News in Brief-(19-03-2018)

29 insurgents die in Afghan attack

LASHKARGAH, Mar 18: At least 29 armed militants were killed during air attacks by Afghan air force in Helmand province, south of Afghanistan, on Saturday, Afghan Defence Ministry said in a statement released here on Sunday. "The air force's warplanes targeted hideouts of Taliban militants in Gereshk, Nadali, Nahr-e-Saraj, Sangin and Marjah districts of southern Helmand province, on Saturday, killing at least 29 insurgents," said the statement. — Xinhua

N Korean diplomat heads to Finland for US talks

SEOUL, Mar 18: A senior North Korean diplomat handling North American affairs is heading to Finland for talks with the US and South Korea. South Korea's Yonhap news agency says Choe Kang Il was seen Sunday at a Beijing airport before boarding a flight to Finland. The report cites unnamed "diplomatic sources" in Seoul as saying Choe would take part in a meeting in Finland with former US diplomats and South Korean security experts. Choe was in the delegation North Korea sent to last month's Winter Olympics in South Korea. — AP

UK, Moscow trade blame over poisoning of ex-spy

LONDON, Mar 18: Britain's foreign secretary said Sunday that the trail of blame for the poisoning of a former spy "leads inexorably to the Kremlin," after a Russian envoy suggested the nerve agent involved could have come from a UK lab. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Britain has evidence that Russia has been stockpiling nerve agents like the one used against Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. Johnson told the BBC that officials from the Netherlands-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons would arrive in Britain on Monday to take samples of the nerve agent used to poison the Skripals. — AP

Heavy rain to hit Guizhou

BEIJING, Mar 18: Heavy rain is expected to sweep parts of southern China from Sunday to Monday, according to China's national observatory. Moderate to heavy rain will hit China's southern provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi as well as Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with rainfall of up to 80 millimeters in some regions, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said Sunday. — Xinhua