Briefly

NIGERIA

100 feared drowned in boat tragedy

More than 100 people were missing and feared dead after a boat with more than 165 passengers, including women and children, broke up and sank as it was traveling in Nigeria's northern Kebbi state, officials said on Wednesday. Twenty-two people had been rescued and five bodies recovered, including a baby less than a year old, said Sani Dododo, chairman of the Kebbi State Emergency Management Agency. Eleven rescue boats and divers were searching for 138 missing passengers. President Muhammadu Buhari said the accident was "devastating".

RUSSIA

'Involvement' rejected in Ryanair incident

Western speculations on Russia's alleged involvement in the Ryanair incident are baseless and false, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, adding that no Russian citizens left the aircraft after the emergency landing in Minsk. Despite the fact that only three days have passed since the landing, and with no available results in relation to the investigation in the case, Western officials have quickly and "unanimously" drawn conclusions, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. She said Moscow is only interested in conducting an "objective" and "thorough" investigation into the case.

Agencies - Xinhua