SEOUL -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired three short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern waters, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Thursday.

The JCS said in a statement that it detected the missiles, which were launched into the eastern waters from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at about 6:29 p.m. local time (0929 GMT). (South Korea-DPRK-Missile Launch,2ND LD WRITETHRU)

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COLOMBO -- A local court in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, on Thursday issued a travel ban on former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and others over investigations into violent clashes which erupted on Monday.

The Fort Magistrate's Court issued the travel ban notice on 17 people including the former prime minister and his son Namal Rajapaksa. (Sri Lanka-Travel Ban-Former PM)

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MANILA -- The Philippine economy expanded 8.3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022, exceeding the pre-pandemic first-quarter level, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Thursday.

In a press conference, PSA head Dennis Mapa said the main contributors to the gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first quarter included the manufacturing sector, with 10.1 percent, and transportation and storage, 26.5 percent. (Philippines-GDP)

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TOKYO -- Sentiment in Japan's service sector improved for a second straight month in April as a result of COVID-19 emergency measures being lifted for the vast majority of areas that had been under restrictions, a cabinet office survey showed Thursday.

The monthly Economy Watchers survey's diffusion index, in which a score above the boom-or-bust 50 line means more people view current economic conditions in a positive light, rose 2.6 points from March to 50.4, the Cabinet Office said. (Japan-Service Sentiment-Economy Watchers Survey)