IN BRIEF (Page 4)

Cyprus

27 aboard drifting small boat saved

Cyprus authorities said they have rescued 27 people aboard a small fishing boat that was found drifting ungoverned around 24 kilometers off the Mediterranean island's northwestern coast. The passengers included six women and three children. No details were given about where the boat had set sail from or the nationalities of the passengers. Cyprus lies around 160 km off Syria's Mediterranean coast and 60 km south of Turkey.