Philippe Becomes King of Belgium

Queen Mathilde, King Philippe, and their children

Crown Prince Philippe became King of Belgium, on Sunday, at the age of fifty-three.

He took his oath in all three of the the country's official languages: Dutch, French, and German.

Philippe swore to uphold the constitution and stressed the importance of Belgian solidarity, in the face of increasing threats of secession, by two areas.

His swearing in followed the abdication of his father, King Albert II, who had cited ill health.

LDP Wins Majority of Upper House in Japan

Japan's Liberal Democratic Party won a majority of seats in the upper house, during Sunday's elections.

This gives them a majority in both the upper and lower houses.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been working on reforming the economy and his programs have already seen positive results.

The people responded to it by giving his party more power, allowing the LDP to do even more.

Abe hopes to continue the economic reforms as well as amending the constitution to allow for a stronger less passive military.

6.5 Rattles Wellington, New Zealand

A 6.5 earthquake rattled Wellington, New Zealand, on Sunday afternoon.

The quake was centered just thirty-five miles away from the capital.

Roads buckled, water pipes burst, windows shattered, items fell off of shelves, and buildings, including the parliament building, reported structural damage.

Minor injuries were reported, mostly due to broken glass, but luckily no deaths.

New Zealand deals with nearly fifteen thousand quakes, every year.