SUVA -- Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama on Friday urged the Micronesian leaders to stand in solidarity with the rest of the Pacific leaders in charting a way forward to tackle development issues and other crises.

With plans afoot for the Micronesian leaders to officially leave the forum, Bainimarama, also chair of this year's Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), said that throughout the 50-year history of PIF, the mana of the leadership has been tested by the natural complexities of regionalism, according to a government statement. (Fiji-PIF)

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WASHINGTON -- U.S. agricultural exports to China are expected to hit a record 31.5 billion U.S. dollars in fiscal year (FY) 2021 that ends on Sept. 30, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Thursday.

The figure is 4.5 billion dollars higher than the department's previous forecast in November, due to the strong first-quarter shipments and surging sales to China, the USDA said in its Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade. (US-Agricultural Exports-China)

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HARARE -- Zimbabwe's total foreign currency earnings for the year 2020 stood at 6.3 billion U.S. dollars, up 14.9 percent from 5.5 billion U.S. dollars recorded in 2019, Reserve Bank Governor John Mangudya said Thursday.

In his monetary policy statement for 2021, the governor said export proceeds contributed the bulk of the funds at 3.696 billion dollars, followed by Diaspora remittances with 1 billion dollars and loan proceeds which contributed 845.21 million dollars. (Zimbabwe-Forex-RBZ)

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TOKYO -- Tokyo stocks dropped Friday morning, with the benchmark Nikkei stock index falling below the 30,000 threshold for the first time in four days following losses on Wall Street overnight and on concerns the market may be overheating.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 288.67 points, or 0.95 percent, from Thursday to 29,947.42. (Japan-Stocks-Morning)

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BRUSSELS -- Defense ministers from members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) concluded their two-day meeting here on Thursday with no consensus reached on whether or when to pull out of Afghanistan.

"As the May 1 deadline is approaching, NATO allies will continue to closely consult and coordinate in the coming weeks," Jens Stoltenberg, the alliance's secretary general, told a press conference. (NATO-Afghanistan-Troops) Enditem

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