Iran, US envoys hold talks over Tehran’s nuclear programme
Muscat, April 13: Iran and the United States will hold more negotiations next week over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear programme, Iranian state television has reported at the end of the first round of talks between the two countries since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Iran’s state-run broadcaster Saturday revealed that US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi “briefly spoke” together – the first time the two nations have done that since the Obama administration. Tehran’s declaration that the two sides spoke face-to-face – even if briefly – suggests the negotiations went well even to Iranian state TV, which long has been controlled by hard-liners. (AP)
Fate of mistakenly deported man uncertain despite judge’s order
Washington, April 13: The Trump administration has confirmed to a federal judge that a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported last month remains confined in a notorious prison in El Salvador. But the government’s filing on Saturday did not address the judge’s demands that the administration detail what steps it was taking to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States. The government said only that Garcia is under the authority of the El Salvador government. The filing comes one day after a US government attorney struggled in a hearing to provide US District Judge Paula Xinis with any information about Garcia’s whereabouts. The US Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration must bring him back. (AP)
Police detain 6 who wanted to scale Cologne’s famous cathedral
Berlin, April 13: German police in Cologne on Sunday detained five Frenchmen and a Belgian woman who had tried to climb the city’s famous cathedral. Police said they were informed by the church’s private security guards who spotted the young climbers with headlamps on their surveillance cameras in the middle of the night. Police officers in riot gear surrounded the cathedral and a helicopter hovered over the northern dome, until the five climbers were detained inside the tower’s stairwell. Authorities said the men were aged between 18 and 27 years, the woman was 26. (AP)
Taliban leader says executions are part of Islam
Kabul, April 13: The Taliban leader said executions were part of Islam, days after four men were killed by gunfire in Afghanistan after they were convicted of murder. The executions took place in sports stadiums Friday, the highest number known to have been carried out in one day since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Rights groups and the UN condemned the killings. Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has previously rejected the need for Western laws in Afghanistan. In an audio clip released Sunday by the Taliban’s chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on X, Akhundzada said: “We must carry out disciplinary measures, perform prayers and acts of worship. We must enter Islam completely. Islam is not just limited to a few rituals; it is a comprehensive system of all divine commands.” (AP)