TOKYO -- The construction of facilities to release radioactive wastewater into the sea from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan began Thursday despite opposition from the local community and neighboring countries.

Plant workers started construction of a pipeline to transport the wastewater from hillside storage tanks to a coastal facility before its planned release next year, according to the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. (TEPCO). (Japan-Nuclear Wastewater)

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PHNOM PENH -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi presented four proposals on promoting East Asia cooperation when attending the ASEAN Plus Three (10+3) foreign ministers' meeting here on Thursday.

Wang said that over the past 25 years, the 10+3 cooperation among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, Japan and South Korea has deepened and achieved many important results. (ASEAN-China-Proposals)

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SYDNEY -- Police in the Australian state of Queensland said on Thursday that three people had died following a gun shooting on a rural property.

On Thursday at 9:00 a.m. local time, police were called to the scene in Bogie, a small town in the state's northeast, responding to reports of multiple people being shot. (Australia-Gun Shooting)

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DHAKA -- Bangladesh is considering taking loans from international lenders as precautionary measures to tackle any crisis in advance, a senior official said on Thursday.

Ahmad Kaikaus, principal secretary of the prime minister's office, said the government did not seek bailout rather it is thinking of taking pragmatic steps in advance to address the uncertain situation of the country due to the adverse impacts of external factors. (Bangladesh-IMF-Loans)