The World Cambodia’s PM says he will step down in 3 weeks and his son will succeed him

Sen, who is Asia’s longest-serving leader, said he had informed King Norodom Sihamoni of his decision and that the king had agreed.

Hun Sen said his son would be named prime minister after the National Election Commission reports the final results of Sunday’s election, in which the CPP won 120 of 125 seats.

West Africa recorded over 1,800 terrorist attacks in first six months of 2023, regional official says

By Edith M. Lederer The Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS—West Africa recorded over 1,800 terrorist attacks in the first six months of the year resulting in nearly 4,600 deaths with dire humanitarian consequences, and a top regional official said Tuesday that’s just “a snippet of the horrendous impact of insecurity.”

HUN

The announcement came after their Cambodian People’s Party won a landslide victory in weekend elections that Western countries and rights organizations criticized as neither free nor fair, and in which the country’s main opposition was suppressed.

Hun Sen has been Cambodia’s autocratic leader for 38 years but said ahead of the elections he would hand off the position to his oldest son, Hun Manet, sometime during the next five-year term.

Hun Manet, 45, is currently the chief of the country’s army.

In a televised address, Hun

He has also said that a new generation would take over many of the top ministerial positions in the new government, which he said would be formed August 22.

Even though he is stepping down from the premiership, Hun Sen is widely expected to remain closely involved in running Cambodia, and is also to become president of the country’s senate. AP

Japan records steepest population decline; number of foreign residents hits new high

By Mari Yamaguchi

The Associated Press

TOKYO—Japan’s population declined in all of its 47 prefectures for the first time in a record drop, while its number of foreign residents hit a new high, reaching almost 3 million people, according to government data released Wednesday, highlighting the increasing role that nonJapanese people play in the shrinking and aging country.

The population of Japanese nationals fell by about 800,000 people, or 0.65 percent, to 122.4 million in 2022 from the previous year, falling for a 14th straight year, according to data from the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry based on residency registrations as of January 1 this year.

Japan’s total population was 125.41 million, down just over half a million people from a year earlier, and there was a 10.7 percent jump in foreign residents with addresses registered in Japan, the ministry said.

The increase in Japan’s foreign population was the biggest year-on-year

PEOPLE walk along a pedestrian crossing at Ginza shopping street on March 31, 2023, in Tokyo.

Japan’s population declined in all of its 47 prefectures for the first time in a record drop, while its number of foreign residents hit a new high, reaching almost 3 million people, according to government data released Wednesday, July 26, 2023, highlighting the increasing role that nonJapanese people play in the shrinking and aging country. AP/EUGENE HOSHIKO rise since the ministry started taking statistics in 2013. Foreign residents now account for about 2.4 percent of Japan’s population, the ministry said.

After peaking in 2008, Japan’s population has since shrunk steadily due to a declining birthrate. The country saw a record low of 771,801 births last year.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has set tackling the declining births as one of his top policy goals and pledged to secure annual funding of about 3.5 trillion yen ($25.2 billion) over the next three years for a new child care package, which includes child birth and rearing allowances and increased subsidies for higher education.

Kishida’s Cabinet last month approved a plan to expand the scope of job categories allowed for foreign workers, opening the door for future permanent residency, in a major shift in a country known for its closeddoor immigration policy as it struggles with a shrinking population.

Experts say the proposed low-birth measures are mostly additional funding for existing ones and don’t address underlying problems.

They also say that Japan’s conservative government needs to do more to raise salaries, improve working conditions, and make society more inclusive for minorities and those with non-Japanese roots to attract foreign workers to move to Japan and stay.

Rival Koreas mark armistice anniversary in 2 different ways that highlight rising tensions

By Kim Tong-Hyung

The Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea—The truce that stopped the bloodshed in the Korean War turns 70 years old on Thursday and the two Koreas are marking the anniversary in starkly different ways, underscoring their deepening nuclear tensions.

North Korea has invited delegations from China and Russia as it prepares to stage huge celebrations with thousands of citizens who have rehearsed for months to commemorate the armistice it sees as a victory in the “Grand Fatherland Liberation War.” The festivities are likely to be capped by a giant military parade in the capital, Pyongyang, where leader Kim Jong Un could showcase his most powerful, nuclear-capable missiles designed to target neighboring rivals and the US mainland.

