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Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 0630 GMT, March 9

Xinhua, March 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

Some 40 Islamist rebels from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and four army soldiers were killed in intense fightings as the Philippine Army continued its all-out offensive in the southern province of Maguindanao, a military official said Monday.

Philippine Army Captain Joan Petinglay, spokesman for the Philippine Army's 6th Division, said the latest casualties from both the Philippine Army and the BIFF began occurring on Saturday as a law enforcement operation against the rebels continued around the borders of Mamasapano, Datu Piang and Shariff Saydona Mustapha towns. (Philippines-Rebles-Fighting)

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SEOUL -- South Korea's Unification Ministry in charge of inter- Korean affairs expressed regrets on Monday over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) silence toward Seoul's dialogue offer on the Kaesong industrial complex.

"We express strong regrets over North Korea's (DPRK) no response to our government's proposal. It is doubtful whether (the DPRK) has a willingness to advance the Kaesong industrial complex as agreed between the two Koreas," Unification Ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol said. (South Korea-DPRK-Dialogue)

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ISLAMABAD -- Afghan Minister for Refugees and Repatriation, Sayed Hussain Alimi Balkhi, opened talks in Pakistan on Monday about alleged arrests and expulsion of Afghan refugees.

Authorities in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province had started a campaign against unregistered Afghan refugees after the Taliban attacked an army school in Peshawar on Dec. 16, which left over 150 people dead, including 135 children. (Pakistan-Afghanistan-Refugees)

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SYDNEY -- More than 300 people in the remote northeast of Australia's Northern Territory will be living in tents for months to come following the recent Cyclone Lam, local press reported Monday.

The intense tropical storm hit the indigenous communities in Arnhem Land last month on the same day as Cyclone Marcia hit the far more populous region of Queensland's central coast. (Australia- Cyclone) Endi