Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TOKYO, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Three foreign nationals have been arrested on suspicion of smuggling around 113 kilograms of stimulant drugs with a street value of about 7 billion yen (47 million U.S. dollars) from Mexico, police in central Japan said Thursday.

Police in Toyama prefecture believe the three suspects, a Ukrainian and two Russian men, smuggled the drugs through Narita airport near Tokyo in August by hiding them in air cargo, with the substances divided into clear plastic bags and carried in a large metal container.

PHNOM PENH, Oct 25 (NNN-AKP) – The ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), signed a Cooperation and Coalition Agreement with 27 other political parties today.

CPP President, Samdech Techo Hun Sen, inked the historic deal with representatives of those parties at a ceremony held at the CPP’s headquarters in Phnom Penh.

Speaking at the event, Hun Sen said, the alliance aimed to maintain the country’s hard-earned peace and political stability, the most important prerequisite for socio-economic development.

HONG KONG, Oct 25 (Reuters) - China has launched its first nuclear-powered guided missile submarines, according to the Pentagon's latest report on China's military - giving it land and sea attack options once the sole province of U.S. and Russian vessels.

The Pentagon report, published Oct. 20, marks the first apparent confirmation that modified submarines seen in Chinese shipyards over the last 18 months are Type 093B guided missile submarines.

BANGKOK (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom had a surprise meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday after being warmly welcomed by other senior leaders in a display of friendliness that stands in sharp contrast to the dialogue between the United States and China in recent years.

The governor is on a weeklong tour of China, where he plans to push for climate cooperation. Newsom’s trip as governor, once considered routine, is drawing attention as it comes after years of heightening tensions between the U.S. and China.

BEIJING, October 24. /TASS/: Chinese President Xi Jinping has signed a decree to dismiss Defense Minister Li Shangfu, China’s central television has said.

Presidential decree No. 14 says Li has been removed from the posts of a member of the State Council of the People's Republic of China and Minister of National Defense in accordance with a decision made during the sixth session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on October 24, 2023, the broadcaster said. The appointment of a new minister has not yet been announced.

JAKARTA, Oct 24 (NNN-ANTARA) – At least four teenagers have been killed, after the bus they were on hit a cliff, in the Indonesian regency of Cianjur in West Java province, early today, local police said.

According to a preliminary report, the crash occurred at around 2:30 a.m. local time, on a highway towards the resort and tourism area of Puncak.

Cianjur Traffic Police Chief, Adhi Prasidya, told local media that, the bus was carrying 24 people, mostly teenagers, from the town of Bogor to Cianjur.

MANILA, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday said it has approved a 175-million-U.S. dollar loan to improve connectivity and climate resilience of roads in India's Madhya Pradesh state.

The Manila-based bank said the project will upgrade about 500 km of state highways and major district roads to a standard two-lane feature.

TAIPEI. Taiwan (AP) — China has replaced Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu, who has been out of public view for almost two months, state media reported Tuesday. No further information was given.

Li is the second senior Chinese official to disappear this year, following former Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who was removed from office in July with no explanation offered.

BEIJING, Oct 23 (APP):: China will continue to support all efforts conducive to promoting dialogue and restoring peace and do its part in implementing the two-state solution and striving for a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian question, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The United States renewed a warning Monday that it would defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack under a 1951 treaty, after Chinese ships blocked and collided with two Filipino vessels off a contested shoal in the South China Sea.