The mood is more somber in South Korea, where President Yoon Suk Yeol has invited dozens of foreign war veterans to honor the fallen soldiers of the 1950-1953 conflict, which killed and injured millions and set the stage for decades of animosity among the Koreas and the United States.

Yoon, a conservative condemned by Pyongyang as a “traitor,” will likely use this week’s events to highlight the North’s growing threat and double down on his goals of strengthening the South’s defense and its alliance with the US.

Tensions between the rivals are at their highest point in years, as the pace of North Korean missile tests and US-South Korean joint military exercises has intensified in a tit-fortat cycle. The dueling military activities have been punctuated by verbal threats, including North Korean talk of preemptive nuclear strikes and US vows to “end” Kim’s regime in the event of such an attack.

The frictions provide a renewed reminder that the armistice has left the Korean Peninsula in a technical state of war. Through their 70 years of diplomatic ups and downs, the Koreas have consistently seen each other as existential threats, which is essentially why the armistice was never replaced by a peace treaty as originally intended.

Managing tensions is now more complicated than ever as Kim continues to reject dialogue with the US while aggressively expanding a nuclear arsenal he sees as his strongest guarantee of survival.

Kim is also pushing for deeper cooperation with authoritarian allies China and Russia, which are locked in their own confrontations with Washington over regional influence and the war in Ukraine, as he aims to counter US efforts to tighten trilateral security cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo.

North Korean state media on Wednesday highlighted the arrival of a Russian delegation led by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who was greeted at Pyongyang’s airport by senior North Korean officials including Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam. China’s ruling Communist Party is also sending a mid-level official, Li Hongzhong, in hopes of further facilitating bilateral exchanges.

For Kim, bringing Shoigu and Li to his balcony at Pyongyang’s main square to watch a massive parade featuring goose-stepping soldiers, tanks and missiles would be the biggest accomplishment he could show to his domestic audience for the anniversary, said Park Won Gon, a professor at Seoul’s Ewha University.

Kim already displayed his most powerful missiles during a previous parade in February and there might not be meaningful new hardware to show after the North failed in its first attempt to launch a military spy satellite into orbit in May. Economic achievements have been scarce after pandemic-related border closures decimated an economy already crippled by decades of mismanagement and US-led sanctions over Kim’s nuclear ambitions.

Park said the invitations of the Chinese and Russian delegations could also reflect Kim’s unease about the strengthening security cooperation between the US and South Korea, which have included larger joint military exercises, increased deployments of strategic US military assets and new rounds of nuclear contingency planning meetings.

Thursday’s anniversary comes after North Korea conducted three separate rounds of ballistic and cruise missile firings

Omar Touray told the UN Security Council that half a million people in the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States known as ECOWAS are refugees and nearly 6.2 million are internally displaced. If there isn’t an adequate international response to the 30 million people ECOWAS assesses need food right now, he said, the number of people in need will increase to 42 million by the end of next month.

Touray, who is president of the ECOWAS Commission, singled out the following drivers of insecurity in the region: terrorism, armed rebellion, organized crime, unconstitutional changes of government, illegal maritime activities, environmental crises, and fake news. He said the region is worried about the resurgence of the military, with three countries—Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea—under military rule.

“The reversal of democratic gains runs parallel to insecurity that West Africa and the Sahel have been facing for some time now,” he said, and insecurity continues to inflict pain and suffering on millions of people.

For example, Touray said, the 4,593 deaths in terrorist attacks between January and June 30 include 2,725 in Burkina Faso, 844 in Mali, 77 in Niger and 70 in Nigeria. He added that terrorist attacks in Benin and Togo, which have coastlines on the Atlantic Ocean, are a “stark indication of the expansion of terrorism to littoral states, a situation that poses additional threat to the region.”

Touray said there have been a multiplicity of initiatives to tackle terrorism and insecurity, which have had an impact on the ground, but there is a lack of coordination and ECOWAS wants to integrate the various initiatives into a regional plan of action.

ECOWAS military chiefs of staff have held consultations to strengthen a regional standby force “in a manner that will enable it to support member states in the fight against terrorism and against threats to constitutional order,” he said.

Touray said the military chiefs proposed two options, establishing a 5,000-strong brigade at an annual cost of $2.3 billion or deployment of troops on demand at an annual cost of $360 million.

He reiterated the African Union’s request for African peace operations to receive funding from the UN regular budget, to which all 193 UN member states contribute.

