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Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, April 21

Xinhua, April 21, 2017 Adjust font size:

At least eight military personnel and five attackers were killed and 11 people wounded after Taliban attacked an Afghan army's Corps in northern province of Balkh on Friday, the country's Defense Ministry confirmed.

The attack occurred in army's Corps 209 Shaheen on outskirts of provincial capital Mazar-i-Sharif city, roughly at 02:00 p.m. local time. The counter-attack ended at around 06:30 p.m. as five militants were killed following hours of gunfight inside the base. (Afghanistan-Taliban-Attack)

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TOKYO -- A government advisory panel submitted its finalized proposals on Japan's Emperor Akihito's abdication to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday, which would enable the 83-year-old emperor to hand over the throne to his son.

The six-member government panel suggested in its final report that one-off legislation should be passed on the abdication which would apply only to the current emperor. (Japan-Emperor-Abdication)

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NEW DELHI -- At least 14 people were killed and 17 others injured Friday after a truck hit an electric pole snapping live wires and ran into a crowd in southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, officials said.

The accident took place near Tirupati in district Chittor, about 414 km south of Amaravati, the main city in Andhra Pradesh. (India-Truck-Accident)

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TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering to the notorious war-linked Yasukuni Shrine on Friday in a move that has repeatedly drawn the ire and upset Japan's neighbors.

One of the prime minister's aides, a senior cabinet minister and a 90-member cross-party group of lawmakers also visited the infamous shrine on Friday. (Japan-Abe-Yasukuni Shrine)

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NEW DELHI -- Indian navy Friday test-fired land-attack supersonic cruise missile Brahmos, defense officials said.

"Indian navy successfully undertook the firing of Brahmos land attack supersonic cruise missile from a ship today," a defense spokesman said. "This variant of long range Brahmos missile was fired from Indian naval ship Teg, a guided missile frigate, on a target on land." (India-Missile) Endit