VIENTIANE -- Typhoon Noru, which has weakened and been downgraded to a tropical storm, has made landfall in Laos and caused flooding in southern Laos' Attapeu province.

The weather bureau of Laos warned on Wednesday that there would be more heavy rains and flooding in other areas. (Laos-Typhoon Noru)

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NEW DELHI -- Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong put forward four proposals on the development of China-India relations at a virtual event celebrating the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Delivering a speech on Tuesday, Sun said China and India are both major developing countries, and China-India relations are not only important for the two countries but also have a significant impact on the region and the world at large. (India-China-Ties)

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TOKYO -- The chief of Japan's lower house of parliament came under fire Thursday for admitting he had links to the controversial Unification Church religious organization.

Hiroyuki Hosoda, a veteran ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmaker and speaker of the House of Representatives, admitted in a statement that he had given two speeches and appeared in two meetings held by the Unification Church or related groups. (Japan-Unification Church)

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SEOUL -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired two 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 two short-range ballistic missiles, launched by the DPRK from the Sunchon area in South Pyongan province between 8:48 p.m. (1148 GMT) and 8:57 p.m. (1157 GMT) into the eastern waters.

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YANGON -- Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi and her Australian economic adviser Sean Turnell have been sentenced to three years each for breaching the country's official secrets act by a court on Thursday, a source familiar with the cases said.

Aung San Suu Kyi now faces 23 years in jail. (Myanmar-Aung San Suu Kyi-Sentence)