Daily English News: May
May 31, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Ruling Democratic Party members are openly calling on Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to resign, following the Social Democratic Party’s decision to leave the governing coalition.
2. Prime Minister Hatoyama has met in Tokyo with visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao for talks on North Korea and other issues.
3. The rapid spread of foot-and-mouth disease in Miyazaki prefecture presents local farmers and officials with difficulties in speeding up the mass culling of livestock.
4. The U.S. military commanders in Iraq say their troops will withdraw in August as scheduled as Iraqi police and military assume the security of their nation.
May 30, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson
1. The leaders of Japan, China and South Korea have agreed to continue working together over the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.
2. The Socialist Democratic Party is discussing whether to remain in the governing coalition, following the dismissal of its leader as a Cabinet minister over the relocation of a U.S. air base in Okinawa.
May 29, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. A U.N. conference reviewing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has adopted a final document that confirms signatory nations’ efforts to achieve a nuclear-weapons-free world.
2. Leaders of Japan, China and South Korea will soon hold a two-day summit on the South Korean island of Cheju, with the main focus being on North Korea’s alleged sinking of a South Korean warship.
3. Attacks at two Pakistani mosques attended by members of a minority community have killed at least 70 people.
May 28, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The governments of Japan and the United States released a joint statement on relocating the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Okinawa.
2. The leader of Japan’s junior coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party, has reiterated her refusal to sign any document that authorizes the relocation of that air station.
3. Japan’s government plans to tighten regulations on sending money to North Korea by lowering the minimum amount for reporting remittances.
4. In New York, delegates from states that have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty continue last-minute effort to come up with their final agreement that is aimed at achieving a nuclear-free world.
May 27, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The Japanese government plans to have its relocation plan for Okinawa’s U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station approved at Friday’s Cabinet meeting.
2. More livestock suspected of being infected with foot-and-mouth disease have been found in Miyazaki Prefecture.
3. Fiscal reform will top the agenda at this year’s ministerial meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that starts on Thursday.
4. The U.S. military begins its deployment of Patriot missile-related facilities in Poland only a month after Russia and the U.S. signed an agreement to reduce their strategic nuclear weapons.
May 26, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. North Korea’s government says it’s cutting all ties with South Korea in retaliation for the imposition of sanctions after the North allegedly torpedoed one of the South’s warships.
2. Members of the U.N. Security Council have begun unofficial talks on how to handle that sinking of the South Korean naval vessel.
3. Negotiators from Japan and the U.S. finalize an agreement on the relocation of a U.S. military base in Okinawa.
4. Final negotiations are under way at the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York, on a draft of a final declaration.
May 25, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. South Korean officials seek the cooperation of a senior Chinese diplomat as they prepare to present the nation’s case on the sinking of a South Korean naval ship before the U.N. Security Council.
2. Share prices of export-related industries were heavily sold in Tuesday morning trading in Tokyo, sending the benchmark Nikkei average to another record low for this year.
3. Japan’s agriculture ministry works to complete vaccinating and slaughtering livestock suspected of being inspected with foot-and-mouth disease in Miyazaki Prefecture.
4. The Thai government extends a night-time curfew for another week in Bangkok five days after the end of anti-government demonstrations.
May 24, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. In a televised speech, South Korea’s president says he is taking the alleged North Korean sinking of one of the country’s naval vessels to the U.N. Security Council.
2. The U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue on economic and security matters is underway in Beijing on this Monday afternoon.
3. Japan’s Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa will visit Washington to make final arrangements for the relocation plan of a U.S. Marine Corps air station in Okinawa.
4. New cases of foot-and-mouth disease are suspected at 12 more farms in Miyazaki Prefecture in southwestern Japan.
May 23, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson
1. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama traveled to Okinawa on Sunday morning to formally convey the government’s plan to relocate the U.S. Futenma Air Station in Okinawa within the prefecture. The governor of Okinawa told Hatoyama it is difficult to accept the plan.
2. New infections of foot-and-mouth disease were confirmed or suspected at ten more farms in the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Miyazaki on Saturday.
May 22, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Japan’s Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to work closely with South Korea over the sinking of one of its warships in March.
2. Many casualties are feared after an Indian Air Express overshot a runway and burst into flame in southwest India on Saturday morning.
3. In Miyazaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan, vaccination has begun to prevent a foot-and-mouth disease from spreading further among livestock.
May 21, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. South Korean President Lee Myung Bak holds an emergency meeting of ministers to discuss the country’s response to the torpedo attack it blames on North Korea.
2. North Korean leaders say they all freeze inter-Korean relations if South Korea tries to seek sanctions against the nation over the sinking of a warship.
3. The dollar continues to lose ground against the yen in Friday’s trading amid persistent credit concerns triggered by the debt crisis in Greece.
