tokyo gore police - NPR NEWS 2007-07-08

Posted by Yuka as City Tokyo

tokyo gore police - From NPR news in Washington, I’m Nora Raum.

A truck bomb exploded in a crowded outdoor market in northern Baghdad today. According to police at least 20 people were killed and dozens more were wounded. Also today authorities report another six US troops were killed in Iraq in recent days.

Hundreds of people gathered at London’s King’s Cross subway station today to mark the second anniversary of the suicide bombings of the city’s transit system. NPR’s Jackie Northam reports.
The memorial at King’s Cross station began at precisely 8:47 in the morning, the same time the first bomb exploded two years ago in one of London’s underground trains. Three more suicide bombers struck in rapid succession on the city’s transit system leaving 52 people dead. In that time Britain has vastly increased its counter-terrorism efforts, but it was a combination of luck and bumbling by potential suicide bombers that prevented another series of attacks last weekend. 8 suspects have been arrested in those failed terror plots. One of them Bilal Abdullah appeared in a London courtroom and was charged with conspiracy to cause explosions. There was heavy security in the courtroom. There was also a stepped-up police presence in the city for a series of events including the start of the Tour de France, the Wimbledon Tennis Finals and the Live Earth concert. Jackie Northam, NPR news, London.

The Live Earth concerts began this morning in Sydney and Tokyo. The pop music shows are designed to raise awareness of climate change. The BBC’s Chris Hogg is at the Tokyo concert.
From J-pop to heavy rock, there is something for every taste. From overseas there are American outfit nu-metal love fad Linkin Park, and from the UK Nirvana, the cavernous venue here is filling up steadily for this 9-hour gig. Outside there are boogies run by environmental groups like Friends of the Earth, and GreenPeace and by companies like Mercedes-Benz who are promoting what they say their green credentials. Most young Japanese people are already, well-used to recycling, and other efforts to reduce green house gases. But this concert hasn’t been heavily promoted, so it’s hard to see what effect it will have on others who might not yet have got the message. The BBC’ Chris Hogg reporting from Tokyo.

Former Vice President Al Gore made an appearance at the Tokyo concert as a hologram.
“What an amazing world we live in. I love it that I can stand here on this stage in Tokyo and speak to you in holographic form.”
The concert tours are inspired by Gore’s efforts to encourage nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There will be 9 concerts over 24 hours with performances by more than 150 artists.

A heat wave continues in the western United States with temperatures in the triple digits in some areas. The hot weather is complicating firefighting efforts. A blaze about 100 miles east of Salt Lake City is now about 55% contained. It’s burned for more than a week and has consumed more than 66 square miles. This is NPR news from Washington.

Rescue workers in Texas have found the body of a 6-year-old boy who had been swept from his father’s arms during flooding earlier this week. Police in FreePort say he was discovered on a beach about 15 miles from where he washed into the Gulf of Mexico. Fifteen people have died in weather-related incidents in Texas since the storms began May 23rd.

Strong job gains in June helped the stock market in advance yesterday. The week ended with widespread gains. Steve Beckner of Market News International reports.
Lingering doubts among investors about the strength of the economy were alleviated Friday by a stronger than expected employment report. The Labor Department said non-farm payrolls rose by 132,000 last month, and it revised a prior month’s job totals by 75,000. The unemployment rate stayed 4.5%, and average hourly earnings were up nearly 4% from a year earlier. Industrial and technology stocks were lifted and energy company shares benefited from higher oil prices. In relatively light trading the Dow Jones Industrials and the broader S&P 500 rose roughly a third of a percent. The technology-oriented NASDAQ Composite did a bit better. For the week the Dow climbed 1.5%, the S&P 1.8% and the NASDAQ 2.4%. For NPR news, I’m Steve Beckner.

Thousands of state workers in Pennsylvania may be laid off Monday unless an agreement is reached on a new budget. A shutdown would force the closure of state parks and casinos. Without a new budget Monday the state can’t spend money on services, not critical to health, safety or welfare.

I’m Nora Raum, NPR news in Washington.

Glossary:

bumble: to move in an unsteady way
nu-metal: a musical genre that has origins in the mid 1990s. It typically fuses influences from the grunge[1] and alternative metal of the 1990s with funk music and various heavy metal genres, most often thrash metal and groove metal.
cavernous: literary a cavernous room, space, or hole is very large and deep
gig: engagement to play jazz or pop music, esp for a single night
boogie: a type of music played on the piano with a strong fast rhythm
credentials: someone’s education, achievements, experience etc that prove they have the ability to do something
holographic: Of or relating to a kind of photograph made with a laser that looks as if it is not flat when you look at it from an angle