Mr Gilani is travelling with two other high-ranking Pakistani officials
Pakistani Prime Minsiter Yousuf Raza Gilani has travelled to Kabul for talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other government officials.
Mr Gilani is joined by his armed forces chief, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, and the head of the intelligence agency, Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha.
The leaders discussed the Taliban conflict and regional security, as well as trade issues.
Mr Gilani made his first visit to Afghanistan in December 2010.
Correspondents say it is unusual for such high-ranking figures to make the visit together.
The talks are about forging a new chapter in Afghan-Pakistan relations after years of tension, says the BBC’s Jill McGivering.
They also come at a time when US relations with both nations are deeply strained.
Before leaving for Kabul, Mr Gilani told reporters in Pakistan that he was taking a “message of love for the Afghan people” and would extend complete support to his country’s neighbour.
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Prince William and Kate Middleton are getting married in Westminster Abbey on 29 April
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The government is consulting Commonwealth countries about changing the laws on royal succession, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said.
At present, the law of primogeniture means male heirs accede to the throne before any older sisters.
Mr Clegg, who is responsible for constitutional reform, told the BBC the issue would “require careful thought”.
But he said both he and David Cameron were “sympathetic” to changing rules which seemed “a little old fashioned”.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Clegg said: “Prince William and Catherine Middleton might have a baby daughter for instance as their first child, I think most people in this day and age would think it’s worth considering whether we change the rules so that that baby girl then could become the future monarch.
“I think that would be in keeping with the changes that happen in society as a whole.”
But he said it was not a “straightforward” process because the decision would have to be approved by all Commonwealth countries.
“It’s something that affects other countries – New Zealand, Canada, Australia and so on – and we’re having consultations at official level with those governments,” he said.
“My own personal view is that in this day and age the idea that only a man should ascend to the throne I think would strike most people as a little old-fashioned.
“I think it is worth thinking about, I think it is worth talking about. It is worth looking at what other countries that would be affected also feel on the subject,” he added.
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said it was a matter for the government and would not comment.
The 1701 Act of Settlement which gives precedence to male heirs in the succession also bars any Catholic or anyone married to a Catholic from ascending the throne.
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Scotland’s Catholic figurehead urges the UK government to give up its “shameful” nuclear weapon programme.
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Motherwell make their first Scottish Cup final for 20 years with a clinical display against St Johnstone.
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Egyptian protesters have made clear their anger at the National Democratic Party
An Egyptian court has ordered that the former ruling party of ousted President Hosni Mubarak should be dissolved.
All assets of the National Democratic Party will be seized and handed to the government, the supreme administrative court ruled.
Mr Mubarak is under detention in hospital awaiting questioning on corruption allegations.
His two sons and a growing number of ministers from his ruling era are also facing investigation.
Mr Mubarak stood down in February after a popular uprising against his 30-year rule.
The dissolution of his party has been a key demand of the protesters who drove him from power. Its offices were among the buildings targeted during the uprising.
The NDP had dominated the country’s politics since it was set up by Mr Mubarak’s predecessor, Anwar Sadat, in 1978.
Details of the court ruling were not immediately available.
Mr Mubarak is said to be in an “unstable condition” in hospital with heart problems. He has been ordered to be detained for 15 days.
He and his sons have been banned from leaving the country and their assets frozen.
In a pre-recorded audio message released on Sunday, Mr Mubarak said he would work to clear the names of himself and his sons.
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Andy Murray takes on world number one Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters.
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Around 70 people joined the protest in Bangor
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Campaigners have been protesting against UK government’s plans to fund S4C from the BBC licence fee.
About 70 people joined a Welsh Language Society march around Bangor, Gwynedd, which ended at a BBC Wales’ office.
The protesters are calling for a halt to the plans, saying a new multi-media channel in Welsh is needed.
The BBC said discussions between Department for Culture Media and Sport, BBC and S4C were continuing and it has “no ambitions to take over S4C”.
Welsh Language Society chair Bethan Williams said: “By trying to continue with these cuts, the government and the BBC are ignoring the united voice of Wales for a full review of the channel instead.
“The future of the world’s only Welsh-language TV channel hangs by a thread, which is a direct threat to the language itself.
“As well as facing enormous cuts, S4C risks being gobbled up by the BBC.”
“The BBC has made clear repeatedly that it has no ambitions to take over S4C”
BBC statement
Ms Williams said “no-one knows what the BBC’s intentions are for S4C at the moment”, and clamed that “ongoing discussions are secretive and undemocratic”.
In a statement, the BBC said S4C’s funding was reduced as part of last October’s Comprehensive Spending Review and ministers considered a new partnership model with the BBC the best way of securing the long term future of the service.
“This proposition was put to the BBC in the context of discussions on a new licence fee settlement.
“The BBC has made clear repeatedly that it has no ambitions to take over S4C,” said the statement.
It added that the corporation is “committed to an editorially independent S4C” which attracts revenue from a range of sources, including the licence fee.
Last month, BBC director-general Mark Thompson met members of the Welsh Language Society, independent TV producers and First Minister Carwyn Jones.
