BBC在线收听下载:特朗普拒绝日本减免关税的请求

BBC news 2018-04-20

BBC News with Elly McCue.

President Trump has said he is prepared to work out of planned talks with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if they are not fruitful. He was speaking at a joint news conference in Florida with the Japanese President Shinzo Abe. Both men said maximum pressure must be maintained on Pyongyang over nuclear disarmament. Mr. Abe was also hoping to convince President Trump to drop punitive tariffs on Japanese steel exports. But Mr. Trump indicated that Japan won’t be exempt from the 25% steel surcharge announced last month.

New research in Australia suggests that a marine heat wave that bleached large parts of the Great Barrier Reef two years ago was so severe that it cooked vast weeds of coral. Scientists from Queensland say millions of coral in northern parts of the Reef were killed by the rise in sea temperatures.

Queen Elizabeth will open the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in London later today for what could be the last time. At nearly 92 years of age, she travels much less and is handing over some official duties to other members of the royalty family.

The British government says it is considering a ban on plastic straws and cotton buds as part of its efforts to tackle plastic waste. The announcement is timed for other Commonwealth summit which over the next two days will discuss what’s called a blue charter to safeguard the oceans.

Aviation authorities in the United States have ordered inspections on a type of jet engine used on more than 8,000 Boeing 737s after a mid-air explosion punctured an airliner’s window, killing a passenger. An initial investigation found evidence of metal fatigue or a fan blade had broken off.

And the US Senate has passed a new regulation allowing parents of newborn babies to take them into the chamber when they vote. The move comes a week after Tammy Duckworth became the first seating US senator to give birth.

BBC News.