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LONDON, May 1  -- Downing Street said Wednesday in a statement that Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson had been sacked by the Prime Minister for "unauthorized disclosure of information".

A Downing Street spokesperson said, "The Prime Minister has this evening asked Gavin Williamson to leave the Government, having lost confidence in his ability to serve in the role of Defense Secretary and as a member of her Cabinet.

"The Prime Minister's decision has been informed by his conduct surrounding an investigation into the circumstances of the unauthorized disclosure of information from a meeting of the National Security Council.

"The Prime Minister thanks all members of the National Security Council for their full cooperation and candor during the investigation and considers the matter closed."

Williamson has been defense secretary since 2017 in the wake of Michael Fallon's sudden resignation.

The British government has appointed Penny Mordaunt as new defense secretary to replace Williamson. She was previously the international development secretary.

British media said Mordaunt is the first woman to take the role of defense secretary, while Rory Stewart, current Minister of State for the Ministry of Justice, will be the new international development secretary.

BEIJING, April 29 -- A joint military exercise with the Chinese and Russian navies has begun in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, marking the second time that both navies have met at the port of Qingdao since the launch of the annual drill mechanism in 2012.

The Chinese PLA Navy sent a warm welcome to the Russian fleet.

Qiu Yanpeng, deputy commander of the PLA Navy, said that through the exercise, both sides will have closer collaboration and greater proficiency in addressing all kinds of security threats.

The subject of this year's exercise is "joint maritime defensive operations." Both navies have dispatched two submarines, 13 surface vessels, multiple aircraft and some 80 marines.

Reportedly, the "Joint Sea 2019" exercise will be conducted in three phases, namely preparation, execution and summary. At least ten drills will be held by May 4.

According to a senior military official, the exercise will focus on joint submarine rescue, air defense, and anti-submarine operations.

On Monday afternoon, the navies of both sides visited each other's vessels in order to deepen mutual understanding.

"This is the second time I have come to Qingdao, and I am so happy to be back," said Alexander Averianov, a chief warrant officer from Russian cruiser Varyag.

They will soon set out to hold exercises in the sea and airspace near Qingdao.

Both navies stressed that the exercise does not target any third party. It only aims to enhance their capability to commonly address maritime security threats.

Phnom Penh , April 30 – Interior Ministry spokesperson Khieu Sopheak said Tuesday that the USD 3.5 million confiscated from three Chinese at Phnom Penh International Airport now belongs to the state-property thus preserved at the National Bank of Cambodia.

Phnom Penh municipal court investigating judge Ros Samedy, on Sunday, ordered to detain Wang Shiping, Wang Lichao, and Zhang Jian, accused of “money laundering”, a violation of law on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.

Ministry of Interior’s immigration police, on 23 April 2019, arrested the trio for bringing USD 3.5 million into the kingdom from Hong Kong without proper financial source, according to the ministry’s press release dated Friday.

Phnom Penh , April 30 – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi pledged to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation, speaking in a meeting on Tuesday at the Peace Palace Phnom Penh.

Aung San Suu Kyi informed the Premier that the three-day visit to Cambodia is her first official visit since she took office as head of government in 2016, and that her visit aims to promote bilateral tie with Cambodia, Eang Sophalleth, personal secretary to the Premier, told the press after the meeting.

Sophalleth said both sides discussed mainly on culture, religion, education, and economy.

Prime Minister Hun Sen welcomed Aung San Suu Kyi and commended her initiative to strengthen Cambodia-Myanmar bilateral ties.

2020 will mark the the 65th anniversary of the Cambodia-Myanmar diplomatic relations. Prime Minister recommended the joint ceremony to encourage and promote tourism in both countries by hosting cultural events in Siem Reap and Bakan – provinces enriched with heritages.

Regarding religion, the Premier thanked Myanmar for allowing Cambodia to build a monastery in the province of Myanmar, and for providing training to 94 Cambodian monks. Currently, four are still studying there.

Prime Minister encouraged the exchange study between Cambodian and Myanmar students. He announced to award 10 scholarships Myanmar students to study in Cambodia for 2019-2020.

Regarding economy, Prime Minister Hun Sen considered agreement on double tax avoidance and promotion of trade volume to be larger than USD 10 million.

Myanmar and Cambodia established diplomatic relations in 1955.

BERLIN, April 24 -- An unexploded World War II bomb was discovered and later defused on Wednesday in Cologne, forcing 2,500 residents to evacuate, according to the official twitter account of the city of Cologne.

The bomb was discovered Wednesday afternoon and an area of 500 meters in radius had been cordoned off. The discovery has disrupted local and long-distance traffic, including the train route from Cologne to Bonn.

The city of Cologne tweeted on Wednesday evening that the bomb was defused and residents can return home.

In the early morning of Wednesday, another bomb was defused successfully by a specialized robot in the city of Regensburg in Bavaria, forcing an evacuation of 4,500, local media said.

Decades have passed, yet World War II bombs are frequently discovered all across Germany.