Key words : governor 40 online
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210227_12/
The governors of about 40 Japanese prefectures have met online the day before the lifting of the coronavirus state of emergency for six prefectures. Many stressed the importance of measures to prevent a resurgence in new cases.
The National Governors' Association convened an emergency task force meeting online on Saturday.
The emergency declaration will be lifted on Sunday for six prefectures including Osaka and Aichi, but remains in place for Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures through March 7.
Osaka Governor Yoshimura Hirofumi said preventing a rebound in new cases is extremely important.
He said he has asked restaurants and bars in Osaka City to close by 9 p.m. through March 21. Such establishments are being asked to close by 8 p.m. under the state of emergency.
Yoshimura says he wants to see case numbers stay low while allowing social and economic activities.
Aichi Governor Ohmura Hideaki said the prefecture's own COVID-19 restrictions will remain in force during the first two weeks of March. He has urged people to remain vigilant for a possible resurgence as there will be many events and group-dining occasions related to graduation and entrance ceremonies in March and April.
Governor Ono Motohiro of Saitama, where the declaration will remain in place, said there had been a slowdown in the rate of decline of new cases. He added there are concerns over high hospital bed occupancies and the spread of variants.
He said his prefecture is not yet ready for the lifting of the declaration and called for continued efforts to stem new infections through March 7.
The governors later drew up emergency recommendations for the central government.
They called for robust anti-virus measures, even after the state of emergency is lifted.
They also asked the government to provide economic and employment support for prefectures not under the state of emergency and industries where shorter business hours have not been requested.
Key words : US food and johnson
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210227_09/
A panel advising the US Food and Drug Administration has voted in favor of emergency-use authorization for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson.
The FDA heard opinions on the vaccine's efficacy and safety during a meeting on Friday. The panel consists of external experts. A majority of them concluded the vaccine's benefits outweigh its risks when administered to people aged 18 or older.
The FDA is likely to authorize the J&J vaccine soon. If approved, it will be the third COVID-19 vaccine available in the United States. The two other vaccines, each developed by Pfizer and Moderna, require two shots as opposed to a single shot for the J&J vaccine.
The J&J vaccine can be stored at refrigerator temperatures of between two to eight degrees Celsius for at least three months. It is therefore expected to help boost the pace of vaccinations.
J&J says as soon as emergency use is approved, it will supply 100 million doses by the end of June under an agreement with the US government.
Key words : Biden comment
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210227_11/
US President Joe Biden has urged Americans to remain vigilant against the coronavirus by getting vaccinated, washing their hands, maintaining social distance, and wearing masks.
He made the comments after inspecting a mass vaccination site in Houston, Texas, on Friday.
Biden said the United States is leading the world in the number of people vaccinated. He added that cases and hospitalizations are decreasing but they could go up as new variants emerge. He said, "It's not the time to relax."
There are reports that in addition to more transmissible strains originally detected in Britain and South Africa, another new variant is spreading in New York City and the state of California.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is closely monitoring the situation.
Key words : johns hopkins 20 million US
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Key words : US saudi
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210227_07/
A United States intelligence report has found Saudi Arabia's crown prince, who is the de facto leader in the Kingdom, approved the killing of a dissident journalist.
The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence released the assessment on the death of Jamal Khashoggi on Friday.
Khashoggi was killed in 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
The report says, "We assess that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi."
Reasons given for the assessment include the direct involvement of his adviser and close aides in the killing, and his support for using violent measures to silence dissidents, including Khashoggi.
The report added, "The Crown Prince has had absolute control of the Kingdom's security and intelligence organizations, making it highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this nature without the Crown Prince's authorization."
After the report was released, the US government announced sanctions. It freezed US assets of a Saudi senior intelligence officer and a government organization.
It also announced visa restrictions on 76 Saudi citizens.
Saudi Arabia rejected the assessment.
The foreign ministry said in a statement carried by a state news agency that the report contained inaccurate information and conclusions.
It said the individuals who were involved were sentenced by courts, which was welcomed by Khashoggi's family.
The statement did not specify which part of the report was inaccurate.
The Saudi government announced in September last year that its court sentenced five men for their involvement in the killing in a final ruling.
But their positions in the government were not made public, which prompted international criticism.
Key words : nigeria
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210227_06/
Gunmen in Nigeria have reportedly abducted more than 300 schoolgirls in the northwestern state of Zamfara. No group has claimed responsibility so far.
In a statement, the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, strongly condemned the attack and demanded the immediate release of the girls.
Reuters said the attack took place at a government school on Friday.
Police and military personnel are searching an area of woodland where the gunmen are believed to have taken the girls.
Armed groups have recently staged a series of attacks aimed at taking children for ransom.
In 2014, Islamist militant group Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls in the country's northeast.
In December 2020, more than 300 boys were taken from a dormitory. They were later freed.
Key words : hiroshima
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210227_13/
A museum in the atomic-bombed Japanese city of Hiroshima has reopened after replacing many of its regular exhibits.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum has about 100,000 items related to the 1945 bombing, including articles donated by survivors and the families of the deceased and photos from the time.
It reopened on Saturday after closing for three days for its first major rearrangement since its renewal in 2019.
All exhibits have been replaced in the area that shows articles left behind by children who died after being mobilized to work in factories.
New exhibits include bags and uniforms of children who are believed to have died near the ground zero but whose bodies have not been found.
In the area that focuses on individual victims of the bombing, a uniform and a lunch box belonging to a girl who died at age 13 were on display. A message written by her family says these articles symbolize the ravages of war, and her family hopes visitors will think about how they would feel if it happened to them.
A man in his 50s visiting from Yokohama City, near Tokyo, says as a father, it was hard to look at the exhibits. He said he used to think nuclear weapons were a necessary evil but he now realizes that they should not exist.
Key words : firefighter struggling
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210227_01/
Firefighters are struggling to contain a forest fire that has burned for nearly a week in Ashikaga City, north of Tokyo, with dry conditions expected to continue for at least several more days.
The fire broke out on Sunday in southwestern Tochigi Prefecture. Officials say about 106 hectares had burned as of 6 p.m. on Friday, and the fire continues to spread.
Self-Defense Force helicopters sprayed water onto the fire on Friday, as firefighters battled the blaze on the ground.
City officials said they received no reports of injuries, but flames destroyed a wooden Shinto shrine on a mountainside.
The city issued a new evacuation advisory to nearly 100 households on Friday morning. More than 300 households have been advised to evacuate.
East Nippon Expressway Company said sections of its expressway near the fire are closed.
Local weather officials issued a dry air advisory for the prefecture for an 11th straight day on Friday, saying substantial rain is unlikely before next week.
City officials said the fire is controlled to the extent that it is unlikely to spread to nearby residential areas.
They said they hope firefighters are able to enter the fire area on Saturday. They are expected to put out smoldering blazes and remove charred trees.
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