Briefly

NIGERIA

Islamic militants kill 60 in twin attacks

Islamic militants killed at least 20 soldiers and more than 40 civilians and injured hundreds in twin attacks in northeast Nigeria's Borno state on Saturday, residents and a civilian task force fighter said. The attacks, in the Monguno and Nganzai local government areas, came just days after militants killed at least 69 people in a raid on a village in a third area, Gubio. Two humanitarian workers and three residents said militants armed with heavy weapons including rocket launchers arrived in Monguno, a hub for international non-governmental organizations, about 11 am. They overran government forces, taking some casualties and roaming the area for three hours.

CHILE

President appoints new health minister

President Sebastian Pinera has replaced Jaime Manalich, the country's health minister, with Oscar Enrique Paris, an academic and medical doctor. Pinera said Manalich had spared "no effort" in carrying out his "difficult and noble duty" to protect Chileans' health. Manalich had faced criticism of his management of the health crisis, both for successive changes in strategies for counting cases and deaths as well as for calling for the development of a "new normal" though the country was still registering a high number of cases. Paris said he would "call for dialogue and collaboration from the entire health field to meet and work together".

EGYPT

Talks held to discuss Ethiopian dam, Libya

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi talked with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa by phone on Saturday, discussing the controversial Ethiopian grand dam built on the Nile River. The two exchanged views on the current situation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, Egypt's presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said. The two leaders also discussed developments in Libya and joint African efforts to settle the conflict within the framework of the Cairo Declaration initiative recently proposed under Egypt's auspices, Rady said.

Agencies - Xinhua