International

After a seven-hour delay, Hamas turned over 13 Israeli prisoners and four Thai nationals to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), citing violations by Israel of the terms of the truce. On Saturday, the second day of the ceasefire in hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians, the impasse was broken through mediation by Qatar and Egypt. It is …

The United Nations (UN), on Tuesday disclosed that over 263,934 people have been forced to run from their homes in Gaza Strip, following the continuous heavy Israeli strikes from the land, air and sea on the Palestinian territory. It noted that the intense figting has left thousands dead on both sides since Hamas launched an unexpected assault on Israel last …

A Romanian national, Iulian Ghergut, who was abducted by an Al-Qaeda affiliate group in Burkina Faso in 2015 has regained his freedom. The 47-year-old was abducted by Al-Mourabitoun while working in a manganese mine near the border with Mali and Niger in April 2015. The Romanian foreign ministry confirmed his release in a statement on Wednesday. READ ALSO: Missing Japanese …

Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina has been re-elected for a second term of five years despite an opposition boycott of the country’s general election. Rajoelina received 58.95 percent of the votes in the results announced by the National Electoral Commission on Saturday. The opposition candidates, Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko and Marc Ravalomanana followed with 14.4 percent and 12.1 percent respectively. At least 10 …

The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday elected 15 new countries to serve on the Human Rights Council for three years. Four of the 15 new members are from Africa – Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Malawi. However, Peru and Russia failed to secure seats in the council. After the ballots were counted, the President of the UN General Assembly, …