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Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 0600 GMT, Apirl 22

Xinhua, April 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said here on Wednesday that the management of the global economy cannot be left only to the three international financial institutions.

Widodo told the opening ceremony of the Asian-African Summit 2015 that the mere reliance on the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank is "an outdated view". (Indonesia-Asia-African Summit)

----TOKYO -- A group of Japanese lawmakers from various parties visited the notorious Yasukuni Shrine Wednesday morning for the annual spring festival, local media reported.

Their visits came a day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dedicated a "masakaki" tree offering to the shrine, which has drawn fire from South Korea and China. (Japan-Yasukuni Shrine- Visit)

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TOKYO -- Japan's exports exceeded imports in March for the first time in nearly three years, government data showed Wednesday.

The trade surplus was 229.3 billion yen (about 1.9 billion U.S. dollars), the finance ministry said in a preliminary report, adding the crude oil price's decline was the main cause. (Japan- Trade Surplus)

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SEOUL -- The South Korean government made a final decision Wednesday to salvage the Sewol ferry from the waters off Jindo Island in the country's southwest coast, with field works slated to kick off as early as in September.

The decision was made in the government complex in central Seoul during a meeting of the central management headquarters for disaster and safety composed of 17 government ministries and agencies. (S.Korea-Sewol Ferry)

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SEOUL-- South Korea and the United States reached a deal Wednesday on nuclear energy pact after four and a half years of negotiations, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.

Seoul and Washington launched the negotiations in October 2010 to revise the atomic energy agreement, which took effect in 1973. (S.Korea-U.S.-Nuke Pact)

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HONG KONG -- Hong Kong's Chief Secretary Carrie Lam said on Wednesday that candidates of the region's next chief executive will be picked by a 1,200-member Nominating Committee as proposed earlier by the government.

Announcing a constitutional reform package at the Legislative Council, Lam said the committee members will be from the 38 sub- sectors of the four major sectors of the existing Election Committee. (HK-Constitutional Reform)

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KATHMANDU -- Twelve Indian pilgrims were killed and more than 30 others injured when a bus veered off highway and rolled down to about 150 meters before plunging into a river in the Central Nepal on Wednesday morning, police officials said.

"Five female and seven male who died in the accident were Indian nationals and most of them were from Gorakhpur of India," Sub Inspector of Police Basu Kharel, who is involved in the rescue operation told Xinhua on the phone. (Nepal-India-Road Accident) Endi