STOCKHOLM: Sweden and Iran carried out a prisoner exchange on Saturday, officials said, with Sweden freeing a former Iranian official convicted for his role in a mass execution in the 1980s while Iran rele­ased two Swedes being held there. The prisoner swap was mediated by Oman, the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement. “Omani efforts resulted in the two …

HAVANA: A Canadian navy patrol ship sailed into Havana on Friday, just hours after the United States announced a fast-attack submarine had docked at its Guantanamo naval base in Cuba, both vessels on the heels of Russian warships that arrived on the island earlier this week. The confluence of Russian, Canadian and US vessels in Cuba — a Communist-run island …

PARIS: Thousands marched in Paris and cities across France on Saturday to protest against the far-right National Rally (RN) ahead of upcoming elections to the French parliament. Following the RN’s surge in last Sunday’s European elections, police said 350,000 people were expected to march and 21,000 officers had been mobilised after labour unions, student groups and rights groups called for …

LONDON: Catherine, Princess of Wales, on Saturday tentatively returned to UK public life for the first time since being diagnosed with cancer, attending a military parade in London to mark King Charles III’s official birthday. Kate, as she is widely known, travelled in a state carriage alongside her three children at the outset of the annual event before watching the …

JERUSALEM: Eight Israeli soldiers were killed in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, the military said, as forces continued to push in and around the southern city of Rafah and strikes hit several areas of Gaza, killing at least 19 Palestinians. Earlier, the armed wing of Hamas said fighters had ambushed an armoured personnel carrier, killing and wounding a number …

SHANGHAI: New Chinese coast guard rules took effect on Saturday, under which it can detain foreigners for trespassing in the disputed South China Sea, where neighbours and the G7 have accused Beijing of intimidation and coercion. Beijing claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea, brushing aside competing claims from several Southeast Asian nations including the Philippines and an …

Pilgrims perform the last major ritual of the haj, the “stoning of the devil”, in western Saudi Arabia on Sunday, as Muslims in parts of the world celebrate Eidul Azha. In Pakistan, Eidul Azha will officially be observed tomorrow. Beginning at dawn, the 1.8 million Muslims undertaking the pilgrimage this year will throw seven stones at each of three concrete walls …

Two prison guards at a jail in southern Russia have been freed without harm after they were taken hostage by inmates of the militant Islamic State (IS) group, with the assailants “liquidated”, the country’s prison service said on Sunday. “During a special operation… the criminals were liquidated and the employees taken hostage were freed and were not wounded,” the service …

China views the annexation and “elimination” of Taiwan as its great national cause, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Sunday, telling cadets at the military’s premier academy they must know their enemy and not give in to defeatism. Lai has faced sustained personal attacks from China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, since assuming office last month, with Beijing calling him …

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was moved by a private citizen on Saturday against the dismissal of his petition seeking ex-premier Imran Khan’s disqualification for allegedly concealing his daughter Tyrian Khan White in the nomination papers for 2018 general elections. The petitioner, Mohammad Sajid, through his counsel Saad Mumtaz Hashmi, pleaded that the full bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that dismissed his petition …