Briefly

INDIA

Search for 51 missing from sunken barge

Naval vessels and aircraft scoured the waters off India's west coast on Wednesday after the most powerful cyclone in more than two decades battered the region, sinking a barge and killing 22 aboard, authorities said. Cyclone Tauktae unleashed waves of up to 7.6 meters offshore before it hit the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat during the past two days, leaving a trail of destruction that killed 61 others. The search for the 51 still missing from the barge accident will run through the day, navy spokesman Mehul Karnik said. The barge, with 261 people on board, sank after the storm smashed into an oilfield near the financial capital of Mumbai.

SPAIN

Migrants mass at border with Morocco

A steady stream of migrants tried to swim to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Wednesday, after a record influx of arrivals sent diplomatic tensions soaring between Madrid and Rabat. A European commissioner vowed that the continent would not be "intimidated "after some 8,000 migrants rushed into Ceuta since Monday. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez vowed to "restore order" after the unprecedented surge, and said on Wednesday that about 4,800 migrants had been sent back.

KENYA

Chinese-built port to spur regional trade

Kenya's Lamu seaport built by a Chinese firm that is set to be launched on Thursday will pave the way for seamless movement of goods in the greater Horn of Africa region, officials said on Tuesday. The first phase of the project consisting of three berths is in the coastal county of Lamu in northeast Kenya. Rashid Salim, acting managing director of the Kenya Ports Authority, said the ultramodern port that is part of the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor is ready for major shipping operations. "The new port has a huge potential for business since it sits right in the middle of major shipping routes for global trade," Salim said.

Agencies - Xinhua