The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.

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Japan accepts Ukrainian evacuees using commercial flight for 1st time

TOKYO - Japan on Saturday accepted Ukrainian evacuees using seats secured by the government on a direct commercial flight from Poland for the first time.

The six aged between 6 and 55, of which five are female, arrived at Narita airport near Tokyo from Warsaw, according to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan.

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Pakistan's prime minister ousted in no-confidence vote

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted Sunday after he lost a no-confidence vote in parliament, with a new leader to be selected Monday.

The no-confidence motion was submitted last month by opposition parties accusing Khan of economic mismanagement. Although Khan dissolved the lower house on April 3 in an attempt to avoid a vote, the Supreme Court dismissed the move and ordered deliberation on the motion to resume.

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Hong Kong's former No. 2 officially announces leadership election bid

HONG KONG - The Hong Kong government's former No. 2, John Lee, on Saturday officially announced his bid for the city's leadership election slated for May 8.

Lee, a security hard-liner widely seen as the only candidate favored by the mainland government, had tendered his resignation as chief secretary for administration Wednesday and it was approved by Beijing on Friday.

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G-7 finance chiefs to meet in Washington on April 20: sources

WASHINGTON/TOKYO - Finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of Seven major developed countries are due to meet in Washington on April 20 to discuss ways of stepping up pressure on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, sources familiar with the plan said Saturday.

The finance chiefs from the seven countries -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United State -- will gather to show their group's unity in its response to the invasion on the sidelines of a Group of 20 meeting.

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Japan, Philippines to aim for new defense cooperation pact

TOKYO - Japan and the Philippines on Saturday agreed to work toward signing a treaty designed to facilitate joint exercises and reciprocal visits of their forces as China's increasingly assertive pursuit of sovereignty claims in regional waters has upset its neighbors.

The deal was struck during a meeting in Tokyo of their foreign and defense ministers, in which they expressed "serious concern" about the situation in the East and South China Seas and "strongly opposed" any action that may inflame tensions, according to their joint statement.

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China warns U.N of adding "fuel to fire" in responding to N. Korea

WASHINGTON - China's envoy on North Korean issues Liu Xiaoming said Friday the U.N. Security Council should not add "fuel to the fire," indicating his reluctance to back U.S. efforts to pursue a new U.N. sanctions resolution on Pyongyang following a series of recent ballistic missile tests.

Noting that he has met White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell, Liu, who has been visiting the United States, said on Twitter the council should play a "constructive role for the political settlement" of issues related to the Korean Peninsula.

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63% of people with foreign roots in Japan questioned by police

TOKYO - A total of 62.9 percent of people in Japan with foreign roots were questioned by police over the past five years, preliminary results of a recent Tokyo Bar Association survey showed, with the group saying the outcome is evidence of biased behavior by officers.

The survey on racial profiling drew responses from 2,094 people with roots in foreign countries. The association said it conducted the poll after receiving complaints that many such people had been questioned by police apparently due to their appearance.

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Over 20% of Japan's major firms halt Russian businesses: survey

TOKYO - Over 20 percent of major Japanese companies that do business in Russia have decided to halt such operations following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine that triggered Western nations' economic sanctions against Russia, a survey by a credit research firm showed.

In the Teikoku Databank Ltd. survey of 168 major Japanese firms that operate businesses in Russia, 37 companies said they plan to stop operations there as of March 15 amid a worsening environment due to disruptions in logistics and supply chains.

==Kyodo

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