Japanese PM to call for general election

Japan’s Prime Minister Taro Aso will dissolve the lower house of parliament this month and call for a general election in August, the government said Monday. The lower house of the Diet will be dissolved the week of July 21; elections for new lawmakers will be held on August 30, said Jun Matsumoto, the chief Cabinet spokesman

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Report: Urumqi bans illegal public assembly

A city in China’s far west that witnessed deadly protests last weekend has banned public assembly without police approval, state media reported. “Assemblies, marches and demonstrations on public roads and at public places in the open air are not allowed without the permission by police,” read a notice by the Public Security Bureau of Urumqi, the Xinhua news agency reported. Violent demonstrations in Urumqi on July 5 claimed at least 184 lives

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Iran’s Embattled Supreme Leader: A Test for Ayatullah Khamenei

The fate of Iran’s Islamic revolution now rests in the hands of an enigmatic cleric who is little understood at home, let alone by the outside world. For the past 20 years, pictures of Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, with his oversize glasses, black turban and untrimmed white beard, have adorned shops, government offices and living-room walls throughout Iran. His modest childhood home in Mashhad has become a virtual shrine, his edicts are binding and his powers absolute

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Analysis: Why is Iran so upset with Britain?

The contested election results in Iran have brought thousands onto the streets of Tehran in protest. So why have the voices of two of Iran’s most prominent critics — the United States and its leading ally the UK, so far been comparatively muted in their support of the protesters and in their criticisms of the regime?

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