4. A foot-and-mouth disease continues to spread in Japan’s southern Miyazaki Prefecture, and the government reports 27 new cases of infection at 13 farms.
May 20, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. A team investigating the sinking of a South Korean warship off the Korean Peninsula in March concludes that the vessel was hit by a torpedo from a North Korean submarine.
2. North Korea’s government reacts sharply to the accusations that one of its navy vessels was behind the torpedo attack.
3. The Miyazaki prefectural government in southern Japan is warning that foot-and-mouth disease is spreading further across the region among dairy farms.
4. A wary calm returns to Bangkok after a night in which anti-government protestors burned buildings and looted stores in opposition to their leaders’ decision to end the weeks’ long demonstration.
May 19, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japan’s central government plans to adopt new measures to combat an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, including the destruction of all infected livestock.
2. In Thailand, security forces seem to regain control of a part of the district of central Bangkok that has been occupied by anti-government protestors.
3. South Korean military investigators will suggest that North Korea’s military was effectively involved in the sinking of one of its naval ships in a report that will be issued on Thursday.
4. The prime ministers of Japan and China will meet at the end of May, when the two leaders are expected to sign an agreement promoting food safety in the wake of poisoning cases in Japan more than two years ago.
May 18, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. U.S. officials remain skeptical about Iran’s nuclear ambitions despite an agreement to exchange some of its low-enriched uranium for highly enriched nuclear fuel rods.
2. In Thailand, amid sporadic fighting, a standoff continues between protestors and government troops as demonstrations spread to areas outside the occupied district in Bangkok.
3. In the southern Japanese prefecture of Miyazaki, more than 100,000 livestock face slaughter due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
4. A senior North Korean official has denied that his country was involved in the sinking of a South Korean navy patrol vessel.
May 17, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The Thai capital, Bangkok, has fallen silent after the government declares public holidays on Monday and Tuesday to keep the public off the streets amid on-going turmoil.
2. After complaints about election fraud, Iraq’s electoral commission says a vote recount shows no change in the outcome of a parliamentary election in March.
3. Brazil’s president arrives in Iran as the two countries try to expand bilateral trade and cooperation in developing oil fields.
4. A new cloud of volcanic ash drifts south or much of Britain, London’s airports are being closed for six hours on Monday.
May 16, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Violent confrontations between anti-government demonstrators and security forces are escalating in the Thailand’s capital, Bangkok.
2. Tens of thousands of protestors have rallied in Athens, Greece, calling for the government to review its fiscal reconstruction measures.
3. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano has met with some business representatives from Tokunoshima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture. The government hopes to move some of the functions of a U.S. military base in Okinawa to Tokunoshima.
May 15, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. In the Thai capital, Bangkok, intermittent clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces since Friday have so far left 16 people dead and more than 140 wounded.
2. The International Monetary Fund has warned of huge increases in public fund in developed countries, and has suggested that Japan raise its consumption tax rate.
3. Japan has delivered its bid to stage the 2022 World Cup soccer finals to FIFA, the sports governing body.
May 14, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Tension continues to run high in Bangkok, where authorities state one protester has been killed and at least 11 others injured in shooting explosions on Thursday evening.
2. A report by a U.N. panel claims that North Korean weapons smuggling is being abetted by Iran, Myanmar and Syria.
3. Japanese and U.S. government negotiators will hold another working-level meeting next week in Tokyo to discuss the relocation of a U.S. military air station in Okinawa.
4. An influential leader of Japan’s main ruling party says he is ready to explain to the Diet the alleged false reporting of political funds by his fund management body.
May 13, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama abandons his promise to resolve by the end of this month the impasse over the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Okinawa.
2. Japan’s prime minister speaks by telephone with his new British counterpart and agrees to cooperate on important global issues.
3. Spain’s government announces cuts to spending by about 19 billion dollars over the next two years in a bid to lessen the national debt.
4. Russia’s president criticizes U.S.-mediated peace talks between Israel and Palestinians for excluding officials from the Islamic resistance movement, Hamas.
May 12, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference adopts a joint statement calling for educating the youth about the misery caused by using nuclear weapons.
2. Foreign and defense officials from Japan and the U.S. will discuss technical issues on the relocation of a U.S. base in Okinawa at working-level talks in Washington next week.
3. Japan’s prime minister says any new international framework to replace the Kyoto Protocol must include major emitters, such as China and the United States.
4. Japanese business leaders offer to help China with its environmental initiatives as the country addresses the growing pains of its rapid economic development.
May 11, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The Hatoyama administration tries to build a consensus for its base relocation plan as talks appear likely to continue past the prime minister’s self-imposed “end of May” deadline.
