August 1, Friday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Maxwell Powers and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. Israel and the Palestinian organization Hamas are expected to start negotiations in Cairo to reach a durable ceasefire after they reached an agreement on a 72-hour truce in the Gaza Strip.
2. A series of powerful explosions has killed at least 23 people and injured 271 others in the southern Taiwanese city of Kohsiung.
3. An international team of experts have begun investigating the crash of a Malaysia airliner in Ukraine, but it is unclear whether they will be able to conduct a full-fledged inquiry.
August 2, Saturday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Fighting has resumed in the Gaza Strip despite the truce agreed between Israel and the Palestinian organization Hamas.
2. A team of international investigators has begun recovering human remains of the Malaysia Airlines crash site in eastern Ukraine.
3. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff have agreed to promote dialogue to strengthen bilateral relations.
August 3, Sunday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called for closer economic and security ties with Latin American countries.
2. A Japanese auto industry group is forecasting a nearly 20-percent drop in domestic new auto sales in 2020 due partly to the declining population.
3. The prime minister of Israel has suggested the military will continue its operation in the Gaza Strip, possibly on a smaller scale, even after destroying cross-border tunnels made by Hamas.
August 4, Monday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Yoshi Ogasawara and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Former prime minister Yasuo Fukuda visited Beijing late last month to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
2. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is heading to the southwestern province of Yunnan, where a strong earthquake has killed at least 381 people.
3. Israel has announced it will unilaterally hold fire in most parts of Gaza for seven hours.
August 5, Tuesday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. A top Japanese scientist to co-author internationally discredited research papers on so-called STAP cells appears to have committed suicide at his laboratory.
2. Leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas have accepted an Egyptian proposal to halt fighting for 72 hours.
3. The World Health Organization said on Monday that 882 people have died of Ebola since the outbreak of the deadly virus in West Africa.
August 6, Wednesday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms.Fumiko Konoe
1. Hiroshima is marking the 69th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city during World War II.
2. Some of the foreign medical experts and aid workers fighting the Ebola outbreak in West Africa have been infected with the virus.
3. Israel forces and the military wing of Hamas are keeping a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
August 7, Thursday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Officials at the World Health Organization say the death toll from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has topped 900.
2. Negotiations are underway between Israel and Hamas to extend the on-going ceasefire in the Gaza Strip for another 48 hours beyond a Friday deadline.
3. A string of bomb attacks has killed at least 51 people in Baghdad as security deteriorates in the Iraqi capital.
August 8, Friday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Officials at the World Trade Organization have finalized its ruling that China’s restrictions on rare earth exports violate WTO rules.
2. Foreign ministers from ASEAN nations begin a series of meetings in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw, on Friday.
3. U.S. President Barack Obama says he has authorized the U.S. military forces to conduct targeted airstrikes, if necessary, against Sunni militants in northern Iraq.
August 9, Saturday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. The western Japanese city of Nagasaki has commemorated the 69th anniversary of the atomic bomb attack.
2. The U.S. military has conducted more airstrikes in Iraq after the first round of an operation that is targeting Sunni militants who are stepping up their offensive in the northern region.
3. The World Health Organization says the latest Ebola outbreak has killed at least 961 people.
August 10, Sunday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Severe tropical storm Halong is battering western Japan, bringing heavy rains and strong winds to wide areas across the country. The storm has killed one person and injured 43 others.
2. Japan’s Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Myanmar. The meeting on Sunday on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers’ conference was an apparent bid to improve strained ties.
3. Foreign ministers from the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations are struggling to iron out differences over a proposal to tackle maritime disputes with China.
August 11, Monday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Israel and Hamas began a new 72-hour ceasefire in Gaza at one minute past midnight local time on Monday.
2. The United States conducted a new round of airstrikes in northern Iraq on Sunday, making it the 3rd straight day of the operation against Sunni militants.
3. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has met with his North Korean counterpart for the first time in more than a year.
August 12, Tuesday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has criticized the appointment of his replacement.
2. To combat the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa, medical and other experts are now focusing on the use of experimental drugs to treat patients.
3. Delegates from Israel and Hamas have resumed indirect talks in Egypt to seek a long-term truce.
August 13, Wednesday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Helen Lewis
1. A Russian aid convoy is heading to eastern Ukraine. But the Ukrainian government is demanding that the cargo be reloaded at the border as it fears intervention by Russia.
2. Delegates from Israel and the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas are continuing indirect talks in Cairo on a lasting truce in the Gaza Strip.
3. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for the protection of a religious minority in northern Iraq.
August 14, Thursday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Jonathan Sear and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Ukraine has expressed readiness to accept a Russian aid convoy on condition that the trucks will be under control of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
2. The situation in the Gaza Strip remains volatile as Israel and the Islamic militant group Hamas attacked each other despite another extension of truce.
3. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has reiterated his resolve to remain in power.
August 15, Friday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Maxwell Powers and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. Japan is marking the 69th anniversary of the end of World War II on Friday.
2. Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki says he is resigning.
3. Authorities in Kenya are on heightened alert against Ebola.
August 16, Saturday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Iraq’s Sunni Muslim leaders say they would support the country’s prime minister-designate Haider al-Abadi on certain conditions. Their stance is drawing attention as it might hold the key to bring the present turmoil in Iraq under control.
2. The European Union has approved plans by member states to supply arms to Kurdish forces battling Islamic militants in northern Iraq.
