Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodian army chief Hun Manet, who is widely expected to replace his father as the country’s prime minister later this year, was promoted Thursday to his country’s highest military rank.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, 71, explicitly declared his support in December 2021 to have the United States Military Academy-trained Hun Manet succeed him through constitutional means. In mid-March, Hun Sen hinted strongly that he intends to step down when a new government is installed after July’s general election.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Under a cloudless sky, about 20,000 eclipse chasers watched a rare solar eclipse plunge part of Australia’s northwest coast into brief midday darkness Thursday with an accompanying temperature drop.

The remote tourist town of Exmouth, with fewer than 3,000 residents, was promoted as one of the best vantage points in Australia to see the eclipse that also crossed remote parts of Indonesia and East Timor.

SINGAPORE, April 19 (Reuters) - Global stocks eased on Wednesday, while the dollar pulled further above last week's one-year lows, as investor focus honed in on what the Federal Reserve may have to do to tame inflation, rather than on the recent problems in the U.S. banking sector.

The MSCI All-World index (.MIWD00000PUS) fell 0.2%, thanks to a broad-based decline in equities around the world.

S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures , fell between 0.3-0.5%, suggesting a touch of weakness at the opening bell.

BEIJING, April 19 (Reuters) - The European Union has said it is seriously concerned about the arrest of two prominent Chinese human rights activists and has called for their immediate release after they were detained in Beijing last week en route to a meeting with EU officials.

The detention of Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan shortly before their meeting with visiting EU officials last Thursday was "already not acceptable", an EU spokesperson said in an emailed response to Reuters late Tuesday, adding that their "formal arrest on Saturday is a matter of serious concern".

TOKYO (AP) — An unemployed 24-year-old man who allegedly threw a pipe bomb at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wanted to be a politician and believed that he was unfairly blocked from running for Japan’s parliament by an age requirement, according to media reports and social media posts that appeared to be his.

The suspect, Ryuji Kimura, was wrestled to the ground and arrested Saturday at a campaign event in the fishing port of Saikazaki, in the western Japanese city of Wakayama. The explosive, believed to be a pipe bomb, landed near Kishida, who escaped unhurt.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s military chief on Tuesday dismissed a separatist group claim that they had killed more than a dozen government soldiers who were searching for a New Zealand pilot taken hostage by the rebels in the restive Papua region.

Adm. Yudo Margono and the military’s top brass flew to the region on Monday after initial information said attackers from the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, ambushed 36 government soldiers in the hilly district of Nduga in mountainous Papua Highlands province.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s foreign minister told his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts that his country is ready to help facilitate peace talks between the two sides, in its latest effort at mediation in the region.

In separate phone calls to the two officials on Monday, Qin Gang expressed China’s concern over intensifying tensions between Israel and Palestinians and its support for a resumption of peace talks, the Foreign Ministry said in statements issued late Monday.

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mixed Wednesday, as investors took a wait-and-see attitude ahead of earnings reports and possible moves by central banks.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2% in morning trading to 28,590.40. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.1% to 7,370.70. South Korea’s Kospi gained less than 0.1% to 2,573.12. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.6% to 20,521.13. The Shanghai Composite shed 0.3% to 3,383.18.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country has built its first-ever military spy satellite and that he planned to launch it on an undisclosed date, state media reported Wednesday.

Previous missile and rocket tests have demonstrated that North Korea can send satellites into space, but many experts question whether it has cameras sophisticated enough to use for spying from a satellite because only low-resolution images were released after past launches.

BEIJING (AP) — The death toll from a fire at a Beijing hospital has risen to 29, including 26 patients, authorities said Wednesday. A nurse, a medical assistant and a family member also died, said Li Zongrong, deputy head of the Fengtai district.

The fire at the private Changfeng Hospital that broke out Tuesday afternoon forced dozens of people to evacuate and prompted some of those who were trapped to escape from windows using bedsheets tied together.