Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, May 22

NEW DELHI -- India on Tuesday put its southern state of Kerala on high alert following the outbreak of Nipah virus that has killed at least 10 people.

"So far, 10 people have died due to the Nipah virus in the state's Kozhikode and Mallapuram districts. The dead included a nurse who treated some Nipah-infected patients at a state-run hospital in Kozhikode. The entire state has been put on high alert," a health official said. (India-Nipah Virus)

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TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday once again denied that he had discussed plans at an earlier date than previously admitted for a veterinary school to be opened in western Japan.

The Japanese leader's latest denial is central to a protracted cronyism scandal and comes as newly found internal documents were submitted to the Diet about the school that opened in April in Imabari city in Ehime Prefecture, a special deregulated zone in western Japan. (Japan-Abe-Scandal)

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NEW DELHI -- At least nine people were killed and more than 20 others injured after police opened fire to control a group of unruly protesters in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, local media reported.

Though authorities have not yet confirmed the number of deaths in Tamil Nadu's port city of Tuticorin, local Minister D. Jayakumar told the media that the state government was considering compensation for those "shot dead" and the injured. (India-Police-Firing)

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BANGKOK -- A military aircraft crashed in western Thailand on Tuesday, killing one and seriously injuring another.

Wrecked remains of the warcraft were found on a tree and greensward near a dam. The plane reportedly fell in the area and was engulfed by fire. Residents nearby heard a loud explosion and saw the black smoke rising from the area. (Thailand-Military Craft-Crash)

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PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia -- Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was questioned by the anti-corruption authority on Tuesday, as investigation related to the state investment company 1MDB gains pace.

Mohd Shukri Abdull, chief of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), said Najib was called in to explain how a 42 million-ringgit (10.6 million U.S. dollars) deposit was made to his personal bank account from SRC International, a subsidiary of 1MDB. (Malaysia-Najib-Investigation)

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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Seven people, including an assailant, were killed and 37 others wounded after a car bomb explosion rocked Kandahar city, capital of Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar, on Tuesday, a provincial health official said.

"The latest figures showed that seven people were killed and 37 injured after the huge explosion in Kandahar city on Tuesday," Abdul Qaum Pakhla, chairman of Mirwais regional hospital in Kandahar, told Xinhua. (Afghanistan-Explosion) Enditem