Cambodian Elections

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) -Cambodian election officials say Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling party has won an overwhelming victory in local elections.

The National Election Committee announced final results Sunday from the June 3 polls showing that the ruling Cambodian People's Party won 1,592 of the 1,633 commune chief posts that were at stake.

Opposition parties took the remainder of the seats.

The ruling party earlier claimed victory in the polls and the result was expected. The party has been in power for nearly three decades.

The elections for local governing councils were seen as an indicator of public opinion ahead of general elections expected in 2013.

New Terminal

LAS VEGAS (AP) -With the arrival of an overnight flight from London this week, Las Vegas will mark the opening of a $2.4 billion airport terminal that officials say could help lift the southern Nevada economy from the depths of the Great Recession.

Some are crediting McCarran International Airport planners with foresight for giving a go-ahead in 2008 for a project that airport chief Randall Walker now calls crucial to serving tourists from the U.S. and Britain, plus places like Panama, South Korea, the Philippines, Amsterdam and Berlin.

The facility, dubbed T3, will spread the flow of the nearly 114,000 daily travelers passing through the airport.

Diplomatic Ties

BUENOS AIRES, (AFP) - Argentine President Cristina Kirchner and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Sunday hailed 40 years of strong diplomatic ties between their two countries.

At a ceremony in a museum opposite the presidential Casa Rosada mansion, Wen called the four-decade mark an ''important milestone'' and praised the ''deepening friendship and trust'' between Buenos Aires and Beijing.

Trade between the two states totaled $14.8 billion in 2011. The Asian powerhouse is Argentina's biggest taker of agricultural products and its second largest trade partner.

Tourism Boost

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel's tourism minister says he is looking to India for a big boost in visits to his country.

Stas Misezhnikov said Sunday that some 40,000 Indians visited Israel last year. While that's a small percentage of the roughly 3 million tourists Israel gets each year, it's double the amount of just two years ago.

Misezhnikov said he can bring that figure to 100,000 in three years.

At a news conference with his Indian counterpart, Misezhnikov said Israel will open new flights to destinations in India such as New Delhi, Goa and Calcutta. The Israeli Tourism Ministry also plans to open an office in Mumbai this year.

Misezhnikov and Indian Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahai signed an agreement to encourage travel between their countries.

Clients Reimbursed

ALBANY, New York (AP) -New York's attorney general says he has secured a civil settlement in which hedge fund manager J. Ezra Merkin will reimburse clients with $405 million lost in Bernard Madoff's historic investment scam.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Sunday that the clients will be paid over three years and New York State will get $5 million to cover the cost of the settlement.

Merkin had managed four funds with hundreds of investors. Schneiderman says many are New Yorkers and charitable organizations. None have been identified.

Madoff was once the Nasdaq chairman who used his reputation to dupe sophisticated investors, regulators and Wall Street banks. Merkin invested more than $2 billion with Madoff.

A Schneiderman spokesman says he can't speculate on the effect of the settlement on other investors who lost millions.

Sourced: mb.com