Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, Feb. 8

GANGNEUNG, South Korea -- The Samjiyon orchestra from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) staged a performance in the South Korean city of Gangneung on Thursday night before the opening of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

About 800 South Korean audience appreciated the 140-member group's congratulatory concert in the Arts Center of Gangneung, a costal city in South Korea's Gangwon province and neighboring PyeongChang. (S.Korea-DPRK-Orchestra)

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MALE -- The Maldivian government has invited its foreign development partners to visit the island country to assess the current situation, the country's foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The foreign ministry assured the international community that despite the declaration of the state of emergency on Feb. 5, no curfew had been imposed and general movement of people, services and businesses would not be affected. (Maldives-Politics)

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DHAKA -- Violent incidents are flaring up in parts of Bangladesh's capital Dhaka and elsewhere in the country on Thursday, as opposition leader, ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia was found guilty of a corruption charge and sentenced to five years in prison.

Vandalism, explosion of bombs and detention of dozens of opposition personnel have also been reported in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country since Thursday morning. Several vehicles were smashed or set on fire in the capital. (Bangladesh-Zia-Violence)

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MANILA -- The Philippines said on Thursday that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is moving to conduct a "preliminary examination" on President Rodrigo Duterte's anti-drug campaign.

Duterte's spokesman Harry Roque told a news conference the Philippine mission in The Hague was informed by the ICC's prosecutor's office that the court is "opening preliminary investigation on the alleged acts associated with the campaign against illegal drugs covering the period of July 2016." (Philippines-Drug)

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TOKYO -- Mitsubishi Materials Corp. said Thursday it has uncovered more instances of product data falsification at its subsidiaries in a protracted scandal that has tarnished the image of Japanese manufactures.

According to an internal probe by the corporation, its subsidiaries Mitsubishi Aluminum Co., Tachibana Metal Co. and Diamet Corp. were all found to have manipulated inspection data. (Japan-Mitsubishi)

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YANGON -- A Singapore Airlines flight has made an emergency landing at Myanmar's Mandalay International Airport due to engine failure, said a release of the Ministry of Home Affairs Thursday.

The plane experienced a technical glitch with one of its engines while heading from Bangladesh to Singapore at 03:35 p.m. local time on Wednesday. (Singapore Airlines-Emergency Landing) Enditem