Xinhua Asia-Pacific News Summary at 0600 GMT, Dec. 19

NEW DELHI -- Indian police have arrested the owner of a shop which was caught fire in Mumbai Monday, claiming the lives of 12 people.

The blaze spread very quickly and within minutes it gutted the entire shop and brought down its structure. While 12 people died on the spot, those injured were admitted to a hospital by firefighters and rescuers of the local civic body. (India-Blaze)

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MANILA -- Ten more bodies were retrieved on Tuesday from the village hit by a landslide in Biliran province in central Philippines, bringing the total number of dead in the storm to 41, the government official said.

The retrieval of the 10 additional bodies in Biliran brings the total fatalities in the Philippines from tropical storm Kai-Tak to 41. (Philippines-Landslide)

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HANOI -- The Vietnam Railways Corporation said on Tuesday that it will increase the number of trains daily carrying cargoes between Vietnam's northern Hai Phong city and China's southwestern Yunnan province.

The number of daily freight trains will increase to three or four pairs (a pair includes one train running from Hai Phong to Yunnan, and the other running in the opposite direction) in the near future from the current two pairs. (Vietnam-China-Trade)

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TOKYO -- The Japanese government at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday formally decided to introduce two land-based Aegis missile defense systems to bolster Japan's defensive capabilities.

Under the government's plans, two Aegis Ashore systems will be deployed to cover the entire nation and will first become operational by fiscal 2023, according to defense ministry officials. (Japan-Missile defense)

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