https://ameblo.jp/nhknewsen/ ニュースで英会話 ja CHERRY BLOSSOM CAMPAIGN
http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/e-news/news/index.cgi?ymd=20110419

At the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C.,
various activities are underway to raise funds for
disaster-hit areas in Japan.

The festival is held each spring at various sites in the U.S.
capital, when more than 3,700 cherry trees bloom along the
banks of the Potomac River.

On Saturday, about 5,000 people participated in the festival
parade. Brass bands, dancing teams, and a Japanese college
drum team were on hand to perform.

This year, visitors are being asked to pay five dollars to
enter the main event site, part of which will go to Japanese
recovery efforts. Women in kimono ask visitors to make a donation.

Volunteers also demonstrate how to fold paper cranes, and
participants donate two dollars for each crane they make. ]]> https://ameblo.jp/nhknewsen/entry-10866005511.html Tue, 19 Apr 2011 09:15:10 +0900 RAISING LEVEL TO WORST
http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/e-news/news/index.cgi?ymd=20110418
Japan's nuclear safety agency will raise the crisis level
at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant from 5 to 7,
the worst on the international scale.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency made the decision
on Monday.

It says the damaged facility has been releasing a massive
amount of radioactive substances, which is a threat to human
health and the environment over a wide area.

It used the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale,
or INES, to gauge the level. The scale was designed by an
international group of experts to measure the gravity of nuclear
events based on ratings of 0 to 7.

On March 18th, one week after the massive quake, the agency
declared the Fukushima crisis a level 5.

That's the same as Three Mile Island in the United States
in 1979.

Level 7 has only been applied to Chernobyl in the former
Soviet Union in 1986.

At the time, hundreds of thousands of terabecquerels of
radioactive iodine-131 were released into the air.

One terabecquerel is one trillion becquerels.

It believes the cumulative amount from the Fukushima plant
is less than that of Chernobyl. ]]> https://ameblo.jp/nhknewsen/entry-10866500464.html Mon, 18 Apr 2011 20:50:51 +0900 GREENS WIN GERMAN STATE
http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/e-news/news/index.cgi?ymd=20110407
Germany's anti-nuclear Green Party made major advances in
a regional election on Sunday as voters showed their
opposition to nuclear power.

The election was in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg,
which has several nuclear power plants. The Greens got
twice as many votes as in the previous state election.

The main reason was anti-nuclear sentiment sparked by
the crisis at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The Christian Democrats have been the ruling party in
Baden-Wuerttemberg for 58 years.

They're led by Chancellor Angela Merkel.

According to preliminary results, they got 39 percent of
the vote but are still the strongest parliamentary group.

The Greens got 24.2 percent of the vote. Another opposition
party, the Social Democrats, got 23.1 percent.

If the Greens form a coalition with the Social Democrats,
the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg will have Germany's first
Green governor

The German government plans to extend the operating lives
of the country's nuclear plants after dropping a policy
of abandoning nuclear power last year. It may have to
review its plans in light of Sunday's election. ]]> https://ameblo.jp/nhknewsen/entry-10858616232.html Thu, 07 Apr 2011 18:00:46 +0900 NATIONS STEP UP PRESSURE
http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/e-news/news/index.cgi?ymd=20110406
In Libya, countries participating in the military offensive
there have agreed to continue their operations in line with
the UN Security Council resolution.

They also agreed to increase the pressure on the nation's
leader Muammar al-Qadhafi to step down.

(William Hague / British Foreign Secretary)
"There is no future for Libya with Qadhafi in charge of
Libya or trying to hang onto power there.

That is clear to all of these nations and organizations and
we've made that emphatically clear today."

Delegates from more than 40 nations and organizations met in
London on Tuesday.

Britain, France, the United States and Arab countries,
including Qatar, took part in the conference.

They were joined by representatives from the United Nations
and the Arab League.

In Libya, opposition forces control northeastern cities with
the help of coalition troops led by Western countries.

Pro-Qadhafi forces are launching fierce counterattacks in
central and western parts of Libya.

Delegates denounced the Qadhafi troops for continuing to mount
brutal strikes against civilians.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague released a statement
saying the coalition forces will continue their military operations.

He said the relevant nations will establish a contact group to
offer humanitarian assistance to civilians in Libya and provide
political direction to prepare for the collapse of the Qadhafi
government. ]]> https://ameblo.jp/nhknewsen/entry-10858611568.html Wed, 06 Apr 2011 17:56:29 +0900 FRANCE TO SEND MORE EXPERTS
http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/e-news/news/index.cgi?ymd=20110405
France says it will send three more nuclear experts to
Japan to help remove highly radioactive water from the
troubled power plant.

Two other French experts are already in Japan and are
holding talks with the plant operator, Tokyo Electric
Power Company.

The five are from French-based Areva, one of the world's
biggest nuclear energy firms.

They will help to remove the polluted water that is
hampering efforts to restore the plant's cooling functions.

This is the first time that France, the world's second
largest operator of nuclear plants, has dispatched experts
to Japan since the Fukushima reactors were damaged by the
March 11th quake and tsunami.

France has already supplied radiation-measuring vehicles
and protective clothing.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will visit Japan as chair
of the Group of 20 nations on Thursday.