2. Officials from Japan and Australia will sign an Acquisition and Cross-servicing Agreement next week to provide each other with logistically military support.
3. Senator Benigno Aquino is expected to win the Philippines presidential election, with 40.1 percent of the votes.
4. A tag of war continues over the political standoff in Thailand. Anti-government protestors say they will continue their siege of central Bangkok until the country’s deputy prime minister surrenders to police.
May 10, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama again says he wants to achieve a consensus by all parties by the end of the month on a final plan to relocate a U.S. marine facility in Okinawa.
2. Voters in the Philippines go to the polls on this Monday to elect a new president at the end of the term of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, which has been marred by scandal and anti-government protests.
3. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators begin indirect talks mediated by the United States, the first such negotiations in 18 months.
4. In Russia, rescue operations proceed slowly at a Siberian coal mine where more than 80 people are still trapped inside the methane gas-filled mine.
May 9, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Japan’s three ruling coalition parties remain divided over the latest proposal to relocate the functions of a U.S. air base, which is located on the southern island of Okinawa.
2. Israelis and Palestinians have agreed to begin indirect talks mediated by the United States, breaking an impasse over the Middle East peace process.
May 8, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. U.S. and European stock markets tumbled on Friday amid ongoing concerns over the impact of Greece’s debt crisis.
2. The European leaders of the euro-zone countries have approved a deal to release emergency loans to Greece, and agreed to work to stabilize the euro.
3. A fresh shooting incident and a series of explosions hit Bangkok, killing a Thai police officer and wounding at least 10 people.
May 7, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Tokyo shares have fallen sharply across the board in Friday trading amid persistent concerns over Greece’s financial ciris.
2. Japan’s prime minister will meet mayors from a southern island to seek their support for his plan to transfer some of the functions of a U.S. military facility in Okinawa.
3. Foreign ministers from Japan, China and South Korea, prepare to hold an annual meeting in South Korea’s southern city of Geongju.
4. As vote-counting continues in Britain, the media are forecasting that conservatives will win more seats than another party, although it falls short of a majority.
May 6, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nishimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japan’s fast breeder nuclear reactor Monju resumes its operations after a suspension of more than 14 years when a coolant system leak caused a fire.
2. The world’s five recognized nuclear powers reaffirm their commitments to promote nuclear disarmament and ask other nations to cooperate in efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation.
3. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is expected to ask Chinese President Hu Jintao to increase economic aid to his country during their talks in Beijing on Thursday.
4. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has stressed that he will do his utmost to reduce the military burden on Okinawa’s residents, as pledged by his party in last year’s election.
May 5, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. The Japanese delegate to a U.N. conference on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty calls for the elimination of all nuclear arsenals worldwide.
2. Even though Eurozone countries and the IMF decided to hand Greece an emergency bailout, U.S. and European markets tumbled on Tuesday amid renewed uncertainties.
3. Amid tight security, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il appears to have visited a port and an economic development zone in Tianjin, China.
4. Nearly two months after the parliamentary election, Iraq’s two major Shia political coalitions say they have agreed to work to form a new government.
May 4, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Japan’s prime minister seeks the understanding of Okinawa’s governor for the government’s plan to relocate a U.S. Marine base within the island prefecture.
2. At the end of the second Tokyo International Conference on African Development, ministers from 44 countries call on Japanese companies to invest more aggressively in Africa.
3. A war of words erupts between the U.S. and Iranian officials at the U.N. Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review conference that opened in New York on Monday.
4. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il continues his visit to China,his first in four years and four months, his first foreign trip since he suffered a stroke in the summer of 2008.
May 3, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Kaori Nimura and Mr. Robert Jefferson
1. Speculations are mounting that North Korean leader has embarked on a visit to China.
2. Finance ministers from 13 Asian countries meeting in Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent, have agreed to take coordinated steps to scale back their financial stimulus measures.
3. The finance ministers of the 16 eurozone nations have joined IMF officials in agreeing to provide Greece with a three-year 146.5 billion dollar bailout.
4. U.S. President Barack Obama visits Louisiana to get a firsthand look at what has been done to contain a massive oil spill from a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico.
May 2, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is hoping to make a breakthrough on his efforts to settle the U.S. base relocation issue by directing meeting with the people concerned.
2. Organizers of the Shanghai Expo have indicated that they will improve their visitor information services after confusion occurred at some pavilions during the opening day on Saturday.
May 1, 2010 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Madoka Kanai
1. The World Expo in Shanghai has opened to the public on Saturday, with many people rushing inside the venue in long lines.
2. Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama says he will meet with the Okinawa governor to explain the current government plan on relocating the U.S. Futenma Air Station facility.
3. Ahead of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference next week, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has urged the international community to create a nuclear-free world.