Jerusalem / AFP Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed down on Monday from his attempts to appoint a former settler leader as ambassador to Brazil, which has since August refused to accept the nomination. Netanyahu “decided to appoint Dani Dayan as consul general in New York. He will replace foreign ministry career official Ido Aharoni, who is completing his term,” …

Seoul / AFP South Korean activists on Monday launched tens of thousands of anti-Pyongyang leaflets into North Korea for the second time in three days, amid heightened military tensions on the divided peninsula. The conservative activists, including many North Korean defectors, used gas-filled balloons to float 100,000 leaflets criticising North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un over the heavily militarised border. Some …

Bloomberg Rebels who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa have released nine Saudis in exchange for 109 Yemenis, the Riyadh-led coalition fighting them said on Monday, in the latest sign of tensions easing before peace talks. “Nine Saudi prisoners have been recovered and 109 Yemenis who were arrested in the military operations zone” near the border have been handed over, the …