Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

QINGDAO, April 29 (Xinhua) -- The Sino-Russian "Joint Sea-2019" exercise for both navies began Monday afternoon.

Set to run from April 29 to May 4, the drill focuses on joint sea defense.

The first two days of the exercise will be conducted mainly on the harbor shore, and marked by games and exchanges, opening up of warships, as well as cultural and sports events.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s 85-year-old Emperor Akihito ends his three-decade reign on Tuesday and his son Crown Prince Naruhito will ascend to the Chrysanthemum Throne on Wednesday. Some key questions and answers about the abdication and ascension:

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Q. Why is Akihito abdicating, and how is it different from usual successions?

BEIJING, April 29 (Xinhua) -- As both the Czech Republic and China are making efforts to promote sustainable development, the two nations enjoy great prospect for cooperation of green development in many aspects, visiting Czech Deputy Prime Minister Richard Brabec said here on Sunday.

Hours before the opening ceremony of the Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition (Beijing Expo), Brabec, accompanying Czech President Milos Zeman to attend the ceremony, inspected the Czech booth on the second floor of the International Pavilion.

NEW DELHI, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Indian navy ships Kolkata and Shakti arrived at Busan, South Korea, for a three-day visit to participate in the ADMM-Plus Maritime Security Field Training Exercise (FTX), said official sources in New Delhi on Sunday.

The ADMM-Plus (ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting) is a platform for Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its eight dialogue partners to strengthen security and defense cooperation for peace, stability and development in the region.

BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the International Horticultural Exhibition 2019 Beijing. Following are some highlights in his speech.

-- I hope the green development concept embodied by the expo park should be spread to every corner of the world.

-- As China has been speeding up ecological civilization development, people will live in a better environment with blue sky, green mountains and clear water.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s imperial family is relatively small and will shrink further in the coming years. Only one of Emperor Akihito’s four grandchildren is a male who can ascend to the throne. The three princesses likely will lose their royal status eventually, since they are required to do so if they marry commoners. Akihito’s daughter lost her imperial status after marrying a local government official.

A look at the imperial family as Akihito abdicates on Tuesday:

EMPRESS MICHIKO, 84

28 Apr 2019; DW: Xi Jinping raised a glass to his signature foreign policy project at a Belt and Road conference in Beijing. While some countries fear that China is using the initiative for strategic gain, others are flocking to join it.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Saturday that $64 billion (€57 billion) in infrastructure deals were signed at this week's Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.

28 Apr 2019; DW: Dubbed the "world's most complicated election," the April 17 vote involved nearly 6,000,000 election workers and 810,000 polling stations. Hundreds of election workers died from exhaustion, authorities say.

Ten days after Indonesia held elections, at least 272 election workers have died from illnesses caused by long hours of polls-related work, an official said on Sunday.

Beijing, Apr 27 (PTI) Pakistan's relationship with India remains the "only problem" for peace and stability in the region, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said and expressed hope of establishing a "civilised relationship" with New Delhi after the Lok Sabha elections are over.

BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- An observatory for detecting cosmic rays in southwest China's Sichuan Province recently began scientific observation as it launched operation of its first set of detectors, scientists said Saturday.

The project, known as Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO), is located in the mountains of the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at an altitude of 4,410 meters.