Top Asian News 12:43 a.m. GMT

The young democracy of Mongolia begins voting for an expanded 126-seat parliament

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — Voters in the youthful democracy of Mongolia are electing a new parliament on Friday in the landlocked Asian democracy that is squeezed between China and Russia, two much larger authoritarian states. At stake are 126 seats in an expanded parliament, 50 more than in the previous election in 2020. That contest was won by the Mongolian People's Party in a landslide. The ruling party still appears to hold the upper hand, but other parties may be able to capitalize on voter discontent to eat into its majority. About two dozen voters lined up on a staircase heading down to a polling station in the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, some muttering complaints because it opened 10 minutes late.