Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry said peace talks held in China between Afghanistan and Pakistan to halt cross-border fighting between the two neighbours have been constructive. The talks began last week in the western Chinese city of Urumqi following an invitation by China, in an effort to stop the conflict that began between the two countries in February, leaving hundreds dead. Pakistan, which declared it was in "open war" with its neighbour, has also carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan, including in the capital Kabul.

The United Nations' office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs in Afghanistan posted on X this Tuesday (Apr. 8) that the conflict had displaced 94,000 people overall, while 100,000 people in two Afghan districts near the border have been completely cut off by the fighting since February. Even during the talks, Afghanistan accused Pakistan of carrying out shelling across its border on several occasions, killing and wounding civilians.

Vietnam unanimously elected Communist Party General Secretary To Lam as president for a five-year term, consolidating his control over both the party and the state. The move departs from Vietnam's tradition of shared leadership, in which the jobs have typically been held by different people, and echoes the power structures in China and neighbouring Laos. It has been widely expected since Lam's reelection as Communist Party head in January, when observers noted that his consolidation of party authority positioned him to assume the presidency as well.

After being sworn in, the 69-year-old told the National Assembly that his top priority was to maintain peace and stability, which were the foundation for fast and sustainable growth. "We aim to improve people's livelihoods so all can share the benefits of development," he said. Former central bank governor Le Minh Hung was elected as the country's prime minister for the next five years.

Congo will receive some migrants as part of a new deal under the Trump administration's third-country program, its government said, the latest such African nation to receive migrants being deported from the US. The deportees will start arriving in Congo this month, the Congolese Ministry of Communications said in a statement, without further details on the date or the number of deportees expected. It described the arrangement as a "temporary" one that reflects Congo's "commitment to human dignity and international solidarity."

It would come with zero costs to the government with the US covering the needed logistics, it said. The US has struck such third-country deportation deals with at least seven other African nations, many of them among countries hit the most by the Trump administration's policies that have restricted trade, aid and migration. The Trump administration has spent at least $40 million to deport about 300 migrants to countries other than their own, according to a report released recently by Democrats in the Senate.

A subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based conglomerate started arbitration proceedings against Danish logistics and port group Maersk, accusing the company of aligning with Panama in a scheme to take over its port operations on the Central American country's critical canal. The Panama Ports Company, a unit of Hong Kong's CK Hutchison Holdings, said in a statement that Maersk A/S had undermined a contract over the Hong Kong company's operations of ports at either end of the Panama Canal in order to pave the way for a new operator affiliated with Maersk to take over the Balboa terminal.

The company said the arbitration will be held in London, but didn't explain what remedy it was seeking. In February, Panama's government seized control of the Balboa and Cristobal ports after the country's Supreme Court declared earlier that a concession allowing the Panama Ports Company to run the ports was unconstitutional. The ruling drew backlash from China.