Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, under fire for rejecting six scholars for membership of a science advisory panel, defended the move on Monday amid growing criticism that it violated the constitution’s principle of academic freedom.

Suga, who took office last month after Shinzo Abe resigned, has enjoyed high support among voters who approve of his promises to deregulate, reduce mobile phone rates and digitalise services as he tries to revive the economy and rein in COVID-19.

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The National Assembly of Cambodia on Monday adopted a draft law on commercial gaming management, which was intended to bring casinos and other gaming facilities in the kingdom under control.

Some 114 lawmakers attending the parliamentary session unanimously approved the bill, said the parliament's statement released after the session.

Economy and Finance Minister Aun Pornmoniroth said the bill sets a minimum capital for the investment in a casino and provides measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — The fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh resumed Monday morning, with both sides accusing each other of launching attacks.

Armenian military officials on Monday reported missile strikes hitting Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh. The region lies in Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since the end of a separatist war in 1994.

TOKYO (AP) — Shares rose Monday in Asia as investors were encouraged by positive reports about President Donald Trump’s health after he tested positive for the coronavirus.

Trump briefly ventured out in a motorcade on Sunday to salute cheering supporters. Trump’s medical team reported that his blood oxygen level had dropped twice in recent days, and that they gave him a steroid typically only recommended for the very sick. They also said his health is improving and that he could be discharged as soon as Monday.

YEREVAN, October 4. /TASS/: The Defense Army of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on Sunday downed three aircraft of Azerbaijan’s Air Force in the southern direction of the contact line, Armenian Defense Ministry Press Secretary Shushan Stepanyan wrote on her Facebook page.

"At 12:00 (11:00 Moscow Time) units of the Artsakh Defense Army [in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic] destroyed three aircraft of the enemy and two tanks in the southern direction," Stepanyan said.

JAKARTA, Oct 4 (NNN-ANTARA) – Four people were reported missing, with one of them feared dead, as floods and landslides damaged houses and a bridge in Indonesia’s western province of West Java on Saturday, according to disaster agency officials.

Heavy downpours caused a river to overflow, engulfing houses in the surrounding areas in the Cianjur district, said Kuswara Retana, a senior official of the local disaster management agency.

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia moved a step closer to passing President Joko Widodo’s contentious “Job Creation” bill after parliament’s legislation committee and government ministers on Saturday approved the latest version for a vote next week.

A coalition of fifteen activist groups, including several trade unions, condemned the move in a statement on Sunday, accusing the government and parliamentarians of completing the deliberations in secret during an unusual hearing late at night over a weekend.

BISHKEK (Reuters) - Kyrgyzstan held a parliamentary election on Sunday with many voters disillusioned with the political elite and anxious about the worst economic crisis in two decades.

President Sooronbai Jeenbekov’s supporters look likely to win a significant number of seats in the legislature in the Central Asian country, a close ally of Russia.

But the current pro-presidential ruling coalition is certain to be upset due to internal splits in the two major political groups, testing the president’s ability to forge new political alliances.

YEREVAN/BAKU (Reuters) - A French attempt to relaunch peace talks over Nagorno-Karabakh showed no sign of a breakthrough on Saturday as Azerbaijan blamed Armenia for re-igniting their decades-old conflict.

Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijan, said Azeri forces had again launched rockets towards its main city, Stepanakert, a week after the opposing sides began pounding each other with tanks and missiles.

PYONGYANG, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, expressed his sympathy to U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday.

According to the official Korean Central News Agency, Kim said in a message that he heard the "sudden" news that the president and the first lady of the United States had been tested positive for COVID-19, and "offered his sympathy" to them.

"He sincerely hoped that they would recover as soon as possible," the report said, adding that Kim "hoped they will surely overcome it."