HONIARA -- Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele was removed from office on Thursday after the National Parliament passed a motion of no-confidence by a narrow margin of 26 votes to 22.
The vote ended Manele's two-year tenure and dissolved the 24-month-old government of national unity and transformation. Two members of parliament were absent, with 48 of the 50-seat parliament participating. (Solomon Islands-PM-Vote)
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BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH -- Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul met his Cambodian counterpart Hun Manet and Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos on the sidelines of the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, the Philippines, the Thai prime minister's office said on Thursday.
Anutin discussed the situation along the Thai-Cambodian border with Cambodian and Philippine leaders, said Ratchada Thanadirek, spokesperson for the office. (Thailand-Cambodia)
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TOKYO -- Tokyo stocks ended higher on Thursday, with the benchmark Nikkei stock index closing at a fresh record high above the 62,000 mark and registering its biggest single-day point gain of over 3,300.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 3,320.72 points, or 5.58 percent, from Friday to 62,833.84, off the record intraday high of 63,091.14. (Japan-Stocks)
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SEOUL -- The sentence for South Korea's former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was commuted on Thursday to 15 years on appeal for aiding the insurrection of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, live footage showed.
The Seoul High Court overturned the lower court's ruling, shortening Han's prison term from 23 years to 15 years. (South Korea-Former PM-Sentence) ■
