Russian diplomat says prisoner swap with US remains possible
November 29, 2022 GMTMOSCOW (AP) — Russia and the United States have repeatedly been on the verge of agreement on a prisoner exchange, a senior Russian diplomat said Tuesday, adding that a deal is still possible before the year's end.
EXPLAINER: What Griner may endure in Russian penal system
November 18, 2022 GMTLONDON (AP) — WNBA star Brittney Griner has begun serving her nine-year sentence for drug possession at a remote Russian penal colony that human rights advocates say is known for harsh conditions and violent criminals.
CIA director warns Russian spy chief against deploying nukes
November 14, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — CIA Director Bill Burns met on Monday with his Russian intelligence counterpart to warn of consequences if Russia were to deploy a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, according to a White House National Security Council official.
Biden hopes Putin will negotiate WNBA star Griner’s release
November 10, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he hopes Russian President Vladimir Putin will be more willing to negotiate the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner now that the U.S.
Biden hopes Putin will negotiate WNBA star Griner’s release
November 9, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he hopes Russian President Vladimir Putin will be more willing to negotiate the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner now that the U.S. midterm elections are over.
‘We got our miracle’: Freed Americans back home in Alabama
September 24, 2022 GMTBIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Two U.S. military veterans who disappeared three months ago while fighting with Ukrainian forces against Russia arrived home to Alabama on Saturday, greeted by hugs, cheers and tears of joy at the state's main airport.
2 Americans released by Russian separatists arrive in NYC
September 23, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Two U.S. military veterans who disappeared three months ago while fighting Russia with Ukrainian forces arrived Friday at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport after their release by Russian-backed separatists as part of a prisoner exchange.
Russian separatists release 10, including 2 US veterans
September 21, 2022 GMTBIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Two U.S. military veterans who disappeared three months ago while fighting Russia with Ukrainian forces were among 10 prisoners, including five British nationals, released by Russian-backed separatists as part of a prisoner exchange mediated by Saudi Arabia, officials said Wednesday.
Kremlin says Griner swap must be discussed without publicity
August 5, 2022 GMTMOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin said Friday that it's open to talking about a possible prisoner exchange involving American basketball star Brittney Griner but strongly warned Washington against publicizing the issue.
WNBA’s Griner convicted at drug trial, sentenced to 9 years
August 5, 2022 GMTKHIMKI, Russia (AP) — U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner was convicted Thursday in Russia of drug possession and smuggling and was sentenced to nine years behind bars in a politically charged case that could lead to a high-stakes prisoner exchange between Washington and Moscow.
WNBA’s Griner gets support at trial from character witnesses
July 14, 2022 GMTKHIMKI, Russia (AP) — Brittney Griner's drug possession trial resumed Thursday with the head of the Russian club she plays for in the offseason and a teammate from that squad testifying in support of her character and what the WNBA star has meant for women's basketball in the country.
Reviled and revered Russian arms dealer is back in spotlight
July 14, 2022 GMTMOSCOW (AP) — A Russian arms dealer labeled the “Merchant of Death” who once inspired a Hollywood movie is back in the headlines with speculation around a return to Moscow in a prisoner exchange.
Griner’s fate tangled up with other American held in Russia
June 8, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Brittney Griner is easily the most prominent American locked up by a foreign country. But the WNBA star's case is tangled up with that of a lesser-known American also imprisoned in Russia.
Aging Japanese militant in Beirut marks 1972 Israel attack
May 30, 2022 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — An aging Japanese militant who spent more than a decade in an Israeli prison for his part in a deadly attack on Tel Aviv’s airport showed up in Beirut on Monday at an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the attack.
Trevor Reed back in US, one day after Russian prisoner swap
April 28, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Trevor Reed is back in the United States one day after the Marine veteran was swapped for a Russian drug trafficker in a prisoner exchange between Washington and Moscow, his mother tweeted early Thursday morning.
Russia releases US Marine vet in surprise prisoner exchange
April 28, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Russia and the United States have carried out an unexpected prisoner exchange in a time of high tensions, trading on Wednesday a Marine veteran jailed by Moscow for a convicted Russian drug trafficker serving a long prison sentence in America.
EXPLAINER: Will a Russian prisoner exchange impact Griner?
April 28, 2022 GMTBrittney Griner remains detained in Russia and it's unclear how an unexpected prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia that freed marine veteran Trevor Reed on Wednesday will affect the status of the WNBA star.
Noam Shalit, father of captive Israeli soldier, dies at 68
March 31, 2022 GMTTEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Noam Shalit, the father of a captive Israeli soldier who battled for five years to free his son from his Hamas captors, has died. He was 68.
A spokesman for Rambam hospital in northern Israel said Shalit died late Wednesday of cancer.
War in Ukraine complicates path home for American detainees
March 4, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The already challenging path to bringing home Americans jailed in Russia and Ukraine is even more complicated now with a war overwhelming the region and increasingly hostile relations between the United States and the Kremlin.
Families of American captives frustrated with Justice Dept.
February 18, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — When relatives of American oil executives jailed in Venezuela met virtually with a senior Justice Department official this month, it didn't take long for their frustrations to surface.
Israel returns Palestinian remains after mix up of bodies
November 20, 2021 GMTRAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Israeli officials confirmed Saturday they successfully returned the remains of a 14-year-old Palestinian after mistakenly handing back a different corpse to the teenager’s family the previous evening.
