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Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1000 GMT, March 11

Xinhua, March 11, 2015 Adjust font size:

A special Indian court on Wednesday made the country's former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh an accused in the multi-billion dollar coal scam and summoned him in a major embarrassment for the main opposition Congress party.

The court asked the former prime minister and five others to appear before it on April 8 after charging Singh with criminal conspiracy, corruption and breach of trust, brushing aside suggestions by India's premier probe agency that it did not have any prosecutable evidence against him.(India-Manmohan Singh)

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MANILA -- Twenty-five people, including two soldiers and 23 Muslim militants, have been killed in the series of firefights in southern Philippine province of Maguindanao since late Tuesday afternoon, the military said Wednesday.

The intense fighting occurred in areas in the boundaries of Datu Salibo and Datu Piang and in Pusao village, Sharif Saidona Mustapha, all in Maguindanao province, said Harold Cabunoc, the Philippine military's public information office chief.(Philippines- Militants)

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WELLINGTON -- The blackmailer behind the New Zealand infant formula poison threat is probably a loner with personal issues, a leading psychologist said Wednesday as the government came under fire for describing the threat as "eco-terrorism."

The threat to poison infant and other formulas with 1080 poison appeared to be from a more personal than political motivation, said Massey University forensic psychologist Dr Mei Williams.(New Zealand-Formula)

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HANOI -- Vietnamese coffee has been exported to over 60 countries and regions worldwide, bringing Vietnam some 3.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2014, ranking second among the world' s top coffee exporters, released at a conference on sustainable development of coffee sector in Vietnam held in Central Highlands Dak Lak province on Wednesday.

Vietnam, with over 640,000 hectares of coffee plantation mainly in the Central Highlands areas, leads the world's Robusta production, Vietnam's state-run radio VOV quoted the statistics as saying on Wednesday.(Vietnam-Coffee) Endi