Kyodo news summary -3-

0 Comments | Asian Political News, August 11, 2008

TOKYO, Aug. 6 Kyodo

---------- S. Korea to continue pushing its claim over disputed islets: Lee

SEOUL - South Korean President Lee Myung Bak promised Wednesday that Seoul will continue to seek the understanding of international society of its claim of sovereignty over a pair of rocky islets that Seoul controls but Japan also claims as its own.

''We will continue our efforts to...tell the international community of our sovereign rights regarding this Dokdo issue,'' he said, referring to the islets, known as Takeshima in Japan, by their Korean name.

---------- Olympic torch relay under way in Beijing amid tight security

BEIJING - The Olympic torch began its final leg of the global tour on Wednesday, as a relay through the Chinese capital got under way amid tight security two days ahead of the opening ceremony of the Summer Games.

Basketball icon Yao Ming and China's first astronaut Yang Liwei were among those who carried the Olympic flame, as a total of about 50,000 policemen and security personnel were deployed at Tiananmen Square and elsewhere along the relay's route.

---------- Hiroshima marks 63rd anniversary of atomic bombing

HIROSHIMA - Hiroshima marked the 63rd anniversary of the city's 1945 U.S. atomic bombing Wednesday, with Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba expressing hope that the next U.S. president to be elected this fall will support ''the majority'' of people who seek the global abolition of nuclear weapons.

''The president of the United States elected this November will listen conscientiously to the majority, for whom the top priority is human survival,'' the mayor said as he read out this year's Peace Declaration during a memorial service at the Peace Memorial Park.

---------- Police serve summons on Anwar to appear in court Thurs.: Anwar aide

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian police have served a summons on opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to appear in court on Thursday, indicating he will be formally charged with sodomy, an aide to Anwar said Wednesday.