August 3rd, 2019

今日は真面目な話が多かった。

1)   Japan hanged two death-row inmates Friday morning, the Justice Ministry said, in the country’s first executions this year.

2)   The U.S. has recorded nearly 20 mass killings so far this year, the majority of them domestic violence attacks that receive scant national attention compared to high-profile public shootings in recent years at schools, churches and concerts.

3)   Scientists in Japan will begin trying to grow human organs in animals after receiving government permission for the first study of its kind in the country.

The cutting-edge — but controversial — research involves implanting modified animal embryos with human “induced pluripotent stem” (iPS) cells that can be coaxed into forming the building blocks of any part of the body.

4)   The operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan said Thursday it will end its mobile payment service 7pay in late September, only three months after its launch, after hundreds of customers suffered as a result of unauthorized access to their accounts.

5)   US President Donald Trump says the US is going to impose an additional tariff of 10 percent on 300 billion dollars’ worth of Chinese products, starting on September 1st. Almost all imports from China would be subject to additional tariffs if the measure goes into effect.

6)   Friday’s expiration of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is raising concerns about the possibility of a new arms race, as the pact has led the momentum for nuclear disarmament for more than 30 years.

On February 2, the United States notified Russia that it would pull out of the treaty that bans the production, possession and test-firing of ground-based ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. Russia responded that it would also exit the INF.

7)   Poland’s Catholic Church has doubled down on the anti-gay rhetoric that has become the nationalist ruling party’s dominant theme in recent weeks.

8)   U.S. President Donald Trump has described protests in Hong Kong as “riots” that China will have to deal with itself, signaling a hands-off approach to the biggest political crisis gripping the former British colony in decades.

9)   People connected to the government of Saudi Arabia have run a network of fake accounts and pages on Facebook Inc <FB.O> to promote state propaganda and attack regional rivals, the social media giant said on Thursday.

10)   Japan will not send warships to join a U.S.-led maritime force to guard oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz fearing a military response from Iran,