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Jim Bolger, New Zealand's prime minister from 1990 to 1997 who helped usher in a new era of reconciliation with indigenous Maori, died on Wednesday aged 90, his family said in a statement, Reuters reported.

Bolger had suffered kidney failure last year and had been undergoing dialysis. He died surrounded by his wife Joan, nine children and 18 grandchildren, the statement said.

Bolger entered parliament in 1972 and became leader of the National Party in 1986 before becoming prime minister in 1990 when the party took power. He retired from politics in 1998 and served as New Zealand's ambassador to the United States from 1998 to 2002, according to Reuters.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu appears likely to survive two no-confidence votes in parliament on Thursday after offering to suspend President Emmanuel Macron's landmark pension reform to win support from the left, Reuters reported.

Lecornu, already France's shortest-serving prime minister in modern times before he was re-appointed last week, had faced the prospect of an even shorter second stint in office until he made the pensions reform concession on Tuesday.

The Socialists, who hold the key to Lecornu's political survival, welcomed the move, saying they would not support two no-confidence motions due to be voted on Thursday, one from the far-left and the other from the far-right National Rally, according to Reuters ​​​​​​.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to stop buying oil from Russia, and Trump said he would next try to get China to do the same as Washington intensifies efforts to cut off Moscow’s energy revenues, Reuters reported.

India and China are the two top buyers of Russian seaborne crude exports, taking advantage of the discounted prices Russia has been forced to accept after European buyers shunned purchases and the U.S. and the European Union imposed sanctions on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Trump has recently targeted India for its Russian oil purchases, imposing tariffs on Indian exports to the U.S. to discourage the country's crude buying as he seeks pressure Moscow to negotiate a peace deal in Ukraine, according to Reuters.

Pakistan and Afghanistan's Taliban government say they have agreed a temporary ceasefire after fresh border clashes and reported Pakistani air strikes on Kabul and Kandahar, BBC reported.

Both sides claimed the other requested the 48-hour ceasefire, which Pakistan said took effect from 13:00 GMT on Wednesday.

Earlier a Taliban spokesman said 12 civilians had been killed and more than 100 wounded by Pakistani firing. Both sides claimed the other suffered heavy casualties. None of the deaths could be independently confirmed, according to BBC.