By KATHY GANNON

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan may not be ready for peace unless it finds a way to reintegrate Taliban fighters into society, combat corruption and rein in the country’s runaway narcotics problem, a U.S. watchdog said Wednesday.

The warning by Washington’s Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, which monitors billions of dollars in U.S. aid to the country, came in the group’s new quarterly report that also discusses Afghan needs for the “day after” — once there is a peace deal with the Taliban.

by Sitaram Yechury

by Prabhat Patnaik

NUMEROUS agencies from the Labour Bureau of Shimla to the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy to Oxfam have been drawing attention to the grim unemployment situation in India at present.

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV

MOSCOW (AP) — For Russian President Vladimir Putin, a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offers a chance to raise Moscow’s clout in the region and gain more leverage with Washington.

While Russia’s ability to influence Kim’s position is limited compared to that of China, a dialogue with Kim could allow Putin to emerge as an essential player in the North Korean nuclear standoff.

by Jens Thurau

19 Apr 2019; DW: At first glance, one might be confused why hard-line nationalists from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party are so chummy with Russian President Vladimir Putin. After all, the far-right populist AfD tends to blame everything bad on foreigners.

BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. State Department touted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's recent visit to Latin America as an opportunity to "deepen U.S. partnerships in the Western Hemisphere." Instead, it was an attempt to drive a wedge between China and Latin America through groundless accusations.

Washington's agenda to turn several Latin American countries against China came as no surprise, and Pompeo's "utterly irresponsible and unreasonable" remarks -- in the words of Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang -- would not be the last.

12 Apr 2019; DW: It actually happened. Ecuadorian authorities let British police arrest Julian Assange in Ecuador's Embassy in London.

by Tan Jingjing

LOS ANGELES, April 9 (Xinhua) -- China has been committed to a sustainable development path and has taken the lead in global ecological civilization efforts, said U.S. ecological philosopher John Cobb, Jr. in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"No other country has adopted a goal of ecological civilization like China did, and no other country has taken a similar kind of effect," said Cobb, a 93-year-old member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

"That's tremendous leadership in itself," he said.

by Peter Philipp

8 Apr 2019; DW: Pundits in Israel agree: Never before has the outcome of an election been so difficult to predict.

by Michaela Küfner

8 Apr 2019; DW: It was under the German chairmanship of the United Nations Security Council that a joint statement against the advance of Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar towards Tripoli failed. Russia, like so many times before, stood in the way.

MOSCOW, April 4. /TASS/. Ankara’s tough position on the purchase of the Russian S-400 missile systems proves that Turkey refuses to be dictated, Russian Federation Council (the upper house of parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Konstantin Kosachev told TASS on Thursday. However, in his view, Turkey is unlikely to be expelled from NATO over its stance.

BEIJING, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) turns 70 on Thursday. As one of the longest-lived military alliances in modern history, perhaps it's a good time for NATO to pause and ponder on its path.

When it was first established back in 1949, NATO performed as a collective defense alliance to counter the Soviet Union and its satellite countries then. Following the end of the Cold War, it continues to function as a transatlantic security bloc.