Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1000 GMT, April 12

A plane with several people on board lost contact on Wednesday in Papua province of eastern Indonesia, search and rescue operation have been underway, spokesman of Indonesian transport ministry J. A. Barata said.

"The cargo plane lost contact today (Wednesday). Now we are checking the number of crew," Barata told Xinhua via phone. (Indonesia-Plane)

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CANBERRA -- The Australian National University (ANU) and the University of South China (USC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on research collaboration on fusion energy technology.

As the first project under the MoU, the ANU has agreed to provide the USC with its plasma Stellarator device, the first in China when the device is shipped to China later this year. (China-Australia-Cooperation)

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NEW DELHI -- A Delhi-bound passenger plane aborted take-off after it suffered a bird hit at Varanasi airport in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh Wednesday, a senior aviation official said.

"The incident took place at Varanasi airport when flight number 9W 2423 of private airline Jet Airways, with 150 passengers on board, was about to take off. The bird hit damaged at least three blades of the plane's right engine," he said, on condition of anonymity. (India-Plane-Bird)

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SEOUL -- South Korean military airlifted construction equipments to a site where the U.S. missile defense system is to be deployed, indicating an imminent launch of construction, Newsis news agency reported Wednesday.

The local media quoted an unnamed South Korean military official as saying heavy equipments necessary to build facilities and infrastructure inside the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) site were transported by helicopter on Tuesday. (South Korea-THAAD) Endit