1. Japan’s health ministry says a major Japanese drug maker has reported the second death of a person who had taken its health supplements containing red yeast rice, or “beni-koji.” Osaka-based Kobayashi Pharmaceutical issued a voluntary recall last week for three products containing the ingredient. The move came after the revelation that some people have developed kidney disease or other health issues after consuming one of those products. 2. The US Coast Guard says the six people missing after a bridge collapsed in the eastern state of Maryland are now presumed dead. It has suspended search and rescue operations. Coast Guard officials said on Tuesday evening that it’s unlikely that those missing are still alive, given the length of time that had passed since the accident. A large cargo ship rammed into one of the columns supporting the bridge in Baltimore in the early hours of Tuesday. A major portion of the bridge collapsed.
3. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has conveyed his concern to his Israeli counterpart about Israel’s plan for a ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Austin met with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Washington on Tuesday. The two discussed alternative approaches to the planned military operation. Referring to the situation in the Gaza Strip, the US defense secretary described the number of civilian casualties as “far too high” and the amount of humanitarian aid as “far too low.”
日: 2024年3月27日
March 26, Tuesday, 2024
１．Major Japanese drugmaker Kobayashi Pharmaceutical says a person who took a health supplement it’s recalling has died of kidney disease. The product contains a type of yeast-fermented rice called beni-koji. The company says it suspects the death is related to its product, and is investigating. The person’s family contacted the company on Saturday night. The person had been taking the Beni-koji Cholesterol Help supplement since April 2021. 2. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has again dismissed a view expressed by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine may have played a role in last Friday’s deadly attack on a concert hall near Moscow. Putin said on Monday that the attack was carried out by radical Islamists, but added that the atrocity may be linked to a series of attempts by “those who have been at war with our country since 2014 by the hands of the neo-Nazi Kyiv regime,” referring to Ukraine.
3. Major League Baseball’s Ohtani Shohei has spoken to the media for the first time about his former interpreter’s alleged illegal sports gambling. The Japanese superstar said he had no involvement in Mizuhara Ippei’s betting. Ohtani spoke in front of about 100 reporters. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ manager, Dave Roberts, and senior executives of the team were also present.