BANGKOK -- Military delegates from Thailand and Cambodia convened a meeting at the Thai side of the border in Chanthaburi province on Wednesday to prepare for formal talks regarding a ceasefire and monitoring mechanisms along their disputed border.
The secretariat-level meeting of the General Border Committee (GBC) began at the Ban Phak Kat permanent checkpoint. At around 4:25 p.m. local time, the Cambodian delegation arrived for a half-hour preliminary discussion. (Thailand-Cambodia border clash)
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SEOUL -- South Korea recently conducted non-public defense drills near Dokdo, its easternmost islets in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, Yonhap News Agency reported Wednesday, prompting protests from Japan.
Citing a source of South Korea's Navy, the report said the country holds the East Sea territorial defense drills on a regular annual basis, with the latest exercise conducted in a manner and on a scale largely similar to previous drills in terms of training methods and participating forces. (S.Korea-Dokdo-Drills)
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SYDNEY -- The parliament of Australia's state of New South Wales (NSW) had passed tough new gun and protest laws in response to the fatal mass shooting at Sydney's Bondi Beach, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported on Wednesday.
ABC said that the bill, which packaged gun reforms with a ban on protests for up to three months, passed 18 votes to eight just before 3 a.m. local time on Wednesday and included a key amendment on tightening firearms laws for people with suspected terrorist links. (Australia-Law)
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SEOUL -- South Korea's special counsel on Wednesday indicted former impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol on charge of political funds act violation.
The team of independent counsel Min Joong-ki leading an investigation into corruption allegations involving Yoon and his wife said in a statement that Yoon violated the political funds act by colluding with his wife Kim Keon-hee to receive free opinion polls worth about 270 million won (185,630 U.S. dollars) from self-proclaimed political broker Myung Tae-kyun between June 2021 and March 2022. (South Korea-Impeached President) ■
