A Houthi official says the Saudi-led coalition and militants fighting on its behalf in Yemen have signed a UN-brokered deal for exchanging prisoners with the Houthi Ansarullah movement, prior to the peace negotiations due to be launched in Sweden. Abdul Qader al-Murtaza, chairman of the Houthi-run Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs, confirmed the news to Turkey’s […]

The protracted war in Afghanistan, which has now stretched into its 18th year, has taken heavy toll on children. According to a latest study, the number of out-of-school children has increased for the first time since 2002. According to the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA), urgent action is needed to prevent more […]

In an alarming development, Pakistan is registering approximately 20,000 new HIV cases annually, the highest rate among all countries in the region, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The international body says mortality among Pakistanis living with the virus, which causes the deadly AIDS disease, is also rising, in spite of the availability of […]

An Iranian lawmaker said consultations are under way to secure the release of the remaining Iranian border guards abducted by terrorists at a military post on the common border with Pakistan back in October. Speaking to Tasnim, Ali Kord hailed the efforts by the security forces and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) that resulted […]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday criticized sanctions on Venezuela during a visit to Caracas, while President Nicolas Maduro defended the country’s right to export gold after US sanctions last month targeted its shipments of the metal. Washington has imposed sanctions on Venezuelan officials it accuses of corruption, and on certain financial transactions with […]

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Seyed Abbas Araqchi said Tehran and the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) are planning to make up for the US exit from the accord. Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Monday night, Araqchi said after the […]

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s planned meeting with Abdelaziz Bouteflika was canceled on Monday because the Algerian president is sick. Bouteflika’s office said in a statement that the ailing 81-year-old was confined to bed with an “acute flu” as the Saudi prince arrived for his two-day trip to Algeria, AP reported. The crown prince […]

Six Mexican police were shot dead on Monday in the western state of Jalisco, authorities said, in one of the bloodiest attacks on security forces in recent months on the first weekday of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s new administration. Jalisco state prosecutors said on Twitter that six state police were killed and one was […]

Houthi officials are expected to travel to Sweden for talks as early as Wednesday to end the nearly 4-year-old Saudi-led war on Yemen. UN special envoy Martin Griffiths arrived in the Yemeni capital Sana’a on Monday to escort the Houthi delegation. The peace talks may start Wednesday, two sources familiar with the matter said, Reuters […]

At least 13 people, including women and children, were killed and injured when Saudi warplanes targeted an area of Yemen’s northern province of Sa’ada. According to Yemen’s Saba news agency, the Saudi aerial aggression targeted residential areas in the Kataf district on Monday, killing four and injuring nine civilians there. Since March 2015, the Saudi regime, […]