Yemen, North Korea, Nigeria.

Today's three stories you should know.

Yemen

Progress appears to be ongoing toward peace in Yemen. The country’s warring sides began swapping almost 900 prisoners today, according to the Red Cross, which is helping to facilitate the process. The move is seen as an important confidence-building measure as talks on bringing the nine-year war to a close continue. The conflict erupted in 2014 when Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, pushed the then government from the capital Sana’a. A Saudi-Arabia led coalition later intervened militarily to support the toppled government. The UN estimates that 377,000 people have died in the conflict either on the battlefield or from starvation and disease.

More from Al Jazeera here.

North Korea

North Korea has apparently tested a new type of missile for the first time - one which can be deployed much faster than those it already has. The solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test was detected by both Japan and South Korea. Solid-fuel missiles, unlike other ICBMs, do not have to be fuelled before launch and are harder to detect. Developing such missiles has been a key ambition of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to counter what he calls threats from the US. The US and South Korea have recently been carrying out regular military drills, which the North says amount to rehearsals for an invasion. Pyongyang has also been on a spree of weapons testing.

More from France 24 here.

Nigeria

Remember the Chibok girls? The 276 Nigerian schoolgirls made international headlines when they were kidnapped in 2014 in an incident that prompted global outrage and revulsion. Today, activists from the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement marked nine years since the kidnappings and criticised the government for failing “to close this shameful chapter in our country’s history.” So far, 178 of the girls have escaped and returned home - most traumatized and some with children born to members of the Boko Haram armed group - but 98 remain missing. Amnesty International called for the release of the remaining girls and for their kidnappers to be brought to justice. BBOG said it was also seeking the government to provide closure for parents who had reason to believe their daughters were now dead.

More from BBC here.