Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. soldiers in South Korea had been caught smuggling drugs through military mail and distributing them here, local broadcaster MBC has reported.

The police in Pyeongtaek, about 70 km south of the capital Seoul, apprehended a South Korean woman in her 20s on charges of distributing synthetic cannabis in April after receiving intelligence from the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).

The investigation continued against a U.S. serviceman who had been dating the arrested South Korean woman.

BEIJING (AP) — Heavy rain and high water levels on rivers in northeastern China were threatening cities downstream on Friday, prompting the evacuation of thousands, although the country appears to have averted the worst effects of the typhoon season battering parts of east Asia.

Hebei province, which surrounds the capital Beijing on three sides, issued alerts for several of its cities. The province of Heilongjiang to the north was evacuating entire villages in anticipation of life-threatening deluges.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean police detained a man suspected of stabbing a high school teacher with a knife Friday in the city of Daejeon. The stabbing follows a separate, apparently random attack on Thursday in which 14 people were wounded near a busy subway station in Seongnam.

Officials at the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency didn’t immediately release the personal details of the suspect in the Friday morning attack on the teacher at Songchon High School, describing him only as a man in his late 20s.

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday he hopes to discuss further strengthening of three-way strategic cooperation with leaders of the United States and South Korea at a summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden at Camp David later this month.

The Aug. 18 summit with Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is the first stand-alone summit among leaders of the three countries, not in connection with international meetings.

MANILA, Aug 3 (NNN-PNA) – A ferry boat with about 70 people on board, sank off Quezon province, in the south of Luzon island in the Philippines, local media reported, today.

Philippine Coast Guard confirmed the accident, without providing further details, adding, a search and rescue operation is ongoing.

Ferry accidents are common in the country, mainly due to frequent storms, ill-maintained boats, overcrowding and weak enforcement of safety regulations.

MANILA, Aug 3 (NNN-PNA) – The Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH), today expressed concern over the rising number of leptospirosis cases in the country, amid the flooding across many regions due to days of heavy rainfall.

The health agency logged 2,079 cases from Jan 1 to Jul 15, this year, with at least 225 deaths. The DOH warned that cases may still increase.

The cases were reported in at least 10 regions, including Metro Manila, which showed a rise in patients in the last four weeks.

SEOUL, Aug 3 (Reuters) - A man in a South Korean commuter town rammed his car into passers-by on Thursday then got out and stabbed some, killing one person and injuring another 12, police and media said.

The unexplained attack in the commuter town of Seongnam near the capital Seoul came days after another rare stabbing attack which killed one person and wounded three others.

SINGAPORE, Aug 2 (NNN-CNA) – Seah Kian Peng, a member of parliament for Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency in Singapore, was elected as the city-state’s speaker of parliament today.

During his first speech as the speaker, Seah called on his colleagues in parliament, to be vigilant in personal conduct and bear the weight of office with dignity and a sense of duty.

Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, nominated Seah as the speaker on Jul 21, to replace Tan Chuan-Jin, who resigned on Jul 17.

TAIPEI, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Taiwan will shut markets and schools in northern parts of the island including the capital Taipei on Thursday as slow-moving Typhoon Khanun was expected to brush past amid warnings of floods and high winds.

Typhoon Khanun, categorised by Taiwan's weather bureau as the second-strongest typhoon level, slowly headed towards its northeastern coasts with maximum winds of 209 km (130 miles) per hour.

ASHGABAT, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Turkmenistan's flagship airline has suspended flights to Moscow, it said on Wednesday, citing safety concerns after Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian capital.

"Due to the situation in the Moscow air zone, and based on a risk assessment in order to ensure flight safety, all Turkmenistan Airlines flights on the Ashgabat-Moscow-Ashgabat route will be suspended," the airline said in a statement.

Turkmenistan Airlines said it would now fly instead to Kazan, which is more than 700 km (440 miles) east of Moscow.