Touray said the military staff recommendations were made before Mali’s military junta demanded that the more than 15,000-strong UN peacekeeping force in the country leave, which was followed by the Security Council’s unanimous vote on June 30 to immediately end the mission. Mali has brought in mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group to help fight an Islamic insurgency.

Touray told the council that ECOWAS leaders “have reflected on the possible adverse impact of the withdrawal on the region and have decided to convene an extraordinary session on peace and security by the end of August.” Ahead of that meeting, he said, Benin’s president will visit Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea and press for “an expeditious return to constitutional order.”

The Security Council was also briefed by the new head of the UN office for West Africa, Leonardo Santos Simão, who said the security situation in the central Sahel, especially the border region of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, “has deteriorated further, with multiple attacks against civilians and defense and security forces.” He also said “the southward expansion of insecurity remains a potent threat.”

Simão appealed for “robust and decisive support” for the ECOWAS action plan to eradicate terrorism in the region and for the African Union and efforts by countries to stem insecurity in the Sahel.

US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood told the council “the United States remains gravely concerned by democratic backsliding across the region” and is “deeply concerned by the spread of instability in coastal West Africa.”

He accused the Wagner Group of “committing human rights abuses and endangering the safety and security of civilians, peacekeepers and UN personnel.” since last week, apparently to protest the US sending major naval assets to the South in a show of force. They include the USS Kentucky, which last week became the first US nuclear-armed submarine to dock in South Korea since the 1980s.

Russia’s Deputy Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva called the security situation in West Africa and the Sahel “difficult,” pointing to increased activity by fighters from the Islamic State extremist group, subversive activities by Boko Haram, and the spread of terrorist activity to coastal West African countries.

“The strengthening of nuclear deterrence strategies between South Korea, the United States and Japan and military moves like the docking of the ballistic-missile submarine (in South Korea) are a huge burden and threat for North Korea,” Park said. “Since North Korea has limited ability to deal with these moves on its own, emphasizing cooperation with Moscow and Beijing for a combined response would be important (for Kim).”

Moscow and Beijing have already thwarted US-led efforts since last year to strengthen UN Security Council sanctions on Pyongyang over its intensified missile testing activity, underscoring a divide between the council’s permanent members deepened over Russia’s war on Ukraine.

When asked about the visits, US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel urged Beijing and Moscow to play a more constructive role in defusing tensions and to bring Pyongyang back to dialogue.

The Korean War was triggered by a North Korean sneak attack on the South. The North was backed by forces from the newly created People’s Republic of China, which was aided by the then-Soviet air force. South Korea, the US and troops from various countries under the direction of the United Nations fought to push back the invasion.

For South Koreans, the major outcome of the 1953 armistice was the subsequent signing of the US-South Korea Mutual Defense Treaty, which was mainly aimed at calming South Korean security jitters about the truce and continues to serve as the foundation for the countries’ military alliance. Facing growing nuclear threats, Yoon is now seeking stronger US assurances that it would swiftly and decisively use its nuclear weapons to defend the South in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack.

New alliance of Indian opposition parties, called INDIA, joins forces to take on Modi

Continued from A6 regional parties that are with the INDIA alliance.

“Modi’s party is known to not share power. That it has shown a more conciliatory side toward allies ahead of elections means it’s worried and would like the support of as many allies as possible,” said Gilles Verniers, a senior fellow at the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research think tank. “But it won’t be an alliance of equals. Modi’s party will still campaign using Modi as a brand. He alone will be on the posters.”

During his nine years in power, Modi has consolidated his party’s reach in north and central India. His party has, however, faced tough challenges in state polls, particularly in the south, where regional parties hold influence.

In recent polls, Congress toppled local BJP governments in state elections in southern Karnataka and northern Himachal Pradesh, denting the ruling party’s image of invincibility. Gandhi’s 136-day march on foot across the length of the country also appears to have shot India’s grand old party back into political prominence.

The election battle is between “Narendra Modi and INDIA, his ideology and INDIA. India always wins all fights,” Gandhi said July 18 at the opposition gathering.

Verniers said the alliance’s name rattled Modi’s party, “but the opposition parties will have to set aside their differences and make some compromises.”

“They have to decide how they will take on the BJP electorally. Their best bet is to file one candidate against the BJP across most of the parliamentary seats in India,” he said.

India has a history of coalition governments, and opposition parties successfully banded together to defeat then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1977 elections held after she imposed emergency rule in 1975. However, past efforts by the opposition to unite against the Modi government have failed because of infighting among the parties and ideological differences.

