Briefly

EUROPE

5 migrants die in Channel crossing bid

Five people, including a child, died in an attempt to cross the English Channel from France on Tuesday. The deaths occurred after an overcrowded small boat carrying about 110 people set out to cross the Channel, hours after Britain's parliament passed legislation that will allow the government to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda rather than staying in Britain for processing. Stopping the flow of migrants is a priority for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government, which says the Rwanda plan will act as a deterrent.

DJIBOUTI

16 killed, 28 missing as boat capsizes

At least 16 people died and 28 were missing in a migrant boat disaster off the coast of Djibouti, the United Nations' International Organization for Migration said on Tuesday. "Tragedy as boat capsizes off Djibouti coast with 77 migrants on board, including children," the IOM said on X, without specifying when the latest incident occurred. The local IOM branch was "supporting local authorities with search and rescue effort", it said. The Ethiopian embassy in Djibouti said the boat was carrying Ethiopian migrants from Djibouti to Yemen.

BELGIUM

Court clears man whose body produces alcohol

A Belgian man was acquitted of drunken driving on Monday because he suffers from auto-brewery syndrome, or ABS, a rare condition whereby the body produces alcohol, his lawyer said. Anse Ghesquiere said three doctors who independently examined her client confirmed he suffered from ABS.Scientists believe the number of ABS cases in the world is underestimated, she said. The court recognized that factors unforeseen by law applied to the man's case and acquitted him of the charge.

Agencies via Xinhua