Briefly

NIGERIA

Gunmen kill 47 in northwestern villages

Up to 47 people were killed in organized attacks on villages in the northwestern Nigerian state of Katsina on Saturday, local police said on Sunday. A group of gunmen attacked the villages of Danmusa, Dutsenma and Safana on Saturday and detachments of police, Katsina police said in a statement, adding that security forces had been deployed to the area. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari issued a statement pledging to punish the criminals who kill innocent people. Also on Sunday, Nigerian Defense Ministry spokesman John Enenche said military forces carried out multiple operations on the same day, killing scores of Boko Haram militants in northern Nigeria.

AFGHANISTAN

Taliban attack claims lives of 18 soldiers

Eighteen Afghan soldiers were killed and three others wounded in a Taliban attack in the country's northern province of Takhar on Sunday night, a local official confirmed on Monday. The clashes started after dozens of Taliban militants launched a wide offensive on a district police station and a nearby military camp in Khwaja Ghar district, said Abdul Khalil Asir, provincial police spokesman. The militants who came from mountains tried to overrun the district police station and seize control of the district, but their plan was thwarted by the security forces. Several militants also sustained casualties based on bloodstains at the scene of the clashes, the official noted.

DPRK

Trump talk of Kim's 'nice note' baseless

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Sunday dismissed as "ungrounded" US President Donald Trump's comment that he recently received "a nice note" from top leader Kim Jong-un. Trump said during a news conference on Saturday that "I received a nice note from him recently. It was a nice note. I think we're doing fine". Trump also defended now-stalled nuclear diplomacy with Pyongyang, saying the United States would have been at war with the DPRK if he had not been elected. The DPRK Foreign Ministry said in a statement that there was no letter addressed to Trump recently by "the supreme leadership". It said it would examine why the US leadership released "the ungrounded story" to the media.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Prayers at home urged for Ramadan

Religious authorities in the UAE said medical workers treating COVID-19 patients are exempt from fasting during Ramadan and urged Muslims not to congregate for prayers during the holy month expected to start this week. The Emirates Fatwa Council said in a statement carried on state media on Sunday that all healthy people are obliged to fast but medical workers on the frontline of the novel coronavirus pandemic need not do so "if they fear that fasting could lead to weakening their immunity or to losing their patients". It said Muslims should comply with physical distancing while praying during Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks its end.

UNITED KINGDOM

Harry, Meghan cut ties with tabloids

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have cut ties with some of Britain's biggest tabloids and said they will adopt a policy of "zero engagement" with them, British media reported on Monday. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who gave up their jobs as working royals at the end of last month, sent a letter to The Sun, Daily Mail, Daily Express and Daily Mirror on Sunday evening detailing their new policy, British media, including The Guardian, Financial Times and ITV News, reported.

Xinhua - Agencies