NPR News 2013-09-09 加文本

NPR News 2013-09-09

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston.

The site of the 2020 Olympics will be Tokyo. The Japanese capital won an International Olympic Committee vote today over the cities of Istanbul and Madrid. From Buenos Aires, the site of the vote, NPR's Mike Pesca reports. In his final pitch to the voting members of the IOC, Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda emphasized his city's ability to competently delivery on its promises.

“Vote for Tokyo, and you vote for the superb games experience in every possible sense.”

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was on hand to bow through the bidding, giving assurances that ongoing problems with the Fukushima nuclear reactor would be solved in time for the Games. After a tie-breaker vote, Madrid was eliminated, leaving Tokyo to face Istanbul. An Istanbul Olympics would have been the first in the majority-Muslim country, one where most of the citizens are under 30 years old, but in the end the voters were more swayed by claims of Japanese confidence than tantalized by Turkey's demographics. Mike Pesca,

NPR News, Buenos Aires.

Secretary of State John Kerry is welcoming a statement by his European Union counterparts, saying there appears to be strong evidence that Syria's government was responsible for a chemical weapons attack against civilians near Damascus last month. He met with the EU foreign ministers in Lithuania today. Teri Schultz reports the EU consensus remains that diplomacy should be used to defuse the conflict.

Seeking to forge a common position on Syria, foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton says the 28 EU governments are unanimous that the Syrian regime is the likely perpetrator of the August 21st chemical attack and that something must be done.

“A clear and strong response is crucial to make clear that such crimes are unacceptable and that there can be no impunity.”

But Ashton gave no sign the bloc as a whole is shifting towards support for military action. So far only France backs possible strikes on the Syrian regime, and Ashton welcomed the French promise to delay any moves until UN inspectors conclude their report on the attack. Asked whether that EU is urging Washington to also wait on UN conclusions, Ashton said ministers didn't ask Secretary Kerry to ‘pledge anything.’ For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz.

Anti-war protesters stage demonstrations in New York City's Time Square today. Elizabeth Starsvitch was among them.

She says military strikes against Syria would only make matters worse.

“I don't want the United States to go into war, and anything that we do in terms of bombings, which we will do, is a declaration of war that will destablize even further the situation in Syria.”

Anti-war protesters also held rallies in Texas, Michigan, Louisiana and outside of the White House. President Obama will address the nation Tuesday night to renew his call for military action in Syria. This is NPR.

The Egyptian military has launched an offensive against suspected hideouts of Islamist militants in the northern Sinai Peninsula. They say dozens were killed or wounded. The region adjoins Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip and is a haven for Islamist militants.

The military in Nigeria says it has killed 50 Islamist fighters in the northeastern part of the country. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports officials say the operation was in response to an attack on civilians.

Boko Haram means Western education is sinful, and the group continues to challenge the Nigerian authorities it's threatening to topple. The army now says insurgents have been killed in recent raids on militant camps. A military spokesman says troops in northeastern Borno State pursued the fighters, killing the men in shootout and destroying their camp. Earlier reports have spoken a number of people being killed on Friday in attacks by suspected militant sect members armed with machetes. In May Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in three troubled northeastern states, including Borno,

but the violence continues despite a military crackdown in the region. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News.

The prime minister of Libya is facing increased calls for his ouster as government employees at oil export terminals continue their strike. The walkout has caused the North African country more than five billion dollars in losses. A board member of Libya's National Oil Corporation says exports have almost completely stopped. The strike is one of numerous problems the country's facing since the removal of President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

This is NPR News.