Key words : jump-start peace talk
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220423_N01/
Russian forces have been laying siege to the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol for weeks. They have been battling to take control of the key port. Commanders now say the troops have accomplished their objective.
Fighting in the city has been focused on a large steel-making complex, where Ukrainian troops are making a stand and where many civilians are sheltering. Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov says the facility has been "blockaded." President Vladimir Putin had ordered his forces to contain the plant rather than storm it.
Konashenkov said the situation in Mariupol has returned to normal. He added that residents are now able to walk the streets freely, without having to take cover from shelling by those he called "Ukrainian Nazis."
Konashenkov also said the Russian air force is striking military targets in other areas. However, in Ukraine's second largest city of Kharkiv, shells hit a residential building and the main marketplace. Ukrainian officials said one person was killed and six others injured.
Analysts believe that May 9 may be a critical day in the invasion, because it is the date Russians celebrate their victory over Germany in World War Two. They say Putin wants to put more areas in eastern and southern Ukraine under control by then. A Russian official in Mariupol has already announced a military parade will take place in the city on the date.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is trying to jump-start peace talks. He will travel to Moscow for a meeting with Putin on Tuesday. He is also trying to set up a visit with Ukrainian leaders.
Putin had previously spoken with the president of the European Council, Charles Michel. He accused Ukrainian leaders of being inconsistent and dealing in bad faith. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov echoed those comments. On Friday, he said that negotiations have "ground to a halt."
Key words : antonio moscow
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220423_12/
The United Nations says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will meet with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday and with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv two days later.
A UN spokesperson told reporters on Friday that while in Moscow, Guterres will have a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and will be received by Putin on Tuesday.
The spokesperson said the UN chief is hoping to discuss what can be done "in order to silence the guns, in order to help the people and in order to allow the people who need to get out and have safe passage."
The UN says Guterres will then travel to Ukraine and hold talks with Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday.
Guterres has repeatedly urged Russia to exercise restraint, and has been calling on the sides to broker a ceasefire on humanitarian grounds to stop civilian casualties.
Key words : mass grave
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220423_14/
US company Maxar Technologies released on Friday satellite images of what appears to be a second mass grave near Mariupol, the key eastern Ukraine port which has been under heavy attack from Russia.
Five pictures, taken on either March 22, 29 or April 15, cover an area about 12 kilometers east of Mariupol. They show the spread of newly dug trenches. The company said the site contains several parallel trenches measuring about 40 meters long.
Earlier on Thursday, Maxar made public satellite photos of an apparent mass grave site about 20 kilometers west of Mariupol. The company said it confirmed four sections of linear rows of graves each about 85 meters long.
Mariupol's city assembly said in a social media post on Friday that the freshly-identified graves could hold at least 1,000 bodies.
Ukraine has accused Russia of burying a number of bodies in various parts of Ukraine in a bid to conceal its slaughter of civilians. Such an act could constitute a war crime.
Key words : russian defense ministry
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220423_08/
Russia's defense ministry has acknowledged for the first time that there were casualties in a fire last week on its missile cruiser Moskva. The flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet sank in the Black Sea on April 14.
The ministry said in a statement on Friday that a fire which broke out on the vessel on April 13 triggered an ammunition blast. It added the ship's crew tried to extinguish the blaze but failed.
It said among the Moskva's crew, one serviceman was killed and 27 others went missing. It added the remaining 396 were evacuated and returned to Sevastopol in Russian-annexed Crimea.
The ministry also said it is providing necessary support to the families of the deceased and missing.
Earlier, the ministry maintained the entire crew had evacuated before the vessel sank. But independent media in Europe and Russia reported that dozens of crew members had died.
Meanwhile, Ukraine said it had attacked the vessel with Neptune anti-ship missiles. The US Defense Department confirmed the Ukrainian claim.
The Russian ministry has not said whether the ship was attacked by Ukraine.
Key words : import russian gas
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220423_N02/
Western nations have responded to the invasion of Ukraine by cutting back on imports of Russian oil, gas, and coal. However, the sanctions have caused energy prices to spike to record highs.
