200 Palestinians freed in Gaza truce deal
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BAKU, Azerbaijan (AA) – Azerbaijani forces thwarted a provocation attempt by Armenian forces in the recently liberated Nagorno-Karabakh region, the country’s Defense Ministry announced Saturday. The ministry said that illegal Armenian forces in the region – which was liberated in fall 2020 from decades of Armenian occupation – took advan...
WASHINGTON (AA) – The US has sanctioned five individuals and five entities in Myanmar over “genocide” of its Rohingya population. Those designated include Myanmar’s 66th Light Infantry Division, including its leaders Brigadier-General Ko Ko Oo, and and Major-General Zaw Hein. Three individuals identified as arms dealers...
ISTANBUL (AA) – Chinese President Xi Jinping held separate phone calls with newly elected South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Xi congratulated Yoon on his election and said “the two countries are inseparable partners of cooperation.” Yoon emph...
WASHINGTON (AA) – The US confirmed on Friday that it has canceled talks with the Taliban over the hardline groups’ decision to cancel secondary education for Afghan girls. State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter told reporters that the Taliban’s decision is a “potential turning point in our engagement” with Afghanistan’s de facto rulers. Th...
KARACHI, Pakistan – A crucial session of Pakistan’s lower house, the National Assembly, summoned to table a no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan has been adjourned until next week. Speaker Asad Qaisar adjourned the session until March 28 after making prayers for some deceased former members of the House. Opposition par...
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid a surprise visit to Afghanistan’s capital Kabul yesterday. It is his first since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan last August. Political, economic, transit and investment issues are the main topics for Yi’s visit. A Russian delegation also arrived in Kabul to discuss a range of issues with Afghan [...
Lawyer and activist Ishrat Jahan was released from jail in the Indian capital New Delhi last week, after more than two years of imprisonment. She was hugged by her sister, and the duo burst into tears as relatives gathered around to welcome her home. Jahan said she was subjected to extra surveillance as well as […]
ISTANBUL (AA) – China’s foreign minister on Thursday arrived in Afghanistan on his maiden trip to the country after the exit of US-led foreign forces last year. As most countries worldwide have taken a wait-and-see approach to the country’s Taliban interim government, officials said the visit by Wang Yi sent a “positive message.” The vis...
WASHINGTON – North Korea’s launch of an apparent long-range ballistic missile risks “significant escalation of tensions in the region,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said. The UN chief strongly condemned the launch. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement “another breach of the DPRK’s announ...
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – A Bangladeshi court on Thursday sentenced two elderly people to death for alleged crimes against humanity during the country’s “independence war” in 1971. They are Abdul Khaleq Mandol, who is a district head for the opposition Jamat-e-Islami party and a former lawmaker, and Khan Rokonuzzaman, wh...
