US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on April 27 in New York, a senior State Department official said on April 26.

The United States will send disaster response and rescue teams to Nepal and has authorized an initial US$1 million in aid after a major earthquake killed hundreds in the mountainous Asian nation, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on April 25.

Nepal ramped up efforts on April 25 to rescue people trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings after an earthquake devastated the heavily crowded Kathmandu valley, killing at least 1,800, and triggered a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest.

ASEAN senior officials convened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on April 25 for preparatory meetings for the upcoming 26th ASEAN Summit. 

A shallow earthquake measuring 7.9 magnitude struck west of the ancient Nepali capital of Kathmandu on April 25 causing buildings to collapse, injuring many and leaving a pall of dust over the city, witnesses said.

The Statue of Liberty was declared safe on April 24 after a bomb scare forced the evacuation of thousands of tourists from the New York Harbor landmark, the National Parks Service said.

The formation of the ASEAN Community by the end of this year will be the top priority at the 26th ASEAN Summit, which will take place in Kuala Lumpur and on Langkawi Island, Kedah state, from April 26-27. 

Fighting between Yemen's warring factions raged in southern and central parts of the country and air strikes hit Houthi militia forces in Aden on April 25, but there were no fresh moves toward dialogue.

US Under Secretary Wendy Sherman and Tehran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met in Vienna on April 23 in the latest push to secure a final nuclear deal by a June 30 deadline, Iranian media said.

Four days after up to 900 desperate people drowned trying to reach Europe from Libya, EU leaders agreed on April 23 to triple its naval search mission in the Mediterranean, restoring its funding to last year's level.