Briefly

UNITED STATES

Ban on weapons for Ukrainian unit lifted

The United States has lifted a ban on providing US weapons and training to a controversial Ukrainian military unit, The Associated Press reported on Tuesday, citing the US State Department. The Azov Brigade, which has far-right and ultranationalist roots, is part of Ukraine's National Guard and evolved out of a battalion that was formed in 2014. The State Department reversed the decade-old prohibition on the regiment from using US training and weapons after a new analysis found "no evidence" of human rights violations. So far, Russia has made no response to the development.

Baltimore shipping channel reopens

US authorities completely reopened the primary shipping route to the Port of Baltimore on Monday following an extensive cleanup effort, a few months after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which killed six workers. Officials said on Monday the reopening follows a significant cleanup operation, where crews extracted approximately 50,000 metric tons of steel and concrete from the Patapsco River. On March 26, a container ship collided with one of the bridge's support columns, causing six road workers who were on their overnight shift to fill potholes on the bridge to fall to their deaths.

YEMEN

49 migrants die, 140 missing after boat sinks

The UN migration agency said on Tuesday that at least 49 migrants had died and 140 others remained missing after their boat capsized off the coast of Yemen. The boat, traveling from Somalia carrying Somali and Ethiopian passengers, sank on Monday, the International Organization for Migration said, adding that 31 women and six children were among the dead. Each year, tens of thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa set off across the Red Sea in a bid to reach the Gulf. According to the IOM, at least 698 people died on the route last year.

Agencies - Xinhua