at 18:00 (JST), February 27

 

20250227180000_english_1.mp3

Glad to have you with us on this edition of NHK Newsline. I'm Raja Pradhan with the news from Tokyo.

We begin in Japan's northeast. Police say they've found one person dead while firefighters worked to contain a wildfire. Officials say at least 84 houses and buildings in Ofunato City have been damaged.
The remains were found in the Sanrikucho Ryori area. An NHK crew spoke to evacuees in Ofunato Thursday morning.

I am so distressed. I cannot sleep. It was like a volcanic explosion. The flames were rising in the sky with tremendous force. It was scary.

Police say the blazes started on Wednesday afternoon and spread in several parts of the city. More than 600 hectares had reportedly burned. Police and firefighters are continuing to search for anyone injured or missing. The city issued an evacuation order for all 2,060 people in Sanrikcho Rryori. Another 54 people in the Attari district were also ordered to evacuate. The city says as of Thursday morning, 540 people have taken shelter in evacuation centers.

I'll do my best to get the fire under control quickly. I stand by the people who are affected and will work to cast aside their concerns.

Dry air advisories have been issued for the southern coast of Iwate Prefecture, where Ofunato is located, for over a week. Firefighting efforts are ongoing around residential areas. Self-Defense Forces helicopters began aerial water drops Thursday morning.

An armed ethnic minority group in Myanmar says it's freed more than 7,000 foreigners from scam centers.
A large number of foreigners are believed to have been forced to work in scam operations in eastern Myanmar, near the border with Thailand. The group, called BGF, controls the area. It's launched raids on these centers, including one known as KK Park, on Wednesday.
The group says it's rescued 7,141 foreigners from scam centers since January.

You guys want to go home?

Yeah. You don't like this work before you want to go home, but they say that they can't pay money.

It says those rescued come from around 30 countries and regions. They include over 4,800 people from China, around 570 from Vietnam,More than 520 from India and 430 from Ethiopia.

The criminal group ran away with the help of other groups before we formed a special unit to carry out the operation.

A senior member of the BGF said few trafficked people remain at the centers.
He added the group will continue its search.

Japan's defense ministry says it spotted China's GJ-2 drone in the skies around Japan for the first time. The GJ-2 drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle with attack capabilities used for reconnaissance. The ministry says it flew over the East China Sea on Wednesday, and it detected another Chinese reconnaissance drone flying on a similar route. The drones passed between Okinawa Prefecture's main island and Miyako Island, en route to the Pacific Ocean. They then changed direction northeastward and reached an area east of the island of Amami Oshima. The craft later turned around and flew back toward China. In response, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force scrambled fighter jets. The ministry says the Chinese drones did not violate Japan's territorial airspace.

US President Donald Trump has posted a video showing what appears to be his vision for the Gaza Strip. He previously said Palestinians should leave the enclave so it could become the Riviera of the Middle East.

Donald, it's not going to set you free, bringing the light

The 30-second video was posted on Trump's Truth Social account Tuesday.
It was likely created using generative AI. It begins with shots of war-torn Gaza before suddenly revealing a coastal resort. The video includes images of a giant golden Trump statue, US and Israeli leaders sunbathing, and shots of Palestinian children reaching for cash as it falls from the sky. Trump's idea has been widely criticized for violating international law. Some Gazans who've seen the video are not impressed. This man told Reuters news agency Gaza should be rebuilt with its people, not without them. Another said no one would be happy to leave their home, saying he intends to stay.
The video was posted as the first phase of the ceasefire nears its end.
Israel and Hamas are expected to complete the stage of the hostage detainee exchange soon. The identities of four bodies recently returned by Hamas have yet to be confirmed. This phase is due to end Saturday, but Israeli media say it may be extended by a week. A second phase would involve a permanent end to the fighting. A local TV station says those talks may begin in Cairo as early as Monday. Now, reports say the US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, may take part in those negotiations, but the talks are expected to be tough. Israel will likely demand the disarming of Hamas and the expulsion of its leaders in exchange for a full withdrawal of Israeli troops.

Trump says he's making good on the campaign promises he made to the American people. He's touting his success on border control and on talks with Russia and Ukraine. He made the comments during the first meeting with his new cabinet.

We put together a great cabinet and we've had tremendous success and we've been given a lot of credit for having a very successful first month, and we want to make that many months and years, actually.

