Xinhua world news summary at 0030 GMT, May 4

ISTANBUL -- Turkey's upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections are historically important as the choice to be made by the nation will determine whether a powerful presidential system will be put into effect or the parliamentary system will be re-embraced.

Many fear Turkey would end up in a one-man rule in case the presidential system is adopted. (Turkey-Snap Polls)

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BEIJING -- China and Japan should properly manage their contradictions and differences to bring bilateral relations back on track and strive for new developments, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday in a telephone conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

For a period of time, Japan has released positive signals and taken positive actions on bilateral relations and China welcomes what Japan has done, Xi said during the conversation.(China-Japan-Relations)

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DAMASCUS -- Rebels and their families kept pouring out of three towns south of Damascus, under a new Russian-mediated deal that will see them depart to rebel-held areas in northern Syria, according to Xinhua reporters.

Buses were on standby Friday on the outskirts of the town of Beit Sahm after collecting hundreds of rebels and their families leaving Beit Sahm, Yalda and Babila south of Damascus.(Syria-Rebels)

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TOKYO -- The number of children in Japan dropped by 170,000 from a year earlier to 15.53 million as of April 1, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said in a report Friday.

According to the statistics bureau's data, the number of children aged 14 or under dropped for the 37th successive year, marking a new record low since record keeping began in 1950 and casting a shadow over Shinzo Abe administration's efforts to reverse the nation's lengthy low birthrate. (Japan-Children-New Low)

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MANILA -- The finance ministers and central bank governors of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan and South Korea (ASEAN+3) on Friday reaffirmed their commitment to resisting "all forms of protectionism" as well as commitment to "an open and rules-based framework for multilateral trade." (Philippines-ADB-Economy)

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STOCKHOLM -- The Swedish Academy announced Friday that it would not hand out the Nobel Prize in Literature this year.

It plans to award double prizes next year, the institute said in a press release.(Sweden-Nobel Prize-Literature) Enditem