The trial of 2 women charged with the murder of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's half-brother is set to continue in Malaysia.
China says it will resume trade talks with the United States to explore ways to ease their dispute.
The US government says it is expanding entry restrictions on individuals from Cambodia.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20180816200000_english_1.mp3
Key words : trial of 2 women
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180816_23/
The trial of 2 women charged with the murder of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's half-brother is set to continue in Malaysia.
The development came on Thursday after the judge decided not to acquit the accused and ordered them to present their defense.
The accused are Doan Thi Huong, from Vietnam, and Siti Aishah, from Indonesia.
Prosecutors say they smeared Kim Jong Nam's face with the highly toxic VX nerve agent at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in February last year. He died shortly after.
The women are pleading not guilty. They say they committed the act believing it was a prank for a reality TV show.
Defense lawyers say the killing was politically motivated. They're pointing to 4 other individuals linked to the North Korean Embassy in Malaysia.
The women are likely to testify in the trial which is expected to last at least 6 months. If convicted, they face the death penalty.
Key words : china resume
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180816_16/
China says it will resume trade talks with the United States to explore ways to ease their dispute.
China's Commerce Ministry said on Thursday that Vice Minister Wang Shouwen will visit the United States later this month to meet with US Treasury Undersecretary David Malpass.
These will be the first trade talks since US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He met in Beijing in June.
Official bilateral talks have been suspended because of the recent tit-for-tat imposition of tariffs on imports worth 34 billion dollars for each country.
Both countries are set to impose additional duties on imports worth 16 billion dollars from each side beginning August 23rd. Washington is also preparing to impose tariffs on 200 billion dollars' worth of Chinese products.
Attention is focused on whether the planned talks will help the 2 economic powers to find a breakthrough and ease the escalating trade tensions.
Key words : US government expanding
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180816_19/
The US government says it is expanding entry restrictions on individuals from Cambodia, saying last month's general election was "neither free nor fair."
State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert announced the step in a press briefing on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Cambodia's election board said the ruling Cambodian People's Party, led by Prime Minister Hun Sen, had won all 125 seats.
Western countries have questioned the poll's validity as the largest opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party was barred from taking part.
Nauert said the US is expanding the visa restrictions initiated last December on Cambodian government officials who have allegedly undermined democracy.
She said the expanded entry restrictions may also apply to individuals outside the government who were responsible for anti-democratic actions in the run-up to what she called the "flawed" election. She added that their immediate family members will also be subject to restrictions.
Nauert repeated her demand for the Cambodian government to allow independent media and civil society organizations to fulfill their roles unhindered.
Hun Sen's government continues to stress the legitimacy of the election results.
Key words : India interior ministry
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180816_20/
India's interior ministry says 900 people in 9 states have died in floods and landslides since the monsoon season started in July.
Weather officials say that accumulated rainfall totals are 30 percent higher than average in some places.
Torrential rain has been battering a vast area of the country from north to south, causing major flooding and landslides.
Officials say the southern state of Kerala has been hit by its highest rainfall in 90 years, and 217 people had been killed by flooding as of Wednesday.
The international airport at Kochi was closed after rain flooded the runway.
Several thousand houses in Kerala are believed to have been destroyed by floodwaters, forcing the evacuation of about 150,000 residents.
The central government has sent army, navy and air force units to carry out rescue and relief operations in Kerala and other southern states.
Landslides in a mountainous area of the northern state of Himachal Pradesh killed 20 people on Tuesday.
Weather officials warn that the downpours are forecast to continue for another week or so.
Key words : rescue search survivor
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180816_09/
Rescuers are continuing to search for survivors at the site of a collapsed highway bridge in the northern Italian city of Genoa. The country's prime minister has pledged support for the region to help it recover from the disaster that killed at least 39 people and injured 16 others.
Giuseppe Conte said the bridge collapse was an unacceptable tragedy that shouldn't happen in a modern society. He added that the government will do everything it can to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
Conte also said the government will revoke the motorway operator's concession, citing its poor safety management.
A 200-meter section of the reinforced concrete bridge suddenly gave way during a storm on Tuesday.
The bridge is part of a major artery linking northern Italy and southern France. Many vacationers are thought to have been on the highway when the accident occurred.
Local media say more than 10 people may still be trapped in the rubble.
Investigators are probing what caused the collapse. The bridge was built in the 1960s.
The country's parliament reportedly discussed the quality of the bridge's concrete structure 2 years ago.
Key words : Afghan
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180816_04/
More than 30 people have been killed when a man blew himself up at an educational facility in a mainly Shiite area in the Afghan capital, Kabul. A government official said about 60 others were wounded.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Wednesday's blast.
Kabul has had several weeks of relative calm. But previous attacks on Shiite targets in the area have been claimed by Islamic State militants.
Many preparatory school students and high school students were reportedly gathered in the facility as the bomber rushed into the site.
Frequent terror attacks in the war-torn country hit facilities of government and security forces, as well as so-called soft targets where many people gather.
Key words : Indonesian success
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180816_21/
Indonesian President Joko Widodo delivered his annual national address in parliament on Thursday and stressed the success of his economic policies.
The president said he has strived for improvement in the country's infrastructure and productivity since he took office in 2014.
He highlighted his achievements, including lower unemployment and an improved standard of living.
Joko expressed his resolve to seek reelection in the presidential race set for next April, saying that Indonesians will never stop moving ahead.
