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Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, Feb. 3

Xinhua,February 04, 2018 Adjust font size:

SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump talked over phone about the Korean Peninsula issue and upcoming the Winter Olympics, the presidential Blue House said on Saturday.

Moon and Trump held a telephone conversation for 30 minutes on Friday night, agreeing to closely cooperate for the successful hosting of the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games set to kick off on Feb. 9 in South Korea's eastern county of PyeongChang. (S. Korea-U.S.-Talks)

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MALE -- The Maldives government has vowed to maintain peace and stability of the country amid a recent Supreme Court's verdict regarding opposition leaders, according to local media reports on Saturday.

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered immediate release of all high-profile prisoners, including former President Mohamed Nasheed and former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb. (Maldives-Peace)

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COLOMBO -- Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday appointed a special Presidential Commission to investigate alleged large-scale frauds and malpractices in the country's national airline carrier.

The Presidential Commission will probe all the alleged frauds in SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering Ltd and the state-owned budget carrier Mihin Lanka (Pvt) Ltd during the period from January 1, 2006 to January 31, 2018, a statement from the President's Office said. (Sri Lanka-Fraud)

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KABUL -- Up to 47 anti-government militants have been killed in the eastern and northern regions of Afghanistan over the past 24 hours as the government forces have stepped up operations against armed militants in the war-battered country, officials said Saturday.

The security forces have killed 25 insurgents and captured a bastion of Taliban militants in Khawja Sabzposh district of the northern Faryab province since Friday, police spokesman in the northern region Sayed Sarwar Hussaini said Saturday. (Afghanistan-Militants)

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TOKYO -- Japan launched a mini-rocket on Saturday which successfully put a microsatellite into orbit.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said that the No. 5 vehicle of the SS-520 series lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima prefecture, southwestern Japan, Saturday afternoon. (Japan-Rocket) Enditem

 

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