3. An NGO medical team, Doctors Without Borders International, says it will take 6 months to bring the Ebola epidemic under control.
August 17, Sunday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. The United Nations’ World Food Program says it will extend food aid to a million people in three West African countries struggling to deal with the latest Ebola outbreak.
2. The governor of the U.S. state of Missouri has declared a state of emergency.
3. Negotiating teams from Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas are preparing to start talks on Sunday on long-term truce.
August 18, Monday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Jonathan Sear and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Islamic militants in war-stricken Syria may be holding a man who is believed to be Japanese.
2. The United States conducted the largest air offensive on the 10th day of consecutive air strikes against Islamic militants in northern Iraq in support of Kurdish troops.
3. Diplomatic talks held by the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France about the conflict in eastern Ukraine made no apparent breakthrough.
August 19, Tuesday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. The leader of a Syrian rebel group says he will try to secure the release of a hostage believed to be a Japanese national through a prisoner swap.
2. Delegations from Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip by further 24 hours.
3. U.S. President Barack Obama has stressed the U.S. military operation in Iraq has helped Iraqi and Kurdish forces recapture the country’s largest dam.
August 20, Wednesday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Torrential rain has hit Hiroshima Prefecture in western Japan, causing landslides and flooding.
2. Israel and the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas resumed attacks on Tuesday.
3. The Islamic State militant group has posted a video online claiming to show the execution of an American journalist.
August 21, Thursday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Jonathan Sear and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. Massive landslides in Hiroshima City, western Japan, have killed 39 people. Seven others remain missing.
2. The U.S. president has condemned Islamic extremists who executed a U.S. journalist and pledged to continue air strikes on them.
3. Ukraine’s government says its troops have seized control over significant parts of the pro-Russian stronghold of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
August 22, Friday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. Search and rescue operations have resumed in Hiroshima, western Japan, for people missing after massive landslides that hit the city on Wednesday.
2. The World Health Organization has reported an improvement in the condition of three patients in Liberia who took an unapproved drug for the Ebola virus.
3. Officials at the Bank of America have agreed to pay a record 16.65 billion dollars to U.S. authorities to settle charges that it misled investors into buying mortgage-backed financial products.
August 23, Saturday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crytal and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
1. The search continues for people who remain missing after massive landslides hit Hiroshima, western Japan. 42 people have been confirmed dead and 43 remain missing.
2. Russia says it will restrict the entry into the country of some Japanese people to counter Japan’s sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine.
3. The U.N. human rights office says the death toll in the on-going conflict in Syria has surpassed 190,000.
August 24, Sunday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. Rescue workers have suspended the search for missing people in Hiroshima due to concern about secondary disasters.
2. China’s Defense Ministry has rejected claims one of its jets flew dangerously close to a U.S. patrol plane over the South China Sea.
3. Egypt and the Palestinian Authority have called on Israel and the Palestinian Islamist Group Hamas to resume negotiations for a long-term truce in the Gaza.
August 25, Monday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
1. Islamic State militants have captured a key Syrian government air base in the north of the country.
2. A series of car bombs on Saturday killed 22 people and injured 135 others in a major city in northern Iraq.
3. A British man infected with the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone has been transferred to his home country for treatment.
August 26, Tuesday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Mr. Mick Corliss
1. Rain is complicating efforts to find people missing from massive landslides in Hiroshima, western Japan.
2. Presidents of Russia and Ukraine will come face to face on Tuesday for the first time in more than two months.
3. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the situation in Ukraine will not affect President Vladimir Putin’s plan to visit Japan as early as this autumn.
August 27, Wednesday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Helen Lewis and Mr. Michael Rhys
1. Israel and the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas have agreed on a long-term truce in Gaza after several weeks of fighting.
2. The presidents of Russia and Ukraine have held their first one-on-one talks but apparently failed to narrow their differences over the crisis in eastern Ukraine.
3. A newspaper in the United States has reported that the U.S. is sending surveillance flights over Syria.
August 28, Thursday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Jonathan Sears and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. China and Vietnam have agreed to prevent the rift between the two countries from worsening further.
2. Iraqi government forces are trying to rescue ethnic minority Turks in a central town besieged by Islamist militants.
3. Pro-Russian separatist leader says he and his comrades have vowed to seek independence of the eastern regions of Ukraine.
August 29, Friday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Mr. Maxwell Powers
1. The U.S. and European nations are stepping up their criticism of Russia over its reported invasion of Ukraine.
2. An armed group in the disputed Golan Heights has detained 43 U.N. peacekeepers and trapped another 81 in the region.
3. Turkey’s outgoing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been sworn in as the nation’s president.
August 30, Saturday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Ms. Risa Shimizu
1. Ahead of a trip to Japan starting on Saturday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasized that his country wants to strengthen ties with Japan. He highlighted the fields of economy and security.
2. Western countries and Russia have traded blame over a reported incursion into eastern Ukraine by the Russian military.
3. Members of a United Nations committee have urged the Japanese government to impose legal restrictions on hate speech against Korean residents in Japan.
August 31, Sunday, 2014 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
1. European Union leaders have agreed to draw up additional sanctions against Russia following a reported incursion into eastern Ukraine by Russian troops.
2. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says his country should forcefully resist expanded U.S. sanctions imposed in connection with Tehran’s nuclear and missile development activities.
3. A large-scale disaster drill was held in Tokyo on Saturday, two days ahead of the anniversary of the 1923 Great KantoEarthquake.