Tehran, Iran – Iran has blamed the United States for failing to reach an agreement over a prisoner swap deal amid reports that progress had been made after a lull of several months. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani on Monday told journalists that a deal was on the verge of being clinched through intermediaries at an unannounced time, “but then the US showed bad faith”. Iran and the US have […]
Yemen’s warring parties have completed the largest prisoner-swap in the country’s five-year war, with rebels releasing fighters affiliated with influential pro-government armed groups. More than 1,000 people were released and transported to their homes over the two-day exchange – completed on Friday – between the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and the Saudi-backed government in Yemen. The Houthis said 671 prisoners arrived in the capital Sanaa during the process. The swap has […]
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has approved the release of 1,500 Taliban prisoners as part of efforts to secure a peace deal with the insurgent group. The presidential decree requires all prisoners to give "a written guarantee to not return to the battlefield". In exchange, the Taliban has agreed to hand over 1,000 government troops. It comes as the US begins withdrawing troops from the country as part of a linked […]
VOC became the first Muslim radio station in South Africa when a special events license was granted to the station in Ramadan/January 1995. Subsequent temporary broadcast licenses were granted, permitting the station to broadcast for 24 hours.
