korea for its recent nuclear test.

2. The IAEA says Iran is continuing to expand its uranium enrichment program despite international condemnation.

3. U.S. President Barack Obama expressed hopes of progress in the Middle East peace process by bringing Israel and Palestine back to talks.

June 5, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Yuka Matsumoto

1. A U.S. think tank says that the latest satellite images of a new North Korean missile base show its launch pad is ready for use.

2. U.S. President Barack Obama has called on the Muslim world to build a future-oriented relationship and work together on terrorism and other common issues.

3. The latest U.N. talks on climate change in Bonn, Germany, have seen little progress toward reaching a new international framework to fight global warming.

June 5, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. U.S. President Barack Obama used his speech in Cairo to urge Islamic nations to work with the United States on common issues, such as peace and the fight against terrorism.

2. While Palestinians have welcomed Obama’s speech to the Muslim world, Israel is cautious.

3. The foreign ministers of the U.S. and Japan have received the support of Russia’s president as they seek further U.S. sanctions against North Korea.

4. As the spread of the new flu shows rather slow in the northern hemisphere, the World Health Organization is calling for caution to prevent its spread in the southern hemisphere, where the winter flu season is just about to start.

June 4, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Miwa Gardner

1. Beijing is tightening security during the 20^th anniversary on the Tienanmen Square protest.

2. The U.N. Security Council is divided over a U.S. proposal for sanctions on North Korea that include the use of force against the North.

3. The Organization of American States has lifted its near 50-year suspension of Cuba.

June 4, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. The U.N. Security Council is divided over a proposal from the United States for sanctions on North Korea that include the use of force.

2. The trial begins on Thursday for two American journalists detained in North Korea on charges of illegal entry and hostile acts.

3. U.S. President Barack Obama has held talks with Saudi King Abdullah on the first leg of his four-day overseas trip that also takes him to Cairo, Egypt.

4. The Brazilian government has released photos of the area in the Atlantic Ocean where Air France Flight 447 is believed to have crashed. A memorial service has been held at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

June 3, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

1. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg has called on North Korea to stop its provocative actions and return to negotiations toward denuclearization.

2. Turkey’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Baki Ilkin, has urged the U.N. Security Council to move swiftly on a draft resolution against North Korea’s latest nuclear test.

3. Japan’s birth rate was 1.37 in 2008, marking the third consecutive annual growth.

June 3, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. General Motors says it reached a tentative agreement to sell its Hummer brand to a Chinese firm one day after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

2. Turkey’s ambassador to the United Nations has urged the U.N. Security Council to move swiftly on a draft resolution against North Korea’s latest nuclear test.

3. U.S. President Barack Obama has left Washington for the Middle East hoping to mend ties with Muslim countries.

4. The leaders of the Unite States and China have agreed to hold cabinet-level strategic talks on security and economic issues in Washington next month.

June 2, 2009 (6:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki

1. At the White House, U.S. President Barack Obama gave a statement on the Chapter 11 filing by General Motors.

2. South Korea says North Korea has recently told its overseas missions to pledge allegiance to the third son of the country’s leader Kim Jong Il.

3. The United States and Cuba have agreed to resume their negotiations on immigration between the two countries by the end of this month.

June 2, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. U.S. President Barack Obama says General Motors’ filing for bankruptcy protection in the largest ever failure in the U.S. manufacturing industry is necessary for GM’s future survival and success.

2. The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have begun talks on a new draft resolution against North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests.

3. Delegates from nearly 180 countries have begun full-scale talks in Bonn, Germany, on a new pact to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

4. In Hong Kong, students begin a hunger strike, calling for the Chinese government to reevaluate the Tiananmen Square protest, ahead of its 20th anniversary on Thursday.

June 1, 2009 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson

1. General Motors is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York with the government providing 30 billion dollars to obtain its 60 percent stake in a new, reorganized company.

2. A South Korean government official tells NHK that North Korea may be preparing to launch an inter-continental ballistic missile from a new base.

3. In Hong Kong, thousands of people have taken to the streets to mark the up-coming 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

4. A UN session set to achieve a new climate change framework to replace the Kyoto Protocol begins on Monday in Bonn, Germany.