Briefly

UNITED NATIONS

Guterres slams attacks on Sudan peacekeepers

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday strongly condemned the drone attacks that targeted the UN peacekeeping logistics base in Kadugli, Sudan, earlier in the day. The attacks resulted in six fatalities and eight injuries — all members of the Bangladeshi peacekeeping contingent serving in the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei, Guterres said. He expressed his "deepest and heartfelt condolences" to the government and people of Bangladesh and to the families of the fallen peacekeepers, and wished a swift recovery to the injured. "Attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law and I remind all parties to the conflict of their obligation to protect UN personnel and civilians," he said.

UNITED STATES

Democrats release more Epstein photos

US congressional Democrats released a new cache of photos on Friday from the estate of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that includes images of President Donald Trump and former president Bill Clinton. The dozens of photos initially released by Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee were a small part of more than 95,000 they received from the estate of Epstein. The photos were released without captions or context and included a black-and-white image of Trump alongside six women whose faces were blacked out. The president said he had not seen the photos released on Friday, but they were "no big deal". Trump said Epstein was "all over Palm Beach" and had "photos with everybody".

BELARUS

US to lift sanctions on potash industry: Envoy

The United States has decided to lift sanctions previously imposed on the Belarusian potash industry, US special envoy for Belarus John Coale said on Saturday. The move came in accordance with the instructions of President Donald Trump, Coale said, describing it as a "very good step" for Belarus", according to media reports. After meeting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, he said the restrictions would be lifted immediately, adding that Washington and Minsk will continue dialogue regarding other sanctions. In a reciprocal gesture, Lukashenko has decided to pardon 123 citizens of various countries convicted under national laws for crimes, including espionage, terrorism and extremist activities.

Xinhua - Agencies