Recent moves by oppositions elsewhere in the world haven’t been as successful as INDIA hopes to be. Fragmented oppositions in Turkey and Hungary also failed to oust their populist leaders.

But India has Westminsterstyle parliamentary system, and a large opposition bloc has a significant chance to emerge victorious by winning more seats, even if its vote share is less than that of the ruling party. In 2019 general elections, Modi’s BJP-led alliance only won 37 percent of the votes cast, but was still rewarded with over 303 of 543 seats.

Palshikar, the political scientist, said if the opposition alliance was to succeed it must transform the movement of unity into a “political force that can offer an alternative to the voters.” its vision, mission, and long-term goals.

“Mere critique of Modi won’t work,” he said.

17.

ZHANG, YINGBO Mandarin Chief Radio Officer Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Chief Radio Officer will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a mandarin chief radio officer, familiarity, knowledge, and awareness of machinery and heavy equipment used by the company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plans.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as Mandarin Chief Radio Officer, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

18.

FANG, AIQING Mandarin Chief Supervisor Brief Job Description: The mandarin chief supervisor will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company in the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission, and long-term goals.

HE, DAOQIANG Mandarin Chief Supervisor

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a mandarin chief supervisor, familiarity, knowledge, and awareness of machinery and heavy equipment used by the company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plans.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

19.

Brief Job Description: The mandarin chief supervisor will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company in the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission, and long-term goals.

LIU, ZHENGMING Mandarin Chief Supervisor

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a mandarin chief supervisor, familiarity, knowledge, and awareness of machinery and heavy equipment used by the company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plans.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

20.

Brief Job Description: The mandarin chief supervisor will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company in the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission, and long-term goals.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a mandarin chief supervisor, familiarity, knowledge, and awareness of machinery and heavy equipment used by the company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plans.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

WANG, SANYAO Mandarin Chief Supervisor Brief Job Description: The mandarin Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a mandarin chief supervisor, familiarity, knowledge, and awareness of machinery and heavy equipment used by the company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plans. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 22.

ZHU, YOUMING Mandarin Chief Supervisor Brief Job Description: Analyze the needs in structure and quality control maintenance.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as Mandarin Chief Supervisor, excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

23.

GONG, QINGJUN Mandarin Cruise Consultant Brief Job Description: The mandarin cruise consultant will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company in the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission, and long-term goals.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a mandarin cruise consultant, familiarity, knowledge, and awareness of machinery and heavy equipment used by the company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plans. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 24.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as Mandarin Cruise Consultant, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 25.

26.

LI, ZIDING Mandarin Cruise Consultant Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Cruise Consultant will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

LIN, YUNJUN Mandarin Cruise Consultant Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Cruise Consultant will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

LIU, TANZHENG Mandarin Cruise Consultant Brief Job Description: Diagnose, repair, and operate heavy equipment within their specialism.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as Mandarin Cruise Consultant, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as Mandarin Cruise Consultant, excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

27.

CHEN, KAIFU Mandarin Cruise Director Brief Job Description: The mandarin cruise director will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company in the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission, and long-term goals.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a mandarin cruise director, familiarity, knowledge, and awareness of machinery and heavy equipment used by the company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plans.

28. LIN, GUANGXIN Mandarin Cruise Director Brief Job Description: The mandarin cruise director will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company in the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission, and long-term goals. Basic Qualification: Proven experience

Demonstrable business Basic Qualification: Proven experience as Mandarin Field Service Coordinator, excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 32.

Job

Mandarin be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company in the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission, and long-term goals. HUANG, HAIBING Mandarin Field Service Coordinator Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Field Service coordinator will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin cruise director, familiarity, knowledge, and awareness of machinery and heavy equipment used by the company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plans. Basic Qualification: Proven experience as Mandarin Field Service Coordinator, excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 33.

Deck Officer will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and

Officer Basic Qualification: Proven experience as Mandarin Field Service Coordinator, excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 and long-term goals.

Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 LIU, BIN Mandarin Field Service Coordinator Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Field Service coordinator will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

ZHENGBIN Mandarin Safety Officer Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Safety Officer will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a mandarin safety officer, familiarity, knowledge, and awareness of machinery and heavy equipment used by the company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plans.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as Mandarin Safety Officer, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Mandarin Security Officer

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Security Officer will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as Mandarin Security Officer, excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as Mandarin

Security excellent