Japan’s subsequent leader, Yukio Hatoyama is commencing a shift to power after a historic general election win. Democratic Party of Japan tremendously defeated the Liberal Democratic Party with its unbroken rule since 1955.

PM Taro Aso has also accepted the defeat and said he would resign from his post. Media forecasts show Democrats with 307 seats in 480 seats in the lower house while LDP with only 119. Japan’s Nikkei stock market index hopped to an 11- month lofty in early trading as DPJ’s triumph became obvious but with increase of Japanese yen led to an overall fall of 0.3% to Chinese stock. Sanctioned results are yet not released. Mr Hatoyama a well-off successor to both political and industrial reign is likely to announce changed team. He is anticipated to be set as prime minister when parliament will meet within two weeks and likely to set up a transition team arranged to take power. Mr Hatoyama told that the news conference at his home in Tokyo that it took a very long time but finally we all have reached the starting line, also noted saying  at last we were able to move politics. Everything begins now and it all depends on how we can modestly create politics, which considers the people. Kotaro Tamura, LDP lawmaker said we made too many mistakes that too crucial ones, which include changing prime minister three times without holding an election.

Media eagerly waits to see whether Mr Hatoyama can fulfill all his election promises, which include growth after a severe recession, tackle unemployment, and expand the welfare state. DPJ says regarding Foreign affairs that it plans to create a new diplomacy less obedient to US and to improve relation with Japan’s neighboring countries. US said it hopes for strong ties with succeeding government. White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs said that they are confident about the US- Japan alliance and the joint venture between two countries will continue to flourish under control of next government.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki- moon stay in Ny-Aalesund in Artic Circle in Norway to depict the need for action of climate change. In December, a key summit in Copenhagen where world leaders will stamp a new international accord after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

Scientists cautioned the result of climate change could be disastrous if greenhouse gas production is unimpeded. Mr Ban wanted to see melting polar ice cap, a planned visit to North Pole was postponed due to bad whether and it is yet not clear when he would be able travel there. After embarking a Norwegian coast guard vessel, he said to the journalists that he is attempting to insert some urgency into current discussions to cut down carbon emissions. Scientists has cautioned regarding greenhouse gasses that caused Artic ice to melt even faster than expected. UN chief said with concerned if this trend is not stopped then we may have virtually have ice-free Arctic within 30years, therefore world leaders are united to take urgent action that is why he is going to Arctic. Agreement will be settled in Copenhagen by the end of the year, but discussions overwhelmed with disputes over which countries should make productions cuts and by how much. Mr. Ban was strongly convinced by movement assurance by Japan’s newly elected leader Yukio Hatoyama who promised 25% production decrease by 2020. He expects other developed nations would follow the same. Mr. Ban had been a strong supporter to stop climate change.

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Tokyo and other parts of central Japan injuring 43 people. The main impact of the earthquake was on transport systems as it stopped Shinkansen bullet train service and also authorities had to close a motorway in Makinohara which was damaged due to a landslide caused by the quake. Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant in Shizuoka was shut down after the quake. The power plants two reactors were shut down to check the impact of the quake.

Although a tsunami alert was raised but was cancelled later. Japan is one of the most seismically active zones on earth and geologists have warned that Tokyo could be hit by a major earth quake in next 50 years. The quake hit Japan at 2007 hrs GMT on Monday and had its epicenter 170 kilometers south west of the capital.

Another earthquake stuck off the coast of Andaman Islands. The quake was of 7.6 magnitude and its epicenter was in the Indian Ocean, 257 kilometers not the Aandaman capital Port Blair. There was a tsunami warning issued post the quake for the costal areas of India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh and Andaman Islands. But it was later on cancelled.

Over more then a million people have been displaced as Typhoon Marakot hit the eastern coast of China. According to the latest estimates the Typhoon is expected to over 1.2 billion US$ in damages. The Typhoon made landfall at 16:20 hrs in the coastal town of Beibe in Xiapu county of Fujjan province. According to the latest reports the Typhoon created winds that clocked 118 kmph. The storm has impacted more then 1.5 million homes in Taiwan as they were out of power and some 440,000 were without water supply. According to reports one child died dude to a building collapse. The Typhoon caused a record 2.5 meters rainfall in Taiwan.

China has sounded a red alert of the highest degree and recalled all shipping vessels in the region. As the epicenter of the storm reached China, heavy rains lashed the costal province flooding more the 16,000 hectares of land area causing 300 homes to collapse. Typhoon Marakot has also caused flooding due to heavy rains in Philippines. It is reported that the heavy rains caused 10 deaths flooding and landslides.

Another storm hit the western coast of Japan killing 13 people. Typhoon Etau has caused landslides and flash floods in the island nation. The number of victims is expected to go up as heavy torrential rains continue in the region. As Typhoon Etau moves ahead, the Japanese capital Tokyo prepares for one of the strongest stormy of the century.

People in Asia got a rare opportunity to have a glimpse of the longest solar eclipse of the century, it was a mesmerizing opportunity eclipse chasers from across the globe. It was also a feast for armature observers as many did basic preparation to observe the spectacle. At its peak the eclipse lasted for six minutes and thirty nine seconds. The eclipse started over west India and move eastwards with the moons shadow falling over parts of east India, Nepal, Burma, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Japan and the Pacific. The eclipse became a total eclipse over west India at 0053 hrs GMT and it was last visible over land at Nikumaroro Islands on the Pacific ocean where it ended at 0418 hrs GMT. Apart from the total eclipse a partial eclipse could be observed from most parts of Asia.

