Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, April 16

HANOI -- The court of appeals on Monday upheld the life imprisonment passed in 2017 by the court of first instance on Chau Thi Thu Nga, former member of Vietnam's National Assembly, the country's top legislature, for swindling to appropriate assets.

The court of appeals in Hanoi capital city also ruled that Nga, who was dismissed from the National Assembly in 2015, and former chairwoman of local real estate firm Housing Group, has to make a compensation of over 54 billion Vietnamese dong (nearly 2.4 million U.S. dollars) to her customers. (Vietnam-Law)

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TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday agreed that both sides should work together to further improve bilateral ties and expand cooperation.

Wang said that China and Japan are important neighbors and bilateral relationship has gone through some twists and turns in recent years, which affected communication and cooperation of the two sides in various areas. (Japan-China-Ties)

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WELLINGTON -- New Zealand Defense Minister Ron Mark on Monday announced the deployment of an officer to an intelligence leadership role in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

"This contribution to the United Nations mission in Mali will further our reputation as a credible contributor to peace and security efforts globally," Mark said in a statement. (New Zealand-UN)

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HANOI -- Vietnamese National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and visiting Iranian Speaker of the Parliament Ali Larijani agreed here on Monday to consolidate traditional friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

The Vietnamese top legislator called for close coordination between Vietnam and Iran to lift two-way trade to 2 billion U.S. dollars, and said that the fields of information technology and telecommunications boast major cooperation potential, Vietnam News Agency reported. (Vietnam-Iran) Enditem