http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstCategory/index.php?cmenuid=2 Kyodo News on the Web: Daily international, Japan news, Japan News, national and local news coverage from the newspaper, breaking news updates, technology news, sports, reviews, listings. Kyodo News (C) All Rights Reserved http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstCategory/index.php?cmenuid=2 en http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=484976 Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapakse dissolved the country's parliament Tuesday, setting the stage for another national election two months ahead of schedule. The dissolution followed the arrest the previous day of former army chief Sarath Fonseka, the main opposition candidate who was defeated in the country's presidential vote on Jan. 26. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=484970 Selected editorial excerpts from the U.S. press: THE SUMMIT GAMBIT (The Wall Street Journal, New York) http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=484969 Selected editorial excerpts from the U.S. press: DID UKRAINE'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION REVERSE ITS 'COLOR REVOLUTION'? (The Washington Post, Washington) http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=484964 A flurry of diplomatic activities took place Tuesday in Beijing toward the resumption of the six-party denuclearization talks as North Korea's chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye Gwan arrived in the Chinese capital and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon's special envoy began a four-day visit to North Korea. The visits came a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told senior Chinese Communist Party official Wang Jiarui in Pyongyang that the ''sincerity of relevant parties to resume the six-party talks is very important,'' according to China's official Xinhua News Agency. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=484963 Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama plans to place Yukio Edano, a lawmaker from his Democratic Party of Japan, in the post of administrative reform minister, currently held by national strategy minister Yoshito Sengoku concurrently, political sources said Tuesday. An attestation ceremony is expected to take place Wednesday and will bring the number of Hatoyama's Cabinet ministers to 17, the sources said. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=484958 Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama plans to place Yukio Edano, a lawmaker from his Democratic Party of Japan, in the post of administrative reform minister, currently held by national strategy minister Yoshito Sengoku concurrently, political sources said Tuesday. An attestation ceremony is expected to take place Wednesday and will bring the number of Cabinet ministers to 17, the sources said. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=484954 A government committee exploring possible alternatives for the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Okinawa decided Tuesday that the two junior coalition partners in the Democratic Party of Japan-led government will present their relocation proposals on Feb. 17. The presentation will follow a two-day trip by panel members to Guam from Wednesday to inspect U.S. military bases on the Pacific island, said Mikio Shimoji, policy chief of the People's New Party, one of the coalition partners. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=484953 The chair of the stalled six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions has been temporarily vacant following the retirement of Wu Dawei as vice foreign minister in January, diplomatic sources said Tuesday. But Wu may retain the six-party post when the Chinese Foreign Ministry decides which one of its vice ministers handles Asian affairs, the sources said. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=484950 A drone developed at a cost of 800 million yen was sunk Tuesday by remote control in the sea off Iwoto Island, about 1,200 kilometers south of Tokyo, following a failed test flight, the Defense Ministry said. The engine of the 700-kilogram unmanned aircraft stopped shortly after the test flight began around 9:45 a.m., the ministry's Technical Research and Development Institute said. It did not cause any damage to vessels sailing in the sea and the institute is looking into the cause of the incident. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=484948 Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Tuesday urged Toyota Motor Corp. to ensure the safety of its vehicles for its customers worldwide after the carmaker filed with the Japanese government the latest in a series of massive recalls, while Japan's transport minister said he will discuss the issue with the U.S. ambassador to Japan on Wednesday. ''When an event that impairs safety occurs, the initiative should be taken to work for the safety of people in Japan and worldwide,'' Hatoyama told reporters. ''I think the recall decision was taken from this viewpoint.''