Recent opinion polls put his approval rating at around 60 percent.
Indonesia's gross domestic product has grown about 5 percent annually since Joko took office.
But the Indonesian rupiah continues to weaken as investors have moved to shift funds from Indonesia to the United States, where a hike in key interest rates is expected.
Observers say economic policy will hold the key for Joko as he seeks reelection.
Key words : official US state California
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180816_13/
Officials in the US state of California are using a military drone to help extinguish its biggest wildfire on record.
The officials said on Wednesday that 11 people, including firefighters, have died in the wildfires that have broken out amid the intense heat wave. They said that the largest fire has burned nearly 130,000 hectares in Mendocino and the surrounding areas north of San Francisco.
A California National Guard official says a military drone has been deployed to monitor the wildfires. The Reaper drone can report real-time ground temperatures to firefighters.
This information helps firefighters to find the blazes and prevent them from spreading. The drone can also predict the direction they are likely to take.
The official says trees are very dry and the wildfires have become extremely intense.
Key words : subway system
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180816_06/
The Los Angeles subway system will become the first in the United States to roll out body scanners for security.
The machines can detect suspicious items from 9 meters away. They allow full-body screening of passengers walking through a station without slowing them down.
The scanners are said to be capable of inspecting upward of 2,000 people per hour.
The devices are expected to be an effective means to crack down on terrorism in subways and other public transportation.
They will be installed in the LA subway system within several months.
Local media report that the introduction will be part of strengthening measures against terrorism ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Key words : woman detained
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180816_11/
A woman has been detained for 5 days for claiming there was a bomb on a plane at an airport in southern China.
Officials at Nanning Wuxu International Airport evacuated more than 170 passengers last week, but no explosives were found on the aircraft. The flight's departure was delayed by about 2-and-a-half hours.
The woman was reportedly angry because she had mistakenly bought a ticket for a flight the next day. She told staff at the check-in counter there was a bomb on the plane in the hope this would give them time to solve the problem and find her a seat.
Police arrested and detained the woman for 5 days.
There have been a number of similar cases in China this year of flights being delayed by hoax bomb threats.
The woman has been harshly criticized on social media. Many people are calling for stricter punishments for such incidents. Some say the 5-day detention was too lenient and she should have been given a prison sentence.
Key words : volcano warned
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180816_24/
Japan's Meteorological Agency is warning that the volcano on Kuchinoerabu Island in the country's southwest remains active despite a decline in the number of volcanic earthquakes.
Only one volcanic quake had been detected as of 6 PM on Thursday, compared with 37 the day before, when the agency raised the eruption alert to the second highest level of 4.
That level requires the 100 or so residents of the island to prepare to evacuate.
On Thursday, the agency said a major eruption is still possible given the continuing seismic activity.
Kyoto University Professor Masato Iguchi also warned of the presence of significant levels of volcanic gas on Thursday.
Iguchi conducted a survey by helicopter and said he could smell the gas, even from inside the craft.
He added that he could not visually check the crater due to cloud cover at the summit.
Iguchi stressed that it's too early to judge if the seismic activity has subsided, citing the fact that there has been only a single day of reduced activity.
In 2015, the volcano erupted, forcing residents to evacuate.
Key words : Japanese government bad weather
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180816_17/
The Japanese government says bad weather has forced the postponement of landfill work at a site for a new US military base in waters off Okinawa.
The government had notified Okinawa Prefecture that it planned to begin placing soil and sand inside seawalls at the reclamation site off Henoko in Nago City as early as Friday.
The land is being reclaimed to relocate the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in the city of Ginowan on Okinawa's main island to the less-populated coastal area.
But the Defense Ministry on Thursday decided to postpone the work because of a tropical storm.
Some members of the government and ruling parties say it will not matter if the start of the work is delayed until after next month's gubernatorial election. The election is being held because of the death of Governor Takeshi Onaga, who strongly opposed the relocation plan.
Observers say the government also wants to see how prefectural officials will proceed with their plan to revoke the landfill permit to block the base relocation.
Key words : largest food
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180816_22/
Asia's largest food trade show has just opened in Hong Kong, the top importer of Japanese farm and other food products.
The Hong Kong Food Expo 2018 runs from Thursday to Monday. Over 1,500 exhibitors, the largest ever, are taking part from 23 countries and regions.
Over 300 Japanese firms and industry groups are pitching their products -- including sake, meat, seafood, vegetables and fruits.
Agriculture minister Ken Saito attended the opening ceremony at the Japan Pavilion. Exhibitors, most of them smaller firms, are inviting visitors to try a taste of Japan.
A fruit firm from Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo, is offering quick-frozen strawberries.
Company officials say the product is easy to use for jam and other delicacies.
A Hong Kong woman who tried the fruit says it is so fresh she feels as if she was eating it in Japan.
Farmers in Tochigi and 3 other prefectures have just been allowed to sell their products in Hong Kong for the first time in 7 years. The Hong Kong government eased an import ban, in place after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident, on the condition that the products must have a radiation safety certificate issued by Japanese authorities.
Takuma Okoshi of the Tochigi strawberry firm says now that the ban is lifted, the firm plans to aggressively sell its products. Okoshi says the densely populated region is a very attractive market.
Japanese farm exports to Hong Kong have increased year on year, with a rise in demand on the Chinese mainland.
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