Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

PHNOM PENH, Jul 24 (NNN-AKP) – The ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, claimed a landslide victory in yesterday’s general election, a party spokesman said.

Though official results had yet to be announced, CPP spokesman, Sok Eysan confirmed the results last night, saying that, this marked another great success for the CPP.

“We have won a landslide victory in this election, but we have not yet calculated the number of seats we have gained,” he told Xinhua. “This truly reflects people’s confidence in the CPP’s leadership.”

SEOUL, July 24 (Reuters) - A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine arrived in South Korea on Monday, only days after the first U.S. nuclear armed submarine made port in the country in four decades, as the two allies seek to boost American strategic assets to deter North Korea.

The USS Annapolis entered a naval base in South Korea' southern island of Jeju, to load military supplies while on an unspecified operational mission, the South Korean navy said.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s longtime ruling party on Monday lauded its landslide victory in weekend elections as a clear mandate for the next five years, but the United States said its stifling of the opposition meant the vote could not be considered free or fair and that Washington was taking punitive measures.

Autocratic leader Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party won 120 of 125 available seats in Sunday’s elections, according to preliminary results.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s government appealed to Japan on Monday not to disrupt the semiconductor industry after curbs on exports of Japanese chip-making technology took effect, adding to technology restrictions Washington and its allies have imposed on China on security grounds.

HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba says it does not plan to sell any shares in its one-third shareholding in financial technology company Ant Group because it wants to retain its stake in an “important strategic partner.”

Alibaba Group Holdings said in a filing Sunday that it will not participate in Ant’s share buyback program. It allows shareholders to sell back up to 7.6% of their holdings at an unspecified price that values the company at 567.1 billion yuan ($78.8 billion).

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The American-led U.N. Command said Monday it has started a conversation with North Korea about a U.S. soldier who ran into the North last week across one of the world’s most heavily fortified borders.

PHNOM PENH, July 23 (Reuters) - The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) declared a landslide victory in a one-sided election on Sunday, clearing the path for a historic leadership transition and the end of the reign of one of the world's longest-serving premiers.

The contest was effectively a one-horse race, with Prime Minister Hun Sen's CPP, a political behemoth with a vast war chest, facing no viable opponent after a ruthless, years-long crackdown that has seen hundreds of its rivals flee into exile.

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese embassy in Brunei issued a statement on Sunday announcing the resumption of the unilateral visa-free policy for Brunei citizens, which was previously suspended due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

The statement said that starting from July 26, the Chinese government will resume the 15-day visa-free entry policy for Brunei citizens holding ordinary passports to go to China for business, travel and tourism, visiting relatives and friends, and transit.

YANGON, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) on Sunday announced that it will release new banknotes with a denomination of 20,000 kyats on July 31.

The release of the new banknotes is to mark the completion of the Maravijaya Buddha Image, a giant sitting marble statue of Lord Buddha in Nay Pyi Taw and to mark the first birthday celebration of a rare white elephant, the central bank said.

BEIJING, July 22 (APP): A Fuxing bullet train specially designed for the Hangzhou Asian Games rolled off the production line in Changchun, northeast China’s Jilin Province.

It will run between Hangzhou, the host city of the 19th Asian Games, and the five co-host cities of Ningbo, Wenzhou, Jinhua, Shaoxing, and Huzhou in east China’s Zhejiang Province during the event, CGTN reported on Saturday.

The Asian Games-themed Fuxing intelligent electric multiple unit (EMU) consists of eight cars with a capacity of 578 passengers and can reach a speed of 350 kilometers per hour.