30 Taliban militants killed in Afghanistan
Xinhua, Jalalabad
Up to 30 militants have been confirmed dead as the government forces stormed Taliban hideouts in Khogiani district of the eastern Nangarhar province on Friday night, a statement of the provincial government released here Saturday said.
According to the statement, the government forces targeted Taliban hideouts in Zawi area of Khogiani district late Friday night, leaving up to 30 insurgents killed and several others injured, and they also destroyed five important centers of the insurgent group.
Iraq’s President visits Iran
AP, Tehran
Iraq’s President Barham Salih began a visit to Iran on Saturday, where he pledged to improve relations less than two weeks after the United States restored oil sanctions that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran, which has had major influence over Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, is hoping to maintain exports to its neighbor despite the renewed sanctions. Iraq is Iran’s second-largest market after China, buying everything from food and machinery to electricity and natural gas.
Abe visits Darwin shrine to Japanese war dead
AP, Sydney
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday visited a shrine in Darwin commemorating the deaths of 80 Japanese submariners in waters near the city in World War II.
Abe arrived in Darwin on Friday for meetings with Australian counterpart Scott Morrison, becoming the first leader of Japan to visit the northern port city since it was bombed by Japanese forces in 1942.
2 killed, 8 injured in Karachi blast
AFP, Karachi
A bomb killed at least two people and wounded eight others in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi Friday, police and hospital officials said. The blast reportedly damaged buildings and triggered panic in the densely populated Malir district.
“A timed device planted underneath a pushcart exploded with a big bang, killing two people and wounding eight others,” senior police official Irfan Ali Bahadur told AFP.
2 migrants dead, eight missing in Italy
AFP, Rome
The bodies of two migrants have been recovered off the coast of Italy’s Sardinia, with eight others reportedly missing, emergency services said on Saturday. A wooden boat with 13 Algerians on board lost power on Thursday. The migrants called for assistance, but before help came, 10 of them decided to try to swim to land, Italian media reported.
The Italian coastguard found three people aboard the drifting boat near the island of Toro, and later recovered two bodies. They are still searching for the other eight migrants.
