Briefly

ASIA

Afghan-Pakistani border closed following clashes

Pakistan closed border crossings with Afghanistan on Sunday, officials said, following exchanges of fire between the forces of the two countries overnight, in which Kabul claimed to have killed 58 Pakistani soldiers. Afghan troops opened fire on Pakistani border posts late on Saturday, which the defense ministry said was in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan earlier last week. Pakistan said it had responded with gun and artillery fire. Afghanistan said it had killed 58 Pakistani soldiers and that 20 Afghan troops were killed or injured. There was no immediate response from Pakistan. Pakistani security officials said they had inflicted casualties on the Afghan forces but gave no number. Pakistan's two main border crossings with Afghanistan, at Torkham and Chaman, were closed on Sunday, local officials said. At least three minor crossings were also closed, they added.

UNITED STATES

8 killed in separate shootings in Mississippi

High school homecoming celebrations in Mississippi ended in gunfire, with two separate shootings on Friday night that left eight people dead and many more injured, authorities said. Six were killed in downtown Leland after a high school football homecoming game in the Mississippi Delta region on the state's western edge, according to the county coroner. On the east side of the state, a pregnant woman was among the dead, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said. In Leland, four people were killed and two died later at a hospital, according to a statement from Washington County Coroner La'Quesha Watkins. Some 20 people were injured in the gunfire after people gathered in the downtown area following the game, state Senator Derrick Simmons said.

Agencies via Xinhua