The leaders of the European Union and five Central Asian countries held their first summit on Friday to discuss ways to boost trade and other ties. The summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan is attended by European Council President António Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
U.S. futures were trading modestly lower early Friday following surprisingly strong jobs data from the federal government. Equities markets are closed for Good Friday, but futures markets were trading into Friday morning, albeit quietly. Futures for S&P 500 dipped 0.3%, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2% and Nasdaq futures were down 0.4%.
MOSCOW (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a "tragic incident" following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people.
ITTEFAQ, Afghanistan (AP) – For several minutes after the earthquake struck, he could hear their screams. Then there was silence. Mohibullah Niazi, a neighbor who helped in the rescue efforts, said Saturday that the eight people killed on the outskirts of Kabul after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck northern Afghanistan.
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) – The Senegalese government has banned all but essential foreign trips for government ministers as part of cost-saving measures triggered by the energy crisis linked to the Iran war.
U.S. President Donald Trump said that a U.S. service member who was missing since Iran shot down a fighter jet has been found in a rescue involving “dozens of aircrafts.” The crew member had been missing since Friday, when Iran downed a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle. A second crew member was rescued earlier.
TSAKANE, South Africa (AP) – Gladys Khoza had missed being able to see her family. Not because they couldn’t visit, but because the 84-year-old had vision problems. Now that has changed. Khoza is one of 133 people whose sight was restored during a “marathon” of free cataract surgeries conducted by doctors in South Africa at two hospitals over two weekends last month.
Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) – Congo on Thursday declared the end of a two-year outbreak of the mpox disease that’s believed to have caused more than 2,200 deaths in the country. Health Minister Roger Kamba told journalists that the government had made the determination that the outbreak was over and no longer a national emergency.