Members of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force 1st Airborne Brigade take part in an annual new year military exercise in Funabashi, east of Tokyo January 13, 2013. Some 300 troops and 20 aircraft took part in the exercise. [Photo/Agencies]
An unusually heavy downpour hit Durban for two days before the BRICS summit's debut on African soil, but interest for a better platform for emerging markets were still sparked at the summit.