Daily English News

 

April

 

April 1, Sunday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

1.      Japan’s Self-Defense Forces have been deploying missile defense systems around the country ahead of North Korea’s planned rocket launch in mid-April.

2.      Voters in Myanmar are heading to polling stations in parliamentary by-elections with the country’s democratic reforms at stake.

3.      Iran and six major countries are to resume talks on its nuclear program in mid-April after a break of more than one year.

April 2, Monday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. David Crystal

1.      Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has declared her party’s victory in Sunday’s by-elections.

2.      North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party says it will hold a meeting of its representatives in Pyongyang on April 11th.

3.      The United States is demanding that Japan shoulder a financial burden larger than originally planned for the relocation of U.S. troops out of the southern Japanese island of Okinawa.

April 3, Tuesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai

1.      Japan’s space development agency has received an invitation from North Korea to attend its satellite launch.

2.      Japan’s leading manufacturers forecast a 3.6 percent increase in capital investment for this fiscal year.

3.      U.N. –Arab League special envoy to Syria Kofi Annan says Syria has promised to stop armed violence by April 10.

April 4, Wednesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai

1.      Japan’s Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka and U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta have reaffirmed that their countries will work closely together to respond to North Korea’s planned rocket launch.

2.      Five North Korean defectors have arrived in South Korea after having been forced by China to spend nearly three years at a South Korean diplomatic facility.

3.      Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has instructed a minister to drop new standards for nuclear safety.

April 5, Thursday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai

1.      Japan has tested a nationwide warning system that will be used to publicize information if North Korea goes ahead with its planned rocket launch later this month.

2.      Tokyo Electric Power Company says more radioactive waste water has leaked from its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and flowed into the sea.

3.      U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the United States will lift some sanctions and relax investment restrictions against Myanmar.

April 6, Friday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai

1.      A satellite photo of a North Korean rocket launch pad shows increased activity, suggesting that preparations for a liftoff is progressing well.

2.      The Foreign Ministry warns in its annual report that North Korea’s nuclear and missile development is a global threat, and says Japan should work to denuclearize the country in collaboration with other countries.

3.      Toyota Motor has unveiled its first car fully developed and produced in the United States.

April 7, Saturday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Keith McPharen and Ms. Fumiko Konoe

1.      Japan’s government has adopted new safety standards for nuclear power plants as a step toward restarting two reactors supplying power to western Japan.

2.      A Japanese government estimate shows some of the debris that washed out to sea following the earthquake and tsunami last year is approaching the west coast of North America.

3.      Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba has left for the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo for three-way talks with China and South Korea on North Korea’s planned rocket launch.

April 8, Sunday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

1.      Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba has called for unified approach by Japan, China and South Korea in addressing North Korea’s planned launch of a rocket.

2.      The leaders of a recent coup in the west African country of Mali have pledged to return the country to civilian rule.  They said they will do it in exchange for lifting of sanctions imposed by Mali’s neighbors.

3.      Hundreds of Yemeni air force troops have seized an airport in the capital Sanaa to protest the dismissal of their commander, who is a relative of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

April 9, Monday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Asumi Ukon

1.      North Korea has given the international media a glimpse of a long-range rocket installed on a launch pad.

2.      South Korea says North Korea is preparing for its third nuclear test.

3.      Former Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama has called on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to make greater efforts to avoid a military confrontation over the nation’s nuclear program.

April 10, Tuesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Helen Lewis and Mr. Mick Corliss

1.      The Philippine government has told officials on the country’s Luzon Island to prepare for North Korea’s rocket launch.

2.      The Japanese foreign minister will seek the understanding of his G8 counterparts on Japan’s opposition to North Korea’s rocket launch.

3.      The conflict in Syria is spreading to neighboring nations one day before the U.N.-brokered deadline for a ceasefire.

April 11, Wednesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

1.      The Japanese government is stepping up security ahead of the planned missile launch by North Korea.

2.      North Korea’s governing Workers’ Party will meet on Wednesday to appoint Kim Jong Un to its top post of general secretary.

