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:

___

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

WASHINGTON (AP) — Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein submitted his resignation Monday after a two-year run defined by his appointment of a special counsel to investigate connections between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia.

His last day will be May 11, ending a tumultuous relationship with Trump and a tenure that involved some of the most consequential, even chaotic, moments of the president’s administration.

WASHINGTON, April 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump spoke over phone with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday over the issue of Ankara's purchase of S-400 missile defense system, said the White House.

Trump and Erdogan discussed trade, security concerns in northern Syria, and Turkey's planned purchase of the Russian made S-400 system, according to a White House statement.

ATHENS, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras welcomed the results of Sunday's Spanish general elections as a message of hope against the far-Right.

"The electoral percentages of the Socialists and the Podemos party muddle the disturbing rise of the far-Right and pave the way for the continuation of a progressive government in Spain," Tsipras tweeted on Monday.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Almost two-thirds of the nearly 800 students, faculty and staff members who were quarantined following exposure to the measles virus at two Los Angeles universities have been cleared to resume normal activities.

The quarantine marked one of the most sweeping efforts by authorities to contain the nation’s measles outbreak, where cases have reached a 25-year high.

People at California State University, Los Angeles and the University of California, Los Angeles were cleared after providing proof of immunity.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — More than two years after 36 concert-goers died in a fire at a Northern California warehouse, two men will face trial on involuntary manslaughter charges.

WASHINGTON, April 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday asked the Senate to ratify the treaty protocol confirming North Macedonia as the 30th member state of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

"I transmit herewith, for the advice and consent of the Senate to its ratification, the Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the Accession of the Republic of North Macedonia," Trump wrote in a letter to the Senate, according to the White House.

DAMASCUS, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army has started sending reinforcements to the northwestern province of Idlib as part of the preparation for a possible operation against the rebels, the pro-government al-Watan newspaper reported Tuesday.

The report said the new development comes as Turkey has failed to live up to its pledges regarding the rebels' situation in Idlib, as de-escalation zones' deal reached between Turkey and Russia last September is falling apart.

30 Apr 2019; DW: Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Tuesday called for a military uprising to oust acting President Nicolas Maduro, in a video posted alongside soldiers and opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez, who had been under house arrest.

In the three-minute video shot early on Tuesday, Guaido, the self-declared president and leader of Venezuela's opposition-controlled National Assembly, said the "final phase" had begun to end Maduro’s "usurpation" of the constitution.   

KHARTOUM, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC) on Monday said it agreed with the Sudanese opposition to open the main roads and bridges near the army's general headquarters where thousands of Sudanese protesters are staging a sit-in.

"The TMC noted the importance of normalizing the life of people, as we have discussed this matter with our partners of the Freedom and Change Alliance," Shams-Eddin Kabashi, the TMC spokesman, said at a press conference in the capital Khartoum.

A dog was found roaming around with BJP flag tied to its neck, and stickers with slogans “Modi Lao, Desh Bachao” (vote for Modi, save the country) on Phase 4 election day in Nandurbar town, Maharstra.

As campaign during the day of polling is illegal, someone reported the incident to local police.

New Delhi, Apr 30 (PTI) The Home Ministry has served a notice to Congress President Rahul Gandhi, asking him to clarify within a fortnight his "factual position" on a complaint questioning his citizenship status.

In a letter, the Home Ministry said it has received a representation from BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in which it has been brought out that a company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in 2003 with Rahul as one of its directors.