Briefly

AFGHANISTAN

Gunman kills 6 workers at US base

A gunman shot dead six local workers from the main US military base north of Afghanistan's capital and wounded three others, an Afghan official said on Friday. The nine workers, all Afghans, were on their way home late on Thursday when the gunman riding a motorcycle opened fire on them about 500 meters from Bagram Air Base, the Parwan provincial governor's spokeswoman, Wahida Shahkar, said. Shahkar said the attacker escaped. No insurgent groups immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but Taliban and Islamic State group fighters are active in northern areas of Afghanistan.

KAZAKHSTAN

Virus precautions on ISS crew's return

A US-Russian space crew landed safely on Friday on the steppes of Kazakhstan, greeted with extra precautions amid the coronavirus pandemic. Following a stint on the International Space Station, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan and Russian Oleg Skripochka touched down as scheduled at 11:16 am local time on Friday. Their Soyuz landing capsule landed under a striped orangeand-white parachute about 150 kilometers southeast of Dzhezkazgan in central Kazakhstan. Russian officials said they took stringent measures to protect the crew amid the pandemic.

UKRAINE

Kiev and militias exchange prisoners

Ukraine's government on Thursday swapped prisoners with militias in the war-torn east of the country, ahead of Orthodox Easter celebrations. Twenty people who had been held captive in two breakaway regions were handed over to the government, Kiev said. Separatists took back 14 prisoners. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed "this important humanitarian action".

SAUDI ARABIA

Oil-cut commitment with Russia stressed

Saudi Arabia and Russia stressed on Thursday their commitment to reduce oil production, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The commitment was highlighted during a phone call between Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud and his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak. The two sides released a joint statement highlighting that their countries have worked diligently with other OPEC+ countries and other producers to achieve a historic agreement to stabilize the oil market.

Agencies - Xinhua