EU leaders hold their first summit with Central Asian states

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.

Wall Street closed for Good Friday, but US futures inch lower

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%.

Congo says its mpox outbreak is over after 2 years and more than 2,200 deaths

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.

Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Latest Updates

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.

Paramilitary forces in Sudan kill at least 10 people in hospital drone attack

CAIRO (AP) – Sudan ‘s paramilitary forces killed at least 10 people on Thursday in a drone attack that hit a hospital, said a medical group. Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF, said the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, RSF, launched two drone strikes on al-Jabalain Hospital in the White Nile province, hitting an operating theater and a maternity ward.

Can Kennedy lineage help send JFK's grandson to Congress?

NEW YORK (AP) – As a Kennedy scion, Jack Schlossberg got outsized attention when he launched his congressional campaign in New York City late last year. He was already a social media star – in part through his relentless attacks on his cousin, Trump administration heath secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Immigrants seeking asylum are ordered to countries they've never been to

The Afghan man had fled the Taliban for refuge in upstate New York when U.S. immigration authorities ordered him deported to Uganda. The Cuban woman was working at a Texas Chick-fil-A when she was arrested after a minor traffic accident and told she was being sent to Ecuador.

Editorials from The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian and others

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

A rare school in Kenya is empowering teenage mothers with education and child care

KAJIADO, Kenya (AP) – Valarie Wairimu has no time to rest during break time at Kenya’s Greenland Girls School. The teenager grabs a snack and goes straight to what makes this school unique: its nursery.