Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, Dec. 26

DHAKA -- Bangladeshi ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who faces a spate of cases filed on charges of murder, sedition and graft, Tuesday appeared before a court in Dhaka for hearing in two graft cases.

Motorcade of Khaleda, also chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), reached the special makeshift court at about 11:30 a.m. when hundreds of her party supporters and leaders surrounded the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court complex. (Bangladesh-Ex-PM-Court)

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KATHMANDU -- The 14th edition of Elephant Festival kicked off in Nepal's third popular tourism destination Chitwan on Tuesday with the participation of over 50 elephants.

The five-day event, organized by the Regional Hotel Association of Sauraha in Chitwan National Park, was inaugurated by Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. (Nepal-Elephant Festival)

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TOKYO -- Japan's Toshiba Corp. said Tuesday that it had discovered accounting misconduct in one of its affiliates.

Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions Corp., an affiliate of Toshiba Corp. that conducts electrical installation work, was found attempting to cover losses of a money-losing project by attributing its expenses to another profitable business. (Japan-Toshiba-Misconduct)

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COLOMBO -- The Sri Lankan government said on Tuesday that it would strengthen its tourist police force in 2018 for the safety and assistance of tourists visiting the island country.

Law and Order Ministry officials said the government had allocated Rs. 50 million (320,000 U.S. dollars) to strengthen the police force in order to make Sri Lanka a safe haven for tourists. (Sri Lanka-Tourist Police) Enditem