Here are a few stories from around Asia you may have missed this week.

India will start withdrawing its highest value currency notes from circulation, the country's central bank said on May 19. The withdrawal of 2,000-rupee notes – which the Finance Ministry said would not cause disruption "either in normal life or in the economy" – comes ahead of elections in four large states at the end of the year and a national election next year. 

Announcing the withdrawal, the Reserve Bank of India said evidence showed the denomination was not being commonly used for transactions. The notes will remain legal tender, but people will be asked to deposit and exchange them for smaller denominations by September 30.

Indonesia's first high-speed train linking capital Jakarta and Bandung – the country's fourth-most populous city – completed a trial run at 180 kilometers per hour on Monday, reaching its destination in just an hour. 

The entire system, production factors and industrial chain is supplied by China as part of the Belt and Road Initiative, and makes Indonesia the first South-east Asian nation to have a high-speed railway. The duration of the journey will be reduced to about 40 minutes once the train starts running at maximum speed. The start of commercial operations is scheduled for August.

A team of South Korean government experts began a two-day tour of Japan's tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant on Tuesday to examine a contentious plan to release treated but still slightly radioactive wastewater into the sea. 

Officials from the Japanese government and the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, showed the 21-member delegation several facilities related to treatment, safety checks, transport and dilution of the water, Japanese officials said. The plan has faced fierce protests from local fishing communities concerned about safety and reputational damage. Neighboring countries, including South Korea, China and Pacific Island nations, have also raised safety concerns.

Results released recently from a survey launched in 2013 show the population of snow leopards in the Mount Qomolangma National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region now tops 100, according to the regional forestry and grassland bureau. 

The nature reserve boasts a treasure trove of biodiversity. The snow leopard is its flagship species and is under first-class state protection.

(Cover: A man holds Indian 2,000-rupee notes as he leaves a bank in Mumbai, India, November 24, 2016. /Reuters)