In February, about 200 people joined a protest by the society outside BBC Wales’ Carmarthen studios.
S4C faces a 25% budget cut by 2015 under funding changes by Chancellor George Osborne.
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James Ibori (in white) is expected to appear at the City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court
An influential Nigerian politician is expected to appear before a court in London charged with money laundering and fraud.
James Ibori, former governor of the oil-rich Delta state, was extradited from Dubai to face 25 charges.
He was arrested in Dubai last May and lost an appeal against his extradition. He denies the allegations.
Mr Ibori is a senior figure in Nigeria’s governing People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
He is due to appear at the City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, Scotland Yard said.
Mr Ibori arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport on Friday, accompanied by officers from the Metropolitan Police’s extradition unit.
Mr Ibori played a key role in the 2007 presidential election victory of Umaru Yar’Adua, who died last year.
Under Nigeria’s federal system, state governors enjoy wide powers.
Those running oil-rich states have budgets larger than those of some African countries.
They enjoy immunity from prosecution while in power, but several have faced corruption charges since leaving office after the last election in 2007.
Nigerians are going to the polls on Saturday for presidential elections.
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The BBC’s Will Grant examines whether ex-military leader Muhammadu Buhari could prove a challenge to the current president and frontrunner, Goodluck Jonathan.
Polling stations have opened in Nigeria for Africa’s biggest presidential election, with incumbent Goodluck Jonathan seen as frontrunner.
His main challenge is expected to come from ex-military leader Muhammadu Buhari, who has strong support in the mainly Muslim north of the country.
Mr Jonathan is counting on opposition divisions to win outright, avoiding a run-off election.
Voters have begun registering, and voting will start at 1230 (1130 GMT).
Everyone intending to vote is required to register for accreditation before midday.
Mr Jonathan has staked his reputation on the conduct of the election, repeatedly promising it will be free and fair.
Africa’s largest oil producer has long been plagued by corruption and has a history of vote fraud and violence.
The head of the African Union’s observer mission, former Ghanaian President John Kufuor, said some shortcomings had been found with the election process but he was confident the electoral commission would resolve them.
Nigerians are pinning their hopes on this being their cleanest election in decades.
Mr Jonathan is the first head of state from the oil-producing Niger Delta region.
In addition to Mr Buhari, he is facing a challenge from former anti-corruption chief Nuhu Ribadu and Kano state governor Ibrahim Shekarau, though both are seen as rank outsiders.
While his People’s Democratic Party lost seats in a parliamentary election last week, Mr Jonathan has enjoyed a lead in opinion polls.
The two main opposition parties – fielding Mr Buhari and Mr Ribadu – had tried to agree a formal alliance for the presidential poll, but talks broke down.
The relatively successful conduct of the parliamentary election has increased confidence in the ability of the electoral commission, Inec, to ensure a fair presidential vote.
However, bomb blasts and other attacks have killed dozens in the run-up to the polls.
With 73 million registered voters, Nigeria has the biggest electorate on the continent.
“If Nigeria gets it right, it will impact positively on the rest of the continent and show the rest of the world that Africa is capable of managing its electoral processes,” said Mr Kufuor.
“If Nigeria gets it wrong, it will have a negative influence on the continent with dire consequences.”
Nigeria: A nation divided
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has won all elections since the end of military rule in 1999. It won two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states last time. But having a southerner – President Goodluck Jonathan – as its candidate in the presidential elections may lose it some votes in the north.
Nigeria’s 160 million people are divided between numerous ethno-linguistic groups and also along religious lines. Broadly, the Hausa-Fulani people based in the north are mostly Muslims. The Yorubas of the south-west are divided between Muslims and Christians, while the Igbos of the south-east and neghbouring groups are mostly Christian or animist. The Middle Belt is home to hundreds of groups with different beliefs, and around Jos there are frequent clashes between Hausa-speaking Muslims and Christian members of the Berom community.
Despite its vast resources, Nigeria ranks among the most unequal countries in the world, according to the UN. The poverty in the north is in stark contrast to the more developed southern states. While in the oil-rich south-east, the residents of Delta and Akwa Ibom complain that all the wealth they generate flows up the pipeline to Abuja and Lagos.
Southern residents tend to have better access to healthcare, as reflected by the greater uptake of vaccines for polio, tuberculosis, tetanus and diphtheria. Some northern groups have in the past boycotted immunisation programmes, saying they are a Western plot to make Muslim women infertile. This led to a recurrence of polio, but the vaccinations have now resumed.
Female literacy is seen as the key to raising living standards for the next generation. For example, a newborn child is far likelier to survive if its mother is well-educated. In Nigeria we see a stark contrast between the mainly Muslim north and the Christian and animist south. In some northern states less than 5% of women can read and write, whereas in some Igbo areas more than 90% are literate.
Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer and among the biggest in the world but most of its people subsist on less than $2 a day. The oil is produced in the south-east and some militant groups there want to keep a greater share of the wealth which comes from under their feet. Attacks by militants on oil installations led to a sharp fall in Nigeria’s output during the last decade. But in 2010, a government amnesty led thousands of fighters to lay down their weapons.
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