Nagasaki marks anniversary of atomic bomb attack

August 9, 2012

Tokyo

Tokyo, August 9: Japanese officials pledged on Thursday to seek a society less reliant on nuclear energy as the country marked the 67th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.


About 6,000 people gathered at a peace park near the epicentre of the 1945 blast, including students and the mayor of one of the towns most affected by last year's nuclear disaster.


Almost a year and half after the world's second worst accident at a nuclear power plant, concerns about the safety of nuclear energy and radiation effects persist.


Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue said, the accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, which was struck by a tsunami last March, has revealed the risk of nuclear technology.


Taue urged Japan to map out concrete plans to achieve a nuclear-free society where people don't need to worry about the effects of radiation. He also called for renewed commitment to a global ban on nuclear weapons.


Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda renewed his promise to seek a society less reliant to nuclear power in a mid to long-term policy platform due out within weeks.


“We will compile an energy structure that would reassure the safety of the people,” he said.


Japan is compiling its energy policy for the next two decades. Noda's government is making a decision on how much Japan should reduce the share of nuclear energy by 2030.


Within a three day period in 1945, the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, first on Hiroshima, killing 140,000 people, and then on Nagasaki, killing 70,000. The attacks prompted Japan's World War II surrender.


The United States sent its ambassador, John Roos, to Nagasaki for the first time this year, a year after his deputy attended the ceremony.



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News Network
April 27,2020

London, Apr 27: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson returns to work on Monday more than three weeks after being hospitalised for the coronavirus and spending three days in intensive care.

Johnson, one of the highest-profile people to have contracted the virus, returned to 10 Downing Street on Sunday evening and will chair a meeting on Monday morning of the coronavirus "war cabinet", his colleagues confirmed.

Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary who has deputised in Johnson's absence, told the BBC on Sunday that his return would be a "boost for the government and a boost for the country".

Raab also claimed the prime minister was "raring to go".

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His condition worsened and he later admitted after being put in intensive care that "things could have gone either way".

He was discharged on April 12 and has been recuperating at his official residence, west of London.

In a video message after leaving hospital, Johnson thanked "Jenny from New Zealand and Luis from Portugal" for helping him recover.

On medical advice, he has not been doing official government work during his convalescence but has spoken to Queen Elizabeth and US President Donald Trump on the phone.

The British leader was diagnosed with the virus late last month but initially stayed at Downing Street and was filmed taking part in a round of applause for health workers in the days before he went to hospital.

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Brent crude futures fell 66 cents, or 1.7%, at $38.07 a barrel as of 0016 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 81 cents, or 2.2%, to $35.45 a barrel.

Both benchmarks ended down about 8% last week, their first weekly declines since April, hit by the U.S. coronavirus concerns: More than 25,000 new cases were reported on Saturday alone as more states, including Florida and Texas, reported record new infection highs.

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Iraq, one of the laggards in complying with the curbs, agreed with its major oil companies to cut crude production further in June, Iraqi officials working at the fields told Reuters on Sunday.

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The number of deaths was 4,076 -- more than twice the 2,010 recorded late Saturday.

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On Tuesday the United States exceeded the number of deaths in China, where the pandemic emerged in December before spreading worldwide.

The number of confirmed US cases has reached 189,510, the most in the world, though Italy and Spain have recorded more fatalities.

After initially downplaying the threat from new coronavirus in the early stages of the US outbreak, President Donald Trump warned of "a very, very painful two weeks" to come for the country on Tuesday.

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