Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, May 30

KATHMANDU -- The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) on Wednesday distributed school bags and stationery items to nearly 500 students in the outskirts of Kathmandu.

As part of its regular school love-package project, the Chinese organization made the distribution to students of Pharping Secondary School, located in Dakshinkali municipality, 15 km south from the Ring Road. (Nepal-China-Donation)

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COLOMBO -- Sri Lanka and China signed a contract on Wednesday to construct new underwater sewage and pipelines in Colombo to prevent the threat of floods.

Sri Lanka's Megapolis and Western Development Minister Champika Ranawaka told reporters that his ministry had signed a contract with the China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering (CPPE) company to construct the New Muttuwal and Torrington Tunnels. (Sri Lanka-China-Construction)

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KATHMANDU -- Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli said on Wednesday that his government has set five key priority areas to make the country prosperous.

Inaugurating a two-day international conference on Marxism and Socialism organized by Nepal Communist Party to mark the 200th birth anniversary of Karl Marx in the Nepalese Capital, the prime minister said that his government has concentrated all its efforts on socio-economic development to realize the motto of "Prosperous Nepal and Happy Nepali." (Nepal-Economy)

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JAKARTA -- Indonesian President Joko Widodo and visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed on Wednesday to expand bilateral relations into comprehensive strategic partnership with MoU on bilateral cooperation in wider arrays signed.

Speaking in a joint press conference with Modi after a tete-a-tete meeting, Widodo said that the two nations were now strategic partners emphasized in economy and trade sectors. (Indonesia-India-Relation)

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SINGAPORE -- Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Wednesday that Singapore told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that it agreed with Malaysia's request for discontinuance of the case of Pedra Branca.

It was reported that Malaysia had informed the ICJ on Monday that it would stop the proceedings that it had brought forward in February and June 2017 to revise an earlier judgment that awarded Singapore the sovereignty of Pedra Branca, a small but strategic island located about 40 km off Singapore's east coast. (Singapore-Malaysia-Islet) Enditem