Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1000 GMT, April 26

The South Korean presidential frontrunner has widened a gap with his runner-up in recent opinion polls just two weeks before a presidential by-election to replace impeached President Park Geun-hye.

According to a poll released Wednesday, Moon Jae-in of the biggest Minjoo Party won 40.4 percent in approval scores, higher than 26.4 percent tallied by Ahn Cheol-soo of the center-right People's Party. (S. Korea-Elections)

- - - -

NEW DELHI -- India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday won the civic body polls in Delhi, decimating the national capital's ruling anti-corruption Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the country's main opposition Congress party.

The BJP has retained by huge margins all the three municipal corporations in Delhi -- Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) North, MCD South and MCD East -- for which elections were held Sunday. AAP has come second in the polls, while the Congress a distant third. (India-Elections)

- - - -

TOKYO -- Japanese fighter jets will conduct a joint drill with planes based on the United States aircraft carrier Carl Vinson on Wednesday afternoon, Kyodo News quoted Japan's Air Self-Defense Force as saying.

Two F-15s based in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, will participate in the drill with two carrier-based U.S. Navy F/A-18s over waters east of Okinawa, the ASDF said. (Japan-U.S.-drills)

----

NEW DELHI -- Two pilots were killed after a training aircraft crashed into a river in the western Indian state of Maharashtra on Wednesday, officials said.

"The mishap took place in Wainganga river in the state's Gondia district when the four-seater aircraft (number DA 42 Nike) was on a training session. The deceased have been identified as senior trainer Rajan Gupta and trainee Shivani," an aviation official said on condition of anonymity. (India-Aircraft Crash) Endit