Russia, Ukraine swap 95 POWs each in their latest exchange
Kyiv, July 17: Ukraine and Russia exchanged 95 prisoners of war each, officials in both countries said Wednesday, three weeks after their last swap and as part of what have been occasional agreements to send captured troops home. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Russian Defence Ministry reported the exchange. The POW swap was the 54th since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022. Officials from the warring countries meet only when they swap their dead and POWs, after lengthy preparation and diplomacy. Neither Ukraine nor Russia discloses how many POWs there are in total. Zelenskyy said in a post on the Telegram messaging service that the United Arab Emirates had again brokered the agreements. The UAE has said it maintains friendly relations with both Moscow and Kyiv. (AP)
Traces of cyanide found in 6 Bangkok hotel guests
Bangkok, July 17: Doctors who performed autopsies on the six Bangkok hotel guests who died mysteriously confirmed Wednesday that they had traces of cyanide in their blood. Dr. Kornkiat Vongpaisarnsin, head of the forensic medicine department at Chulalongkorn University’s medical school, said at a news conference that a CAT scan showed no signs of blunt force trauma on the dead, reinforcing the hypothesis that they had been poisoned. Police found traces of cyanide in the cups of six Vietnamese and American guests at a central Bangkok luxury hotel and one of them is believed to have poisoned the others over a bad investment, Thai authorities said Wednesday. The bodies were found Tuesday in the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok, a landmark at a central intersection in the capital busy with malls, government buildings and public transit. The six had last been seen alive when food was delivered to the room Monday afternoon. The staff saw one woman receive the food, and security footage showed the rest arriving one by one shortly after. There were no other visitors, no one was seen leaving and the door was locked. A maid found them Tuesday afternoon when they failed to check out of the room. (AP)
3 Indians among crew detained for carrying drugs
Singapore, July 17: Three Indian nationals are among the crew who have been detained by Indonesian authorities on a Singapore-flagged ship for carrying drugs to Brisbane, according to a media report. Acting on a tip-off, the Indonesian authorities intercepted the cargo vessel, called Legend Aquarius, in the Pongkar waters of the Karimun district, about one hour from Singapore by ferry. It was manned by 10 Indonesian crew members, including the captain. Three Singapore Permanent Residents of Indian nationalities were also on board. They are allegedly the owners of the drugs and had commissioned the trip, police commissioner-general Marthinus Hukom, head of the Indonesian National Narcotic Agency (BNN), told reporters at a press conference in Batam.(PTI)