3.      Russian planes have been sighted over the Sea of Japan where a Japanese Aegis destroyer has been deployed ahead of North Korea’s planned rocket launch.

April 12, Thursday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Asumi Ukon and Ms. Helen Lewis

1.      The first day of the five-day period in which North Korea has said it will launch what it calls a satellite-carrying rocket passed without any sign of activity on Thursday.

2.      Foreign ministers of the Group of Eight nations have agreed to press North Korea not to launch what it calls a rocket carrying satellite.

3.      In South Korea’s general elections, the ruling Saenuri Party has secured a single- party majority.

April 13, Friday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Ms. Risa Shimizu

1.      North Korea has launched what it called a satellite-carrying rocket but the projectile disintegrated soon after the launch.

2.      North Korea says it failed to send a satellite into orbit.

3.      The United Nations Security Council meets on Friday to discuss North Korea’s launch.

April 14, Saturday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Keith McFahren and Ms. Fumiko Konoe

1.      The U.N. Security Council has denounced North Korea’s missile launch as a violation of council resolutions, but stopped short of adopting any new sanctions.

2.      China’s central bank says it will expand the daily floating band of the nation’s currency against the U.S. dollar effective on Monday.

3.      The Japanese government has decided that two reactors at a nuclear plant need to be restarted to ensure that the region will not have a power shortage this summer.

April 15, Sunday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

1.      North Korea held a military parade on Sunday to mark the centenary of the birth of the country’s founder, Kim Il Sung.

2.      A senior U.S. diplomat will visit Japan and South Korea to discuss developments after the North Korean missile launch.

3.      The U.N. Security Council has voted unanimously in favor of a resolution to send observers as soon as possible to monitor the U.N.-mediated ceasefire in Syria.

April 16, Monday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai

1.      A rocket hit the Japanese Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, early Monday morning, following a similar attack by Taliban just the day before that caused damage.

2.      At the United Nations’ Security Council, the United States seeks to adopt a president’s statement condemning North Korea’s missile launch last week.

3.      The Japanese government lifted its ban on entering the no-go zone in Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture, on Monday.

April 17, Tuesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Mick Corliss

1.      The U.N. Security Council has unanimously adopted a presidential statement condemning North Korea’s de facto ballistic missile launch.

2.      Two governors in western Japan are asking the central government to implement seven steps before restarting the first batch of reactors since the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

3.      Sudan forces shelled a U.N. peacekeeping camp in the disputed border area in South Sudan.

April 18, Wednesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai

1.      North Korea has reacted angrily to U.N. Security Council’s presidential statement condemning the country’s rocket launch last Friday.

2.      Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara says the metropolitan government will proceed with the purchase of the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea regardless of the Japanese government’s plan.

3.      A human rights group in Syria says nearly 100 people have been killed in two days.

April 19, Thursday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai

1.      Japan posted a record trade deficit for the business year that ended in March.

2.      India has reportedly succeeded in test-launching its first intercontinental ballistic missile.

3.      Japan has submitted to the U.N. Security Council a list of North Korean companies and other entities for further sanctions.

April 20, Friday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Raja Pradan

1.      Japan’s Finance Minister Jun Azumi says it appears that the International Monetary Fund will have over 400 billion dollars of new contributions to shore up its lending capacity.

2.      North Korea’s leadership has defied international condemnation of its recent missile launch, saying it will press ahead with its missile launch program.

3.      South Korea says it has finished deploying new cruise missiles that can strike any part of North Korea in an apparent warning to its neighbor.

April 21, Saturday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson and Ms. Fumiko Konoe

  1. 1. A commercial airliner has crashed near the Pakistani capital Islamabad, killing at least 110 people.
  2. 2. The finance chiefs of the G20 nations have pledged more than 430 billion dollars to shore up the lending capacity of the International Monetary Fund.
  3. 3. South Sudan has promised to immediately withdraw troops from an oil region it seized after crossing the border with Sudan.

