at 18:00 (JST), June 15

20250615180000_english_1.mp3

Welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Ramin Mellegard in Tokyo.

Military parade held in Washington amid calls for counter protests

The Trump administration held a large scale military parade in Washington on Saturday. It coincided with the president's 79th birthday and sparked protests across the United States.
The parade began in the evening from the Lincoln Memorial, went along the National Mall to the South side of the White House. The US Army says the event featured about 150 military vehicles, including mainstay Abrams tanks and some 50 aircraft. An estimated 6,700 soldiers took part.
US media called it the first major military parade in Washington since the one staged by President George HW Bush after the 1991 Gulf War. The Pentagon estimates the cost of the parade, which marks the 250th anniversary of the Army's founding, at up to $45 million. President Trump made an address.

Thank you to the greatest, fiercest, and bravest fighting force ever to stride the face of this earth, the United States Army.

But the parade has drawn criticism from those who say it's misuse of military resources and some others who say the armed forces are being politicized.
Protests billed as No Kings rallies were held on the same day across the US.
In Los Angeles, demonstrators filled the square in front of the City Hall. The city has already seen a series of protests against the immigration policy of the Trump administration.
Some of the participants headed to a federal building and confronted Marine personnel who were on guard. Police have also mobilized officers on horseback to forcibly remove protesters who defied orders to disperse. The organizers of the rallies say at least 5 million people took part at more than 2,100 locations, including Washington and New York.

Minnesota lawmakers and spouses shot in 'political violence,' 2 dead

And two Democratic lawmakers in the US state of Minnesota and their spouses were shot at their homes on Saturday, with one couple dying. The state's governor calls it an act of targeted political violence.
Police say around 2:00 AM local time, they received a call reporting that State Senator John Hoffman and his wife had been shot at their home. Commenting on their condition, police say the couple were obviously in a difficult situation.
Police say after learning that the Hoffmans had been shot, officers went to check on the home of State Representative Melissa Hortman. There, they encountered a suspect who they believe was impersonating a police officer.
Police say the suspect exchanged gunfire with officers, then fled the scene.
Authorities announced that Hortman and her husband had died.
Police say they've identified the suspect as a 57 year old man. ABC News quotes several sources as saying that a list was found in the suspect's car with the names of Democratic politicians and activists supporting abortion.
Democratic Governor Tim Walz condemned the incident, saying it appears to be a politically motivated assassination.

We must all, Minnesota and across the country, stand against all forms of political violence.

Police are continuing to search for the suspect.

Iran: New offensive operations against Israel underway

Hostilities between Israel and Iran continue to escalate as both sides launch fresh attacks on each other throughout the weekend. Leaders around the world are holding separate talks in an effort to ease tensions.
Iran's media reported that a Defense Ministry headquarters administrative building in Tehran sustained damage following an Israeli attack early Sunday.
Iran's state-run news agency also quoted the oil ministry as saying that two oil storage facilitiesin the capital were attacked. Now, on Saturday, Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement. It says the new wave of operations targeted Israeli jet fuel production facilities and energy supply centers in retaliation for the continuing attacks. The statement says the strikes used missiles and drones, adding that the operations will continue more fiercely and widely if Israel's aggressions continue.
Now, meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump held telephone talks, a senior official at the Russian presidential office as Putin expressed readiness. Russia to act as an intermediary. The British Prime Minister's Office has also announced that Prime Minister Keir Starmer held telephone talks with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and confirmed the need to ease tensions.

Japanese anime 'ChaO' wins award at global anime film festival in France

And the Japanese animated film ChaO has won the jury prize in the feature films category at the renowned Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France.
The film, directed by Aoki Yasuhiro, was honored with the award on Saturday. ChaO depicts a future society where humans and mermaids coexist. It's a love story involving a regular office worker and Princess Chao from the Mermaid Kingdom. A special prize was awarded to another Japanese director. The Paul Grimaud Award went to Dandelion's Odyssey, directed by Japanese-born Seto Momoko. The top prize, the Cristal Award in the feature category, went to the French film Arco.

India sets up high-level panel for Air India plane crash investigation

Now, India's government has set up a committee to investigate the Air India jet crash. Local media report that the death toll from Thursday's accident has surpassed 270, including those killed on the ground.
The government on Saturday announced the formation of the committee, which is independent from the investigation by the aviation authorities. The committee includes high-level officials from both the government and the military. It'll hold its first session on Monday and plans to submit a report in three months.
The passenger plane left the western city of Ahmedabad for Gatwick Airport near London, with 242 people on board.
It crashed shortly after takeoff. Only one person on board survived the crash.
The plane hit the dormitory of a Medical College. Medical staff told NHK that at the time, many students were having lunch at the cafeteria. 4 students there were reportedly left dead and more than forty others injured. Many workers at the facility and their family members are feared dead.

And here's a three day forecast for selected cities around the globe.

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Japan's northeastern region showcases summer festivals at Osaka Expo

And before we go, now people from Northeastern Japan have showcased their traditional summer festivals at the World Expo in Osaka.
The Tohoku Kizuna Festival was established to help the region recover from the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami. The annual event combines six major summer festivals,People from Kohoku held a special version of the festival at the expo to express gratitude for all the support they've received for their rebuilding efforts. Participants from Akita Prefecture hoisted 12 meter long bamboo poles adorned with paper lanterns. And dancers from Yamagata Prefecture performed while waving straw hats decorated with red flowers. People from Fukushima Prefecture marched through the venue carrying a 12-meter-long straw sandal.
I had so much fun dancing.
I hope we showed our region's recovery.
And next year's festival will be held in Morioka, in Iwate Prefecture.

And that's a wrap for this edition of NHK Newsline. I'm Ramin Mellegard.

Thank you very much for joining us.