JAPAN

US must lift duties, reiterates trade envoy

Japan's top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, said on Tuesday there was no change in Tokyo's stance of demanding an elimination of the United States' tariffs in bilateral trade negotiations. Tokyo will not rush into clinching a trade deal if doing so risked hurting the country's interests, Akazawa said. "The slew of US tariffs including reciprocal tariffs as well as those on automobiles, car parts, steel and aluminium, are regrettable. There's no change to our stance of seeking a review, which is to say an elimination, of them," he said. The two countries held working-level trade talks in Washington on Monday, he said.

SOUTH ASIA

Pakistan, India to pull out troops by end May

Pakistan and India have agreed to withdraw troop reinforcements deployed during their recent conflict back to their peacetime positions by the end of this month, a senior Pakistani security official said on Tuesday. "Troops will be withdrawn to pre-conflict positions by the end of May," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media. Both countries agreed on a phased withdrawal of the additional troops and weaponry deployed, mostly on the Line of Control, the official said. Meanwhile, India said on Tuesday it would resume a daily border ceremony that it briefly halted following the conflict. Pakistan said it never stopped the ceremony, with its troops marching on its side of the border alone.

UNITED STATES

Trump signs legislation outlawing 'revenge porn'

US President Donald Trump signed a bill on Monday making it a federal crime to post "revenge porn" — whether it is real or generated by artificial intelligence. The Take It Down Act criminalizes nonconsensual publication of intimate images, while also mandating their removal from online platforms. "With the rise of AI image generation, countless women have been harassed with deepfakes and other explicit images distributed against their will," Trump said at a signing ceremony in the White House. "Anyone who intentionally distributes explicit images without the subject's consent will face up to three years in prison."

VENEZUELA

Flights from Colombia halted over 'conspiracy'

Venezuela's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said on Monday he has ordered flights from Colombia suspended after the arrests of 38 people over allegations of "conspiracy". "We have decided to immediately suspend all air traffic between Venezuela and Colombia," Cabello said. "We have discovered a new plot of conspiracy and terrorism. We have captured a group of Venezuelans who were returning to the country with explosive artifacts," he said. Colombia's Foreign Ministry said it had been informed about the flight suspension by Venezuela's government but had not yet received information about any detained Colombians.