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Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, Jan. 4

Xinhua, February 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

South Korean President Park Geun-hye and visiting Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Chang Wanquan here on Wednesday pledged to promote the relations between the two nations.

Park said during their meeting that South Korea and China have been enhancing the mutual trust and friendship.(S.Korea-China-Ties)

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TALUQAN, Afghanistan -- Ten Taliban militants have been killed and four others injured as Afghan security forces stormed Taliban hideouts in the northern Takhar province with Taluqan as its capital, 245 km north of Kabul on Wednesday, spokesman for the provincial government Sunatullah Timor said.

"Acting upon intelligence report, Afghan police in coordination with army units backed by helicopters raided Taliban hideouts in Pul-e-Momin area of Khawjaghar district this morning, leaving 10 rebels dead and injuring four others," Timor told reporters here. (Afghanistan-Taliban-Clash)

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HONG KONG -- Zhang Xiaoming, head of Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong, said here on Wednesday that the central authority's sincerity to implement universal suffrage in 2017 chief executive election will never change.

Addressing the 2015 Spring Festival Reception hosted by the liaison office, Zhang reiterated that the central authority will never shake in its sincerity to implement universal suffrage for chief executive election in 2017, in its stand to demand that the methods of universal suffrage should conform to the stipulations of the Basic Law and the decisions of the NPC Standing Committee, and in its principle to secure that the chief executive should be a Hong Kong citizen who loves the motherland and loves Hong Kong.( Hong Kong-Universal Suffrage)

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NEW DELHI -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday sacked another cabinet member, Union home secretary Anil Goswami, for barring the arrest of a former government official accused of corruption, said local TV reports.

Goswami was blamed for dissuading the arrest of former Union minister Matang Sinh when the latter was being questioned by police in connection with a fund scam last Saturday.(India-Cabinet Member-Sack) Endi