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Cambodia's newly elected parliament endorsed four-star military general Hun Manet as prime minister on Tuesday, completing a historic transfer of power in a fast-changing country led by his father Hun Sen for nearly four decades.

The Western-educated Hun Manet, 45, had the overwhelming backing of a National Assembly dominated by his Cambodian People's Party (CPP), following an election in July that was dismissed abroad as a sham that lacked any viable opposition.

Hun Manet told lawmakers that election was free and fair and promised he would implement the CPP's policies and ensure peace, economic growth, better infrastructure, and wage increases for civil servants and garment workers.

He lauded his father and the older generation of politicians for steering Cambodia from years of devastating civil war to an era of peace, growth and better living for its people.

"The bright wisdom, diverse experiences, pragmatism, and the levels of adeptness, intelligence and savviness that (Hun Sen) and excellencies leaders have displayed ... is a mastery of the art of leadership, one that we as the future generation can only aspire to," Hun Manet said in a speech.

Hun Sen, 71, a former Khmer Rouge guerrilla and self-styled strongman has pledged to remain in politics in other roles for at least a decade, in what experts see as a move to fend off potential challenges to his son.

One of the world's longest-serving leaders, Hun Sen has expressed desire to become president of the upper house Senate next year.

Until Tuesday's address to parliament, little was known about Hun Manet's vision for Cambodia, a country of 16 million people, few of whom have lived under a leader other than his father.

A graduate of the West Point military academy in the United States, Hun Manet rose fast through the ranks of Cambodia's armed forces and has served as head of counter-terrorism, deputy chief of his father's bodyguard unit, army chief and deputy military commander.

He is also highly educated, with a masters degree from New York University and a doctorate from Britain's Bristol University, both in economics, in stark contrast to his father, who had no formal education.

Hun Manet's first months in office will be watched by major powers for signs of whether he favours a more liberal approach and improving Cambodia's strained ties with the West, or plans to keep the authoritarian status quo of his father and remain in China's sphere of influence. (Reuters)

More than 200 members of Afghanistan's former military, law enforcement and government have been killed since the Taliban took over, the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said on Tuesday, despite a "general amnesty" for old enemies.

The mission said in a report it had recorded at least 218 extrajudicial killings with links to the Taliban from their takeover of Afghanistan in mid-2021 up to June.

"In most instances, individuals were detained by de facto security forces, often briefly, before being killed," the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said.

Senior Taliban leaders have said there is an amnesty for former government officials and members of the military by order of their supreme leader.

The Taliban-led foreign affairs ministry said in response to UNAMA that it had not received reports of any cases of non-compliance with the order and any cases that did occur would be investigated.

U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk said the killings were a "betrayal of the people's trust" since the victims had been assured they would not be targeted. U.N. rights office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said the scale of killings was "shocking" and expected the true count to be higher.

UNAMA said about half of the killings it recorded occurred in the four months after the Taliban took over, as U.S.-backed foreign forces were withdrawing, in August 2021, and 70 were recorded in 2022.

"For the majority of violations discussed in this report, there is limited information regarding measures taken by the de facto authorities to investigate incidents and hold perpetrators to account," UNAMA said, referring to the Taliban administration.

"The apparent impunity with which members of the de facto authorities continue to commit human rights violations against former government officials and ANDSF members is of serious concern," UNAMA said, referring to the old Afghan National Defence and Security Forces.

In total, UNAMA had recorded 800 incidents of human rights violations connected with the Taliban against former government employees and military including arbitrary arrests, disappearance and torture.

The majority were against former members of the security forces and police, the mission said.

The Taliban-led foreign affairs ministry said their supreme spiritual leader had issued the amnesty order and another order against torture or ill-treatment of people in custody.

It denied state sanctioned extra-judicial killings or targeting people who fought in or worked for the foreign-backed former government.

"No military staff of the previous administration has been arrested, detained or tortured because of his activities in the security institutions," it said in a statement that the U.N. issued with its report.

"Those employees of the previous administration who joined the opposition groups of the Islamic Emirate (the Taliban administration) or had military activities to the detriment of the system, have been arrested and introduced to judicial authorities." (Reuters)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has lashed out at top officials for their "irresponsible" response to flood damage, saying they had "spoiled" the national economy, state media reported on Tuesday.

Kim inspected a tideland on the west coast on Monday after seawater recently destroyed an embankment with inadequate drainage system, flooding more than 560 hectares of land, including over 270 hectares of rice paddies, news agency KCNA said.

Chastising officials for their "very irresponsible" neglect of duties, Kim singled out Kim Tok Hun, premier of the cabinet, for inspecting the destroyed site once or twice "with the attitude of an onlooker".

"He said ... in recent years the administrative and economic discipline of the Kim Tok Hun Cabinet has got out of order more seriously and, consequently, the idlers are spoiling all the state economic work with the irresponsible work manner," the KCNA said in an English-language dispatch.

Such irresponsibility and lack of discipline from officials is "mainly attributable to the feeble work attitude and wrong viewpoint of the premier of the cabinet," Kim said.

This week's visit is the latest in a series of inspections the North Korean leader has made of flood-hit farmlands amid mounting concerns over a food crisis in the reclusive country.

Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at South Korea's Kyungnam University, said Kim's harsh criticism could herald a cabinet reshuffle. It also demonstrates that the economy is not developing as planned, Lim added.

"After all, Kim appears to be furious over the national economy not improving as much as he wants," Lim said.

The North has suffered serious food shortages in recent decades, including famine in the 1990s, often as a result of natural disasters. International experts have warned that border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic worsened matters. (Reuters)

Real estate mogul Srettha Thavisin won the backing of Thailand's parliament on Tuesday to become prime minister, paving the way to a new coalition government and an end to weeks of uncertainty and political stalemate.

Srettha, who was thrust into the spotlight just a few months ago by the populist Pheu Thai Party, secured the support of more than half of the legislature, on a day when the party's billionaire figurehead Thaksin Shinawatra made a historic homecoming after years of as a fugitive in self-imposed exile.

Political neophyte Srettha, a former president of property developer Sansiri (SIRI.BK), will be tasked with forming and holding together a potentially fragile coalition that will include parties backed by the royalist military, which overthrew Pheu Thai governments in 2006 and 2014 coups.

Among those ousted was former telecoms tycoon and Premier League football club owner Thaksin, who fled into exile and was jail in absentia in 2008 for abuse of power and conflicts of interest. A government led by his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was ousted in a coup in 2014.

Thaksin, 74, received a rapturous reception upon his return from supporters at a Bangkok airport, before being escorted by police to the Supreme Court then to a jail to serve a sentence of eight years.

The return of Thailand's most famous politician and Srettha's smooth ascent to the top job will add to speculation that Thaksin may have done a deal with his enemies in the military and establishment to allow his safe return, and possibly an early release from jail.

Thaksin and Pheu Thai have denied that.

Tuesday's events were the latest twist in a nearly two decade power struggle between Pheu Thai, which has won five elections, and a nexus of conservatives, generals and old money families that have long wielded influence on politics and the economy.

Srettha was declared by Pheu Thai as a prime ministerial candidate, alongside Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin's youngest daughter, in the run-up to a May 14 election in which the party finished second.

An attempt to form a coalition with the election winner, the progressive Move Forward, collapsed after it met fierce resistance from conservative members of the lower house and Senators under the influence of the military. (Reuters)