  4. April 22, Sunday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

    1. 1. The U.N. Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution to send up to 300 unarmed troops to monitor the cease-fire in Syria.
    2. 2. Incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy is apparently trailing Socialist challenger Francois Hollande in the first round of France’s presidential election, due to be held on Sunday.
    3. 3. A senior official of the North Korean Workers’ Party has met his Chinese counterpart in Beijing, apparently to seek China’s support for the North’s new leadership.

    4. April 23, Monday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Asumi Ukon and Mr. Raja Pradan

      1. 1. Francois Hollande of France’s largest opposition Socialist Party has won the most votes in the first round of the country’s presidential election.  With no candidate winning a majority in Sunday’s vote, Holland and 2nd-place Sarkozy will face each other in a run-off on May 6th.
      2. 2. The party of Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi says it will not attend the opening session of Parliament on Monday over objections to the wording of the oath of office.
      3. 3. Chinese and Russian naval forces began a joint military drill on Sunday in the Yellow Sea that is scheduled to continue through Friday.

      4. April 24, Tuesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Asumi Ukon and Mr. Raja Pradan

        1. 1. China’s President Hu Jintao has met a senior North Korean official in an apparent effort to urge the North to exercise restraint amid speculation that it plans a nuclear test.
        2. 2.The Cabinet of the Netherlands has offered to resign in a political crisis over austerity measures.
        3. 3. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says he is heading to Myanmar on Sunday.  He is set to meet with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi for the first time.

        4. April 25, Wednesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

          1. 1. North Korea’s People’s Army is celebrating the 80th anniversary of its founding on Wednesday.
          2. 2. The U.S. government says it has confirmed the country’s fourth case of BSE*, or mad cow disease.  * bovine spongiform encephalopathy
          3. 3. A nuclear power plant in Japan will undergo fresh inspections after experts warned that active faults may exist below the plant.

          4. April 26, Thursday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Helen Lewis and Mr. Keith McPharen

            1. 1.The Tokyo District Court has found former leader of Japan’s governing Democratic Party, Ichiro Ozawa, not guilty of violating the Political Fund Control Law.
            2. 2.A Chinese firm reportedly sold North Korea transport vehicles that could be used as launch pads for long-range ballistic missiles.
            3. 3.A newly-released study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says Japan’s massive public debt is a major source of vulnerability.

            4. April 27, Friday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Kaori Nimura

              1. 1. Japan and the United States have released a joint statement on realigning U.S. forces in Japan.
              2. 2. The European Union is deferring its announcement of stress test results on nuclear plants across the region to the autumn of this year.
              3. 3. A U.N.-backed court has convicted former Liberian President Charles Taylor of encouraging war crimes and crimes against humanity.

              4. April 28, Saturday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson and Ms. Fumiko Konoe

                1. 1. Japan and Southeast Asian countries have agreed to launch talks on forging economic partnerships in a wider framework involving 16 countries, including China and India.
                2. 2. A U.N. commission has approved the first-ever expansion of Japan’s continental shelf.  It gave the country an extra 310,000 square kilometers in the Pacific Ocean.
                3. 3. Syria’s state-run television reports that a suicide bombing in Damascus killed 10 people and wounded many others on Friday.

                4. April 29, Sunday, 20l 2 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

                  1. 1. Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will leave for the United States on Sunday to discuss with President Barack Obama security and economic issues.
                  2. 2.A German missile expert say what were presented as new intercontinental ballistic missiles by North Korea at a military parade in Pyongyang earlier this month are fakes.
                  3. 3. The European Union has opened an office in Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, amid the country's political reforms toward democratization.

                  April 30, Monday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. David Crystal

                  1. 1. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda says he will lead efforts to further develop ties with the United States.
                  2. 2. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has arrived in Myanmar.  He was welcomed by Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin in the capital Naypyidaw on Sunday.
                  3. 3. The body of a British doctor abducted by militants in Pakistan was found on Sunday in the western city of Quetta.