Japan's main opposition party co-leaders to resign over election loss
The two co-leaders of Japan's main opposition Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA) announced on Monday that they would resign to take responsibility for the party's major defeat in the lower house election.
The CRA, formed in January by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Komeito party, saw its lower house seats drastically reduced to 49 from the pre-election tally of about 170 after Sunday's race.
Yoshihiko Noda and Tetsuo Saito, co-leaders of the newly formed opposition, informed a party board meeting of their intention to resign from their posts.
Iranian nuclear chief says Tehran may dilute 60 pct enriched uranium if all sanctions lifted
Iran's nuclear chief said Monday that Tehran could consider diluting its 60 percent enriched uranium, but only if all international sanctions are fully lifted, according to the state news agency IRNA.
Mohammad Eslami, president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, made the remarks in response to a question about whether the United States had requested a reduction in enrichment during indirect talks in Oman on Friday.
"This issue depends on whether they will lift all sanctions in return," Eslami said. He stressed that transferring enriched uranium abroad has never been Tehran's plan, noting that such proposals have only been made by other parties seeking to help resolve the dispute. Countries such as Russia and Türkiye suggested storing Iran's highly enriched uranium, but Tehran rejected the offer.
U.S. delegation says Trump's claims on Greenland "not true"
A U.S. congressional delegation visiting Greenland on Monday dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that the island is "all over" with Russian and Chinese vessels, calling the assertion "not true."
Speaking at a press conference in Nuuk, Greenland's capital, Independent Senator Angus King of Maine said that based on the delegation's on-site observations and briefings from Denmark's Joint Arctic Command, Trump's remarks about the presence of Russian and Chinese ships near Greenland were unfounded.
King also rejected Trump's suggestion that Greenland's defense relies mainly on "sled dogs," stressing that "the security and defense capacity of Greenland is strong and growing stronger," in response to a question from Xinhua.
Lawsuits filed to nullify Japan general election over voter disparities
Japanese lawyers on Monday filed lawsuits at high courts across the country demanding the results of Sunday's House of Representatives election be nullified because it was unconstitutional as it was conducted without correcting vote weight disparities, local media reported.
The disparity between the most and least populated single-seat constituencies was 2.10-fold in the latest election, Kyodo News reported, citing its preliminary calculation.
As of Jan. 26, the day before official campaigning for the general election kicked off, the Hokkaido No. 3 district in northern Japan had the largest number of voters at 462,999, while the Tottori No. 1 district in western Japan had the smallest, with 220,820 voters, according to Kyodo News.
Bhumjaithai Party emerges as largest party in Thailand's House of Representatives
The Bhumjaithai Party has emerged as the largest party in Thailand's House of Representatives, according to preliminary results released by the country's Election Commission on Monday.
As of 94 percent vote counting, which is completed so far, the Bhumjaithai Party captured 193 seats, while the People's Party and the Pheu Thai Party ranked second and third, respectively, with 118 and 74 seats.
The Kla Tham Party and the Democratic Party each got 58 and 22 seats, taking fourth and fifth positions.
Four Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike on apartment in Gaza
At least four Palestinians were killed and several others injured on Monday evening in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a residential apartment in Gaza City, according to Palestinian medical sources and eyewitnesses.
Witnesses told Xinhua that an Israeli helicopter fired a missile at an apartment in the al-Nasr neighborhood in western Gaza City, causing a loud explosion that was heard across large parts of the city.
Medical sources told Xinhua that the airstrike killed four people and left several others with varying degrees of injuries. The wounded were transferred to nearby hospitals for treatment.■
