Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 0600 GMT, Jan. 24

JALALABAD, Afghanistan -- At least 11 people were injured as a suicide bombing rocked Jalalabad city, the capital of Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province on Wednesday, spokesman for provincial government Attaullah Khogiani said.

The blast was followed by gunshots, and a gun battle continues, the official said, adding 11 people have so far been injured. (Afghanistan-Blast)

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CANBERRA -- Australia's two biggest retailers have vowed to stop stocking a pesticide which has been linked to killing bee populations.

Coles and Woolworths, Australia's two biggest supermarket chains and two of the top 25 biggest retailers in the world, announced on Tuesday night that they would stop selling Yates Confidor, a type of insecticide which contains dangerous neonicotinoids. (Australia-Pesticide)

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SEOUL -- Childbirth in South Korea hit the lowest monthly figure in history in November last year, boosting worry about low growth potential amid a falling workforce, statistics data showed Wednesday.

The number of newborn babies was 27,000 in November, down 11.2 percent, or 3,400, from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea. It was the lowest in history, keeping a downward trend for 24 months since December 2015. (S. Korea-Childbirth)

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TOKYO -- Japan logged a goods trade surplus of 359.0 billion yen (3.25 billion U.S. dollars) in December, the Finance Ministry said in a report on Wednesday.

According to the ministry's preliminary report, exports increased 9.3 percent compared to a year ago, while imports jumped 14.9 percent in the recording period. (Japan-Trade) Enditem