An exchange of more than 800 prisoners linked to Yemen's long-running war began  on Apr 14 , the International Committee for the Red Cross said. The United Nations-brokered deal, in the works for months, comes amid concerted diplomatic efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict.

It is the most significant prisoner exchange in Yemen since the Saudi-led coalition and their rivals, the Houthi rebels, released more than 1,000 detainees in October 2020. Thousands of people are believed to be held as prisoners of war by all sides since the conflict erupted.

As part of the three-day exchange, flights will transport prisoners from government-controlled cities inside Yemen and Saudi Arabia to Sanaa, said Majed Fadail, a deputy minister for human rights for Yemen's government.

Yemen's conflict began in 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of the country's north. The internationally recognized government fled to the south and then into exile in Saudi Arabia.

The Houthi takeover prompted a Saudi-led coalition to intervene months later. The conflict has in recent years turned into a regional proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, with the United States long involved on the periphery, providing intelligence assistance to the kingdom. However, international criticism over Saudi airstrikes killing civilians saw the U.S. pull back its support.

China sanctioned a United States lawmaker on Apr 13 for his visit to Taiwan, saying he violated the “One China” principle that says Beijing has sovereignty over the island.

The mainland’s ruling Communist Party says Taiwan, which split from the mainland in 1949 amid a civil war, must be reunited with China by force if necessary. Beijing says Taipei has no right to conduct foreign relations and views visits by US lawmakers to the island as violating its claims of sovereignty.

The sanctions against Rep. Michael McCaul include freezing his assets and properties in China, prohibiting any organization or individual in China from conducting transactions or working with him, and denying him a visa to enter the country.

China retaliated to US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s meeting on April 5 with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen by sanctioning the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and other organizations, adding to strains over the self-governed island democracy Beijing claims as part of its territory. It then launched a large-scale three-day military exercise surrounding the island, sending more than 200 warplanes toward Taiwan.

Norway’s government said  on Apr 14 that it was expelling 15 Russian diplomats from the country, saying they were suspected of spying while working at the Russian Embassy in Oslo.

Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said the move was “an important measure to counter and reduce the scope of Russian intelligence activities in Norway, and thereby secure our national interests.”

The minister declined to say whether the government was acting in response to a specific incident, referring questions to Norway’s domestic security agency PST for details. The government said the activities of the expelled diplomats were “incompatible with their diplomatic status.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow would respond in kind, Russia’s Tass and RIA Novosti news agencies reported.

NATO-member Norway has a 198-kilometer-long (123-mile) border with Russia in the Arctic.

The world is leapfrogging in women's empowerment, World Bank President David Malpass has said and praised India's efforts, especially that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he is "deeply interested and concerned."

Participating in a panel discussion on 'Empowering Women as Entrepreneurs and Leaders' organised by the World Bank on the sidelines of its spring meetings, Malpass and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, along with other panelists, discussed the development and empowerment of women in India and the world.

A Massachusetts Air National Guard member was arrested in connection with the disclosure of highly classified military documents about the Ukraine war and other top national security issues, an alarming breach that has raised fresh questions about America’s ability to safeguard its most sensitive secrets.

Amid global slowdown, India’s overall trade deficit widened to $122 billion in FY23 from $83 billion in the previous year, according to the commerce ministry data. This was despite the overall increase in the exports to $770 billion in the current fiscal from $676 billion in FY22.

Overall imports surged by 17.38% to $892.18 billion in FY 23.  In March 2023, merchandise exports fell 14% to $38 billion from $44 billion in the same month last year. Merchandise trade deficit during the month rose 6.5% to $20 billion. In FY23, merchandise exports were up 6% to $447.5 billion.

In Merchandise exports, electronic goods (with 50% growth) and petroleum products (40%) posted the sharpest gain in FY23, apart from others like rice, chemicals and drugs & pharmaceutical products. Items that saw a marginal decrease in exports on-year include engineering goods, cotton, plastic and linoleum, iron ore besides gems and jewellery.

Meanwhile, overall imports rose on account of the steep rise in imports of petroleum and crude products, textile, cotton raw and waste, coal, iron and steel etc. Items that registered a slight fall in imports include pulses, medicinal and pharmaceutical products, pearls, precious and semi-precious stones. 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has begun evaluating the bids for IDBI Bank, showing that the process of divestment of government-owned lender is on track.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Canadian investor Prem Watsa-backed CSB Bank and UAE- based Emirates NBD are among the five bidders keen to take control of IDBI Bank in which government holds a majority stake.

The government owns 45.48% of IDBI Bank and is planning to divest a 30.48% stake in the lender while Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which holds 49.24%, plans to offload 30.24%

The development comes after the government received bids from ‘multiple bidders’ for IDBI stake sale.

After getting the bids, the expressions of interest are sent to the central bank to check whether they pass the ‘fit and proper’ criteria.

A potential bidder can acquire a majority stake in domestic banks only after passing the ‘fit and proper’ test, which includes extensive background and financial checks by the RBI.

The government’s stake sale in the bank is crucial as it will set the course for divestment of other public sector entities.

India's forex reserves increased by USD 6.306 billion to USD 584.755 billion for the week ended April 7, the RBI said on Apr 14 .

In the last reporting week, the forex kitty snapped a two-week rising trend to decline by USD 329 million to 578.45 billion.

It can be noted that in October 2021, the country's forex kitty reached an all-time high of USD 645 billion.

The reserves have been declining as the central bank deployed the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused by global developments.

For the week ended April 7, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by USD 4.74 billion to USD 514.431 billion.

Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

Gold reserves rose by USD 1.496 billion to USD 46.696 billion, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up by USD 58 million to USD 18.45 billion, the apex bank said.

The country's reserve position with the IMF was up by USD 13 million to USD 5.178 billion in the reporting week, the data showed.