After US denied deal, Iran says prisoner swap talks ongoing
July 13, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's government spokesman said Tuesday that talks with the United States about a prisoner exchange are still ongoing, two months after Washington denied an Iranian report that deals had been struck.
After Gaza war, Hamas chief calls for Israel prisoner swap
May 31, 2021 GMTGAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas's top leader in the Gaza Strip on Monday expressed optimism about reaching a prisoner exchange with Israel, while Egyptian mediators seek to hammer out a long-term cease-fire following an 11-day war in the Gaza Strip earlier this month.
US and UK reject reports of imminent prisoner deal with Iran
May 3, 2021 GMTLONDON (AP) — The U.S. and the U.K. dismissed reports coming out of Iran that they are thrashing out a prisoner exchange deal with Tehran that could see the imminent release of a British-Iranian woman, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and four Americans, among others...
US denies Iran claims of prisoner deal; UK plays it down
May 3, 2021 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Iran are in active talks over the release of prisoners, a person familiar with the discussions said Sunday as Washington denied a report by Iranian state-run television that deals had been struck...
Iran wants nationals freed from US jails amid nuclear talks
April 27, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran said Tuesday it was seeking the release of all Iranian prisoners held in the U...
UN says no progress in Yemen talks over prisoner swap
February 21, 2021 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Yemen’s warring sides did not achieve progress in their latest round of negotiations over a prisoner swap, the United Nations said on Sunday...
2 Syrians held in Israel to be released in prisoner exchange
February 17, 2021 GMTDAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — With the help of Russian mediation, Damascus has negotiated the release of two Syrians held by Israel in exchange for releasing an Israeli woman that entered Syria by mistake, Syria’s official news agency reported Wednesday...
UN: Yemen’s warring sides resume talks on prisoner exchange
January 24, 2021 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Yemen’s warring sides Sunday resumed United Nations-backed negotiations over a prisoner swap, the world body said, more than three months after they completed the war’s largest exchange.
UN: Libya’s rivals swap prisoners, part of cease-fire deal
December 26, 2020 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Libya’s rival leaders kicked off a U.N.-brokered prisoner exchange, United Nations and Libyan officials said Saturday, which was part of a preliminary cease-fire agreement between the warring Libyan groups...
Thailand approved transfer of 3 Iranians as Australian freed
November 26, 2020 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Thailand said Thursday it transferred three Iranians involved in a botched 2012 bomb plot back to Tehran, as Iran released an Australian academic who was imprisoned for more than two years on spying charges...
Yemen’s rival sides complete war’s largest prisoner exchange
October 16, 2020 GMTSANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen’s warring sides completed a major, U.N.-brokered prisoner swap on Friday, officials said, a development that could revive the country’s stalled peace process after more than five years of grinding conflict...
Macron makes new call for Iran to release detained academic
June 5, 2020 GMTPARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has made a fresh call for Iran to immediately release a French-Iranian researcher...
SEALs tried to locate US citizen taken by Afghan militants
April 30, 2020 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — In the days following the January capture of an American contractor in Afghanistan, Navy SEAL commandos raided a village and detained suspected members of a Taliban-linked militant network, The Associated Press has learned...
US calls on Afghans to set aside disputes, focus on virus
April 26, 2020 GMTISLAMABAD (AP) — The U.S. peace envoy to Afghanistan on Sunday called on the country's feuding leaders to set their differences aside to combat the coronavirus pandemic and advance a stalled peace agreement signed with the Taliban earlier this year...
Ukraine, separatists fail to agree on prisoner exchange
December 18, 2019 GMTMINSK, Belarus (AP) — Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists failed Wednesday to reach an agreement on a prisoner exchange and troops pullback after several hours of tense talks on the conflict in eastern Ukraine...
US: American jailed in Russia should be freed, not swapped
November 27, 2019 GMTMOSCOW (AP) — The U.S. Embassy in Moscow says it won’t be looking for a prisoner swap with Russia for an American jailed on spying charges...
The Latest: Pompeo calls prisoner exchange a ’hopeful sign”
November 19, 2019 GMTKABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Latest on the Afghanistan prisoner swap with the Taliban for American and Australian hostage held by insurgents since 2016 (all times local):...
Russia and Ukraine trade prisoners, each fly 35 to freedom
September 7, 2019 GMTMOSCOW (AP) — Russia and Ukraine conducted a major prisoner exchange that freed 35 people detained in each country and flew them to the other, a deal that could help advance Russia-Ukraine relations and end five years of fighting in Ukraine's east...
The Latest: US welcomes progress from Yemen peace talks
December 13, 2018 GMTRIMBO, Sweden (AP) — The Latest on the U.N.-sponsored Yemen peace talks that are wrapping up in Sweden (all times local):...
Yemen’s warring sides agree on truce in key port city
December 13, 2018 GMTRIMBO, Sweden (AP) — Yemen's warring sides agreed Thursday to an immediate cease-fire in the strategic port city of Hodeida, where fighting has disrupted vital aid deliveries and left the country on the brink of starvation in the RIMBO, Sweden (AP) — Yemen's warring sides agreed to a broad prisoner swap Thursday, sitting down in the same room together for the first time in years at U...Prisoner swap deal bolsters hopes of progress in Yemen talks
December 6, 2018 GMT