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Preparing to head to Kabul, Pakistan’s prime minister reiterated on April 5 his country’s full support for Afghanistan’s efforts to revive the long-stalled peace process with the Taliban. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s remarks came on the eve of his key visit to Afghanistan, which could help ease tensions between the two neighbors. The visit, Abbasi’s first visit since becoming prime minister last year, followed an invitation from Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. “We stand for peace in Afghanistan,” Abbasi told a counter-terrorism conference in Islamabad. In Kabul, Abbasi is expected to discuss a range of issues, including how to facilitate talks between Kabul and the Taliban, during the day-long visit on April 6. Pakistan is under pressure from Kabul and Washington to stop offering safe havens to militants blamed for attacks in Afghanistan, a charge Islamabad denies. Pakistan also insists its influence over the Taliban has been exaggerated. Pakistan has, however, praised Ghani’s overtu...

Officials from North and South Korea discussed protocol headaches and other logistics of a rare summit later this month, which will see Kim Jong Un become the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the end of the Korean War. Kim and the South's president Moon Jae-in are due to meet on April 27 at the South's side of the demilitarized zone for the landmark inter-Korean summit. Thursday's working-level meeting was aimed at ironing out the protocols, security measures and media coverage of the summit, the South's presidential office said. "We had sincere talks for four hours straight," said Kwun Hyuk-ki, one of the five-member South Korean delegation to the talks. He declined to give details, saying the two sides will meet again for further discussions on a date yet to be fixed. This month's summit will be only the third of its kind since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice. It is set to take place at the South'...

The storm also closed several national highways that were flooded by the heavy rain, the country’s disaster management office said late on March 19. In a previous toll late on March 18 it said 17 people had died and 15,000 had been affected. Storm Eliakim slammed into the northeastern Masoala peninsula on March 16 before barreling south down the coast. It hit the island’s Mananara region, 635 km north-east of Antananarivo, late on March 17 and had a wind speed of 85 km per hour and gusts of 120 km per hour. By March 19 it moved away from the Indian Ocean island and “presents no more danger.” Madagascar, one of the world’s poorest countries, is frequently hit by cyclones and tropical storms. In January, cyclone Ava claimed 51 lives and in March last year at least 78 people perished in cyclone Enawo.

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the chairman of Kingdom Holding who spent nearly three months in detention in the kingdom’s anti-corruption campaign, has told Bloomberg TV he reached an agreement with the government for his release. The prince declined to disclose the details of his “confirmed understanding” with authorities in the interview, which aired on March 20, but said it was easy to verify that he still held a 95 percent stake in his global investment firm. “When I say it is a confidential and secret agreement, an arrangement that is based on a confirmed understanding between me and government of Saudi Arabia, I have to respect that,” he said, adding that the process with the government was ongoing. The prince also said he was in talks with the country’s emerging sovereign wealth fund about co-investments in domestic projects, and that Kingdom Holding was looking at splitting its $13 billion of assets by spinning off some holdings. Prince Alwaleed was freed on Jan. 27...

Norway’s parliament is set to vote today on a motion of no confidence in the justice minister, and the center-right government is expected to resign if it is passed. Sylvi Listhaug, of the right-wing Progress Party, has caused a political storm by accusing the opposition Labor Party - the target of a 2011 massacre - of putting terrorists’ rights before national security. The outcome of the vote will depend on the small Christian Democratic Party (CDP), traditionally a supporter of the government, which held meetings yesterday to decide its position. Snap elections are not allowed, and Norway’s next is not due until 2021. Conservative Prime Minister Erna Solberg might be able to form a new cabinet, but the task could fall to Labor leader Jonas Gahr Stoere if the CDP switches sides.

hinese President Xi Jinping called for the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" and for his country to take its "due place in the world," in a nationalistic speech on Tuesday at the closing of the annual parliamentary session. "The Chinese people have been indomitable and persistent," Xi told the almost 3,000 delegates in the cavernous Great Hall of the People in Beijing. "We are resolved to fight the bloody battle against our enemies." "We have the strong capability to take our due place in the world," he said. Xi, 64, used the two-week session to consolidate his position, with the rubber-stamp legislature amending the constitution to remove presidential term limits, effectively paving the way for him to rule indefinitely. He was also unanimously elected to his second term as president, installed his closest aide as vice president and stacked key cabinet positions with his loyalists. Xi warned against separatist move...