MALI: A French soldier has been killed during operations against “armed terrorist groups,” France’s Defence Ministry said on Saturday.
The soldier died of injuries sustained when a military tanker was hit by an improvised explosive device on April 23 in the Liptako area.
He was taking part in Operation Barkhane, a wide-ranging mission under which France patrols Africa’s Sahel region.

KOREA: South Korea’s military says that it exchanged fire with the North’s army today.
It said that North Korean troops fired at a Southern guard post in the border zone and that it responded with warning shots.

Nobody is believed to have been hurt.

The incident is the first exchange of hostilities since leaders Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae In took steps to defuse tensions and move towards a formal peace treaty in 2018.

AFGHANISTAN: A random sampling of 500 Kabul residents found that one in three tested positive for Covid-19.
Public Health Ministry spokesman Wahid Mayar said the result was “concerning,” as it suggests that infection rates across the country are far higher than previously believed.

VENEZUELA: A boat attack on the port of La Guaira was seen off by the military, but there were casualties, Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said today.

The attackers, described as “terrorist mercenaries,” came from Colombia. Some were captured.

While there was no suggestion they were state forces, US ally Colombia is often viewed as a platform for any potential attack on Venezuela by the US.