An Iranian held in the US and an American held in Iran have been freed, the two sides said Saturday, in an apparent prisoner swap at a time of heightened tensions.

The most serious nationwide strike to hit France in years caused new weekend travel turmoil on Saturday, with unions warning the walkouts would last well into next week.

The challenge thrown to President Emmanuel Macron over his plans for radical pension reform has seen hundreds of thousands take to the streets and key transport services brought to a standstill.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced a feeling of "deep shame" during her first-ever visit on Friday to the hallowed grounds of the former Nazi German death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where Adolf Hitler's regime murdered more than a million people.

Merkel noted that her visit comes amid rising anti-Semitism and historical revisionism and vowed that Germany would not tolerate anti-Semitism. She said Germany remains committed to remembering the crimes that it committed against Jews, Poles, Roma and Sinti, homosexuals and others.

Protesters clashed with police as thousands took to the streets of Chile's capital Friday for a demonstration that marked 50 days since the outbreak of the country's worst civil unrest in decades.

US President Donald Trump said Friday he would not proceed with his stated plans to designate Mexican drug cartels as terror groups following a request from his counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Washington resumed talks with the Taliban in Qatar Saturday, a US source said, three months after President Donald Trump abruptly halted diplomatic efforts that could end America's longest war.

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump agreed during a phone conversation to maintain dialogue with the nuclear-armed North, Seoul said Saturday, with the two allies noting the situation had become "grave". 

More than 800,000 people took to the streets across France on Thursday on the first day of a nationwide strike over President Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms.

A Saudi air force trainee opened fire Friday at a U.S. naval base, killing three people before being shot dead by police, with the Saudi king quickly offering his condolences to President Donald Trump.

China on Friday said it had taken "reciprocal" measures against US diplomats in the country, saying they will have to notify the foreign ministry before meeting with local officials.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China had notified the US embassy of the new measures on Wednesday, which she said were a "countermeasure" to Washington's decision in October to restrict Chinese diplomats.