Death toll rises from northern Japan quake

Police search for missing persons around houses destroyed by an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido, southern Japan, on Friday. Japanese authorities said 44 people have been confirmed dead from the earthquake. Rescue workers were using backhoes and shovels to search for the missing in a tangle of dirt and the rubble of homes left by multiple landslides in the town of Atsuma. SD-Agencies

Swedish ruling party suffers worst result in decades

Voters in Sweden handed the ruling Social Democrats their worst result in decades on Sunday, while the far-right Sweden Democrats were projected to become the third-largest party in Stockholm’s parliament.

With almost all the ballots counted, the Social Democrats had emerged as the largest party but had just 28.3 percent of the vote, making it likely to lose a significant number of seats.

The Moderates party was next at 19.8 percent, followed by the Sweden Democrats at 17.6 percent. That’s a 4.6-percent increase in their vote share from the last election.

7 wounded in Paris attack, including UK tourists

Seven people including two British tourists were wounded in Paris on Sunday by a knife-wielding man, a terrifying attack that bystanders tried to stop by throwing petanque* balls at the assailant.

Four of the victims were in critical condition, police said, after the man brandishing* a large blade and an iron bar went on the rampage.

The suspect is believed to be an Afghan national and has been arrested, said a source close to the enquiry, adding he had targeted “strangers” but that “nothing at this stage shows signs of a terrorist nature.”

Yemen peace talks collapse in Geneva

An attempt to hold peace talks for Yemen was abandoned on Saturday after three days of waiting for the Houthi movement’s delegation, but the United Nations envoy vowed to press ahead with diplomacy.

The U.N. is renewing efforts to end Yemen’s war under a peace plan that calls on the Iranian-aligned Houthis and the internationally recognized government, backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to work on a peace deal under a transitional governing body.

Prosecutors ask 20 yrs in jail for Lee Myung-bak

South Korean state prosecutors demanded a 20-year imprisonment on Thursday for former conservative President Lee Myung-bak over corruption charges.

Prosecutors said in a final court hearing of the Lee case that the Seoul Central District Court should sentence Lee to 20 years in prison, requesting a fine of 15 billion won (US$13.3 million) and a forfeiture of 11.1 billion won.

Former leader of opposition party freed in Cambodia

The leader of Cambodia’s now dissolved* opposition party was released on bail on Monday after being jailed for a year on a treason* charge.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court said that Kem Sokha was granted bail due to health reasons. It stressed that the case against him would proceed.

He was returned in the predawn hours to his Phnom Penh home, where hundreds of supporters gathered. (SD-Agencies)