LDP-led coalition loses majority in Tokyo election
The governing coalition of the Liberal Democratic and New Komeito parties has lost a majority of 64 seats in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly.
In Sunday's election, the Liberal Democratic Party won 38 seats, a decrease of 10. Its partner in the ruling coalition, the New Komeito party, won 23 seats.
54 seats were won by the Democratic Party, the main opposition party. Its 20-seat increase will make it the largest party in the assembly. It is the first time in 44 years that the Liberal Democratic Party has lost its top spot in the assembly.
The Japanese Communist Party won 8 seats. A local political group, Tokyo Seikatsusha Network, won 2 seats. Independents won 2 seats.
Authorities step up crackdown on Uygur protestors
Chinese authorities are intensifying a crackdown on protesters involved in the massive riots that erupted a week ago in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The violence killed 184 people and injured 1,680 others on July 5th.
Many armed police are on patrol in Urumqi, the regional capital on Sunday.
Residents have not been able to use the Internet or text messaging since the riots broke out.
City officials told reporters on Sunday that the measures to deal with the unrest are temporary.
A notice posted at an Internet cafe says it's illegal to disrupt social order by spreading false information online. An Uygur man says he has no choice but to accept the inconvenience.
Notices, which called on people to tell the authorities who took part in the violent demonstrations, were posted in the city.
The notices also say if citizens shelter people who took part in the violence, they will be punished severely.
N.Korea won't send foreign minister to ARF
North Korea will not send its foreign minister to the annual ASEAN Regional Forum scheduled for next week in southern Thailand.
Foreign ministers of the ASEAN countries, as well as those of countries involved in the 6-party talks on North Korea, are set to attend the forum to discuss the region's security issues.
North Korea has been dispatching its foreign minister to the forum since 2004.
Nations involved in the 6-party talks have previously met on the sidelines of the forum to advance their efforts to promote dialogue with the North.
However, the Thai foreign ministry told NHK that the North had informed it that the country will not send its foreign minister, Pak Ui Chun, this year and a lower-ranked official will attend instead.
NHK reporters say that the North wants to show its hard-line policy of not returning to the 6-party talks, as the country is in a standoff with the international community over its nuclear activities.
最終更新：2009年07月14日 08:26