He will meet Prime Minister Naoto Kan to talk about the
possibility of extending further technical assistance to
resolve the nuclear crisis. ]]> https://ameblo.jp/nhknewsen/entry-10852863805.html Tue, 05 Apr 2011 02:15:50 +0900 PROTESTS CONTINUE IN SYRIA AND JORDAN
http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/e-news/news/index.cgi?ymd=20110404
In the Middle East, at least 40 people have been killed
in protests in Syria and neighboring Jordan.

Pro-democracy rallies were held in the two countries after
Friday prayers.

In and around Syria's southern city of Daraa, clashes between
protesters and security troops have taken place.

A Middle East-based satellite TV network reports that dozens
of people were killed when security forces opened fire on
protesters near Daraa on Friday.

The death toll in Syria since last week reached over 40.

Thousands of people also staged demonstrations in central
Damascus, the capital.

They were chanting "Freedom for Syria!"

The country has been under dictatorship of former president
Hafez al-Assad and his son, current president Bashar al-Assad,
for about 40 years.

The government has proposed political reforms, including lifting
the state of emergency, although the use of force has escalated
opposition.

It remains unclear when the situation will be resolved.

In the Jordanian capital, Amman, thousands of young people clashed
with security forces calling for political reform. One person was
killed and more than 100 wounded. ]]> https://ameblo.jp/nhknewsen/entry-10851833491.html Mon, 04 Apr 2011 02:55:35 +0900 TOYOTA DELAYS RESTART
http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/e-news/news/index.cgi?ymd=20110401
Japanese automakers have also been hit hard by the quake.

Toyota Motor has decided to delay the restart of its production
in Japan to beyond Wednesday.

The carmaker initially planned to reopen its factories on Wednesday,
but it says it cannot get enough parts.

Toyota said that the unresolved problems at the Fukushima nuclear
power plant are preventing some of its suppliers from restarting
production.

The automaker is considering procuring some supplies from alternative
sources, and switching emphasis to models that have sufficient parts. ]]> https://ameblo.jp/nhknewsen/entry-10850442306.html Fri, 01 Apr 2011 21:16:59 +0900 AIR STRIKES AGAINST LIBYA
http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/e-news/news/index.cgi?ymd=20110331
The United States and some European and Arab countries began military
action against Libya on Saturday.

The move is in line with a UN Security Council resolution to protect
civilians from attacks by Libyan government forces.

Britain and the U.S. have launched cruise missile attacks on Libyan
air defense facilities.

British Prime Minister David Cameron criticized Qadhafi, saying the
military actions are to protect the Libyan people.

（David Cameron / British Prime Minister）
"What we are doing is necessary, it is legal and it is right. It is
necessary because with others we should be trying to prevent him using
his military against his own people."

（Barack Obama / U.S. President）
"This is not an outcome that the United States or any of our partners
sought. Even yesterday, the international community offered Muammar
Qadhafi the opportunity to pursue an immediate ceasefire. But despite
the hollow words of his government, he has ignored that opportunity."

Obama added that the U.S. will not deploy any troops on the ground.
The U.S. Defense Department said that more than 110 cruise missiles
were launched from U.S. and British naval vessels in the Mediterranean
Sea.

The attack targeted more than 20 Libyan air defense facilities.

As the situation in Libya enters a critical phase, attention is now
focused on Qadhafi's response. ]]> https://ameblo.jp/nhknewsen/entry-10850456211.html Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:32:45 +0900 FUNDING RECONSTRUCTION
http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/e-news/news/index.cgi?ymd=20110330
The government and the ruling Democratic Party plan to draw
up an emergency budget for the reconstruction of northeastern
Japan.

They say they will prepare funds for the most urgent reconstruction
projects next month, when fiscal 2011 starts. The allocation of
funds for less urgent projects will follow.

The government has already allocated about 430 million dollars
from a reserve fund for fiscal 2010, which ends on March 31st.

The money was used to provide relief goods to survivors.

But another emergency fund is needed to clean up the debris and
to repair damaged roads as well as water and sewage systems.

Small- and medium-sized companies also need financial assistance
to recover.

The total size of the extra budget is expected to exceed the 37
billion dollars allocated for reconstruction projects after the
1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake. ]]> https://ameblo.jp/nhknewsen/entry-10850467054.html Wed, 30 Mar 2011 21:41:19 +0900 CLINTON CERTAIN OF RECOVERY
http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/e-news/news/index.cgi?ymd=20110329
Words of encouragement coming from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

She says she is certain Japan will overcome its difficulties and make a
comeback.

(Hillary Clinton / U.S. Secretary of State)
"It's been inspiring to see how the Japanese people have responded under the
most difficult of historic experiences. I really have absolute conviction that
Japan will come back even stronger for the future."

Clinton spoke to NHK after visiting the Japanese Embassy in Washington on
Tuesday.

Signing a condolence book, Clinton wrote that one thing that shines through
is the resilient spirit of the Japanese, which is an inspiration to all
Americans.

The U.S. government is advising Americans within 80 kilometers of the
Fukushima Daiichi plant to evacuate the area. This is a lot stricter than the
Japanese advisory, a discrepancy that Clinton played down.

(Hillary Clinton / U.S. Secretary of State)
"We may have slightly different views about how to measure the danger or
measure the impact, but those are not really in any way undermining the
ongoing work that we're doing together." ]]> https://ameblo.jp/nhknewsen/entry-10850477280.html Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:47:10 +0900