US President Joe Biden spoke about the challenge during an address on Earth Day on Friday. He said the situation is going to be hard for a while, getting through the rising cost of gasoline and other energy because of Putin and the war, but Americans are going to do it.
Biden said he wants to accelerate the transition to clean energy. However, activists have criticized him for expanding domestic oil production as a way of dealing with rising costs.
Demonstrators across Europe held Earth Day rallies to protest the imports of Russian energy. Some chanted "Cut Russian Gas! Cut Russian Gas!"
However, leaders are facing a challenge. Russian gas accounts for about 40 percent of the EU's supply. Some countries, like Germany, have been cautious about an embargo.
Leaders in the Netherlands are moving ahead. They want to cut off all Russian fossil fuels by the end of the year. They plan to do that by increasing imports from other countries and rolling out clean-energy alternatives.
Slovakia is enlarging its role as an exporter. Officials there say a domestic pipeline that is nearing completion could help supply liquid natural gas to neighboring Poland.
Key words : fishing
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220423_05/
Japanese fishers are gearing up for the annual salmon season in the northern Pacific Ocean. They'll be setting off later than usual, due to delays in fishery talks amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Japan's Fisheries Agency said on Saturday that online negotiations with Russia had effectively concluded and the two sides plan to sign an agreement early next week.
Drift-net fishing for salmon and trout traditionally begins on April 10 in Japan's exclusive economic zone off its northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido.
Ahead of the season each year, Japanese and Russian government officials meet to discuss operational details. The latest talks were delayed until April 11.
Japan has agreed to pay an annual cooperation fee to Russia of 1.6 million to 2.3 million dollars, depending on the catch. This is because most of the salmon and trout caught in the ocean originate in Russian rivers.
The minimum fee this year has been lowered by about 500,000 dollars amid declining catches in recent years.
The quota for this year will be set at 2,050 tons, the same as last year.
This year's talks are being seen as unusual, as countries including Japan have been imposing sanctions on Russia.
Key words : explosion 33
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220423_10/
An explosion at a Shia mosque in northern Afghanistan has killed at least 33 people, including children.
The blast occurred on Friday near the northern city of Kunduz.
A Taliban spokesperson tweeted that 43 others were wounded. He said the perpetrators would be caught and punished.
An aide to a senior Taliban official in Kunduz told NHK that the explosion occurred at the end of a service.
No one has claimed responsibility.
The Islamic State group has said it was responsible for a Shia mosque bombing in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif on Thursday that killed more than 30 people.
Explosions targeting Shia mosques are raising concerns as many Muslims visit mosques during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Key words : china solomon warned
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220423_06/
A senior US delegation has visited the Solomon Islands and warned of responses if the Pacific island nation allows China to establish a permanent military presence.
National Security Council Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink headed the visit. They met with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare on Friday.
The White House said in a statement that the delegation expressed concern over the potential impact on regional security for the US and its allies of the security agreement signed between the Solomon Islands and China.
It also said the US would "respond accordingly" if steps were taken for China to establish a de facto permanent military presence in the Solomon Islands.
The statement said Sogavare reiterated his assurance that "there would be no military base, no long-term presence, and no power projection capability" by China.
The US delegation also outlined steps Washington will take to bolster ties with the Solomon Islands. These include opening an embassy and dispatching a hospital ship to support public health.
The administration of US President Joe Biden has been closely following China's involvement with the Pacific island nation which is close to Australia, a US ally.
Key words : brazil carnival
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220423_15/
The famed Carnival in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro is reaching its climax with two nights of parades by the city's top samba teams, which got underway on Friday.
The annual summer event was canceled for the first time ever last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. This year's event, originally scheduled for late February, was postponed for two months due to the spread of the Omicron variant.
The 12 top samba teams, each comprising 2,500 to 3,600 members, took part in a contest on Friday night, with the colorfully-attired dancers making their way through the Sambodromo grounds on decorated floats.
Brazil has recorded around 660,000 deaths from the pandemic. Rio de Janeiro has been one of the hardest-hit areas.
Some of the teams have chosen pandemic-related themes for this year's event.
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