There ware some disappointments too, as thousands of people had gathered in Taregna, the epicenter of the eclipse, but monsoon clouds obscured the view. Some enthusiasts took eclipse chasing to a new level by using a chartered to get a perfect view from about the clouds. People in east china were also not that lucky as clouds obscured the view in many locations.

Many gathered at religious locations to have a dip in the holy waters as it is considered auspicious to observe the event while immersed in holly water. Many ghats of the river Ganges and also other holly locations like Brahma Sarovar in the holy city Kurakshetra.

Another unfortunate incident happened in Varanasi where two people died and many injured in a stamped on the banks of the river Ganges.

The eclipse also provides an opportunity to astronomers and astrophysicists to study and collect data on the gases surrounding the sun which is also knows as the sun’s corona. Eclipse also help us in studying solar flairs and other related events.

The next total solar eclipse will occur on 11 July, 2010 and would be visible from a narrow corridor in Argentina and Pacific Ocean.

Japan’s not-so-favoured Prime Minister Taro Aso after getting official cabinet support, dissolved parliament on Tuesday morning, summoning for a national election to be held on August 30. This move brings to a closure his conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) rein that spanned more than five decades of stable rule.

The beleaguered Aso has been heavily trailing behind in opinion surveys and had to strive towards subduing internal party rebellion. He had proffered atypical apology to his party members for the government’s slumped support.

A string of routs this month in Tokyo’s municipal assembly polls on 12th July, has provoked the mutineer members in the LDP to try to topple Aso out of power, so a new, more promising leader could brace the election. Many analysts have forecasted the hitherto untried, main opposition, Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) to be triumphant in the upcoming general election.

With Japan plunged in profound slump, reporters have observed that Aso has in many occasions appeared irresolute. Just the previous week, Mr. Aso narrowly scraped through a no-confidence motion created by the DPJ in the lower house. Nonetheless, the DPJ stronghold, the upper house too passed an analogous motion.

The poll surveys put out on Monday by the Asahi and Mainichi newspaper revealed a bleak picture for Mr. Aso with a continued dip in popularity in comparison to the previous month’s poll surveys.

The recent surveys has brought to light the emerging DPJ leader Yukio Hatoyama , who is inching forward in popularity. The DPJ agenda include better autonomy from the US, more involvement in peace keeping assignments and a less significant role for government.

Raging storms close to the Kennedy Space Center compelled NASA to reschedule the launch of the space shuttle ‘Endeavour’ pursued well into the second day. The launch was due at 7:13 p.m with all the preparations for the shuttle completed. But, regrettably, the weather had other plans.

The launch director, Pete Nickolenko notified Mark Polansky, the shuttle commander about the imminent snag in carrying out the launch and that another attempt would be made tomorrow.

On Friday night, there were eleven lightning strikes that took place inside the half mile spanning the launch pad area, compelling a deferring of the launch date. Endeavour has earlier been put off twice in the past month due to liquid hydrogen seepage.

Endeavour is scheduled to carry seven astronauts and the crucial part for Japanese Experiment Module or Kibo Science Lab that is headed to the International Space Station in the course of its 16 day long mission. The Kibo science lab is Japan’s pioneer endeavour in human space facility that has taken more than two decades to make.

Endeavour’s primary objective will be to set up a porch in space. It is holding two Kibo Lab platforms in its cargo bay, one of which is currently installed in the space station. One of the platform moves up and back on the shuttle and the second will be a permanent fixture to the Kibo laboratory for scientific research that needs to be exposed to space.

The next attempt to launch the shuttle is slated at 6:51p.m. on Monday.

A novel means to allot accountability for carbon emission is said to resolve the standoff between countries that are budding and the developed ones. The mode places nationwide goals for curbing carbon emissions on the basis of the theory that states that the figure of high bracket income earners in a country is directly proportional to the rate of CO2 emission.

Research scholars from Princeton Environmental Institute commenced work on the module two years back with their prime goal being to uncover a steadfast means to assess the typical emission rate of high wage earners. It was concluded from nationwide statistics bureaus and World Bank that with every ten percent hike in income, the corresponding rise in emissions by that particular person went up by nearly close to ten percent.

Countries like Japan are twofold competent in this aspect in comparison to the US. Progressive countries have always received flack in complying with cutting carbon emissions without any concrete assurance from developing countries in this regard. The developed nations are of the viewpoint that developing countries should also take charge of the situation concerned, given the fact that they mass-generate them in the initial instance.

On the 1990 plane by 2020, currently developed countries like Scotland have laid down a determined deduction goal of 42 percent in carbon emissions surpassing many countries, while UK has consented to un-joint reduction of 34 percent and the European Union has allocated a cut of 20 percent evaluated to that same year itself.

The novel method plans to assign reduction on a descending range with reference to wealth as the base. With third world countries becoming slowly affluent, their contribution to carbon cuts will also rise eventually, when in due course they decide to reduce emissions, they would own the sources to be able to accomplish the said task. With the rapid growth rate of developing countries one can expect within the next two to three decades, they will produce significantly high rate of carbon emissions.

China, in fact, doesn’t have alarming high carbon emissions that gives it a lax period of a decade or so, ensuing which it will need to take stringent measures. The state of affairs presumes that global action to curb carbon emissions will commence from the year 2010 which by the year 2030 will have the same carbon emissions as the current scenario.

Countries like Russia, U.S, Canada, Australia, and Middle East need to put in considerable effort in curbing carbon emissions.

In December, as leaders from all nations congregate in Copenhagen to create an agreement that will substitute the Kyoto agreement that nullifies in 2012, how far the impact of the plan charted in the Princeton documents will be followed is to be watched out for.