Elon Musk joined the officials despite not being a cabinet member. He heads the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE. He warned the US will become de facto bankrupt if leaders do not rein in spending.

The overall goal here with the DOGE team is to help address the enormous deficit. We simply cannot sustain as a country $2 trillion deficits.

Trump says he supports Musk's plan to conduct mass layoffs of federal employees. 

We're cutting down the size of government. We have to. We're bloated. We're sloppy. We have a lot of people that aren't doing their job.

Trump has been able to staff his cabinet at a quicker pace than in his first term. He's seen 13 officials assume their posts in a little over a month. In his first term, it took more than three months. for 15 to be approved by the Senate.

Ukraine and the United States have reached a broad agreement on jointly developing Ukraine's mineral resources.
And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sees progress towards security guarantees he's been seeking over the deal.

Even in the framework agreement, I wanted for there to be at least a sentence mentioning security guarantees for Ukraine.

Ukraine has been pressing for US security pledges to prevent future attacks by Russia. Media reports say the final draft for the minerals deal includes the sentence, The government of the United States of America supports Ukraine's efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace. Zelenskyy also said it's important for his country not to be in debt. The United States reportedly has demanded rights to some of the huge revenues to be reaped from Ukraine's mineral resources. Zelensky said the draft does not contain such a claim.
Zelensky will visit Washington on Friday. He said the fact that Trump is meeting with him before sitting down with Russian President Vladimir Putin sends an important signal. At Wednesday's cabinet meeting, Trump called the deal he expects to sign with Zelenskyy a very big agreement.

In other news, Russia's ruling party has praised North Korea's support for the country's attack on Ukraine.
United Russia said Tuesday one of its senior officials met with a visiting delegation from the North's ruling Workers' Party. United Russia referred to an accord the two parties signed on interaction and cooperation seven years ago, saying much has changed in the world since then. It said Russians and North Koreans have become even closer.
The Russian side said it highly appreciates Pyongyang's support for what Moscow calls its special military operation in Ukraine. The Russian party also said it asked the North Korean side to join an international meeting on the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II to be held in late April.

♪

As we've been reporting, forest fires continue to rage in parts of Japan's northeast. Our meteorologist Yumi Hirano has more on the situation. So Yumi, what's the latest?

Dry conditions are a concern for much of the Pacific side of Japan. The city has received only 2.5 millimeters of rainfall this month. A dry air advisory is still in effect for eastern Iwate, including the city, and for many areas from Hokkaido to Kyushu.
Meanwhile, on the Sea of Japan side, a different situation is causing an issue.
Impacts from heavy snowfall are still continuing.
Buildings collapsed under the weight of the snow in parts of Niigata Prefecture, where nearly four meters had accumulated.
The snow is still disrupting travel, with local train services suspended Thursday due to snow removal. Fatal accidents have also occurred. Police said a man in Nagano Prefecture was killed after being buried under snow that fell from a roof. Officials are warning of avalanches and melting snow. Temperatures are likely to be higher over the weekend. Even Sapporo will see double digits. Niigata may see 14 on Saturday, which is as warm as in April. There are high risks of avalanches and flash flooding due to snow melting. The highs in Tokyo may hit 20 on Saturday and Sunday, but it's expected to drop to single digits next week.
Moving to Africa, we can see two circulating systems on the satellite. One is expected to move away from Madagascar, but another system is likely to approach southern parts of the islands over the weekend. The system is large and it's expected to bring impact even without making landfall. So heavy wind is likely from Thursday and there is a whisk of strong winds starting on Friday.
That's all for the weather. Stay safe.

♫～

Here's one more story before we wrap up.
It was crunch time for fruit buried beneath the snow in northeastern Japan.
It's a local practice to boost its sweetness.
Around 30 people gathered for an annual event Wednesday to dig up the winter treat in Aomori Prefecture. Heavy machinery was used to clear more than 4 meters of accumulated snow. Shovels were then used to remove the last snow around crates containing 30,000 bright red Sanfuji apples. They had been stored under the snow, where the temperature and humidity remained constant for about two months. These conditions boost their sweetness. The event took place at an elevation of about 750 meters in the Hakoda mountain range, with participants savoring the special winter delicacy.

Delicious. These are very sweet and the juiciness is completely different.

The apples will reach supermarket shelves across the nation starting on Thursday.

And that's all for now on this edition of NHK Newsline. I'm Raja Pradhan in Tokyo.
Thanks for joining us.