WASHINGTON -- The number of COVID-19 cases worldwide has exceeded 600,000, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE).

As of 05:00 Eastern Time (0900 GMT), there have been 601,478 confirmed cases globally, with 27,862 deaths, while more than 130,000 people have recovered from the disease, an interactive map maintained by the CSSE showed.

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FAIZABAD, Afghanistan -- At least 10 Afghan army soldiers and eight Taliban militants were killed during predawn clashes in Jurm district of the Afghanistan's northern Badakhshan province on Saturday, sources said.

"Taliban militants stormed Afghan National Defense and Security Forces' security checkpoints in different locations in Dara-e-Khostak locality of Jurm at wee hours of Saturday. The security forces repelled the attackers after heavy fighting," Abdullah Naji Nazari from provincial council told Xinhua.

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MALE -- Maldives has reported its first case of a local citizen testing positive for COVID-19, local media quoted the Minister of Health Abdulla Ameen as reporting on Saturday.

The new case has brought Maldives' total number of confirmed cases up to 14. This is the first confirmed case of a Maldivian citizen in Maldives being infected with the virus, as all previous cases were of foreign citizens.

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SINGAPORE -- It would be "a significant challenge" to hold the Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) in early June in view of the COVID-19 outbreak, Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said in a Facebook post Saturday.

The annual SLD was held in Singapore in late May or early June by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The think tank has announced earlier that it would call off this year's SLD scheduled for June 5-7. (Singapore-Event Cancellation-COVID-19) Enditem

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