Briefly

ZIMBABWE

Death toll in ferry accident rises to 80

Authorities retrieved 34 bodies from Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba over the weekend, taking the death toll from a ferry capsizing to 80, police said, as the search continued for victims. The overloaded passenger ferry run by the government's Rural Infrastructure Development Agency overturned in choppy waters on Tuesday in a rare accident on the vast lake on the border with Zambia. At least 18 children were among the dead, police said on Saturday after rescuers recovered 26 more bodies. "Meanwhile, the identification of the bodies recovered today is in progress," the police said in a statement. On Sunday, the national police service said in a post on X that eight more bodies were found. Officials say the boat was authorized to carry 90 people but was packed with 114 adults, five crew members and an unspecified number of children.

DPRK

Top leader 'proud' of better Russia relations

Kim Jong-un, president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, told Russian President Vladimir Putin that he is "proud to be able to expect a more excellent future of the bilateral relations", the Korean Central News Agency reported on Sunday. Kim made the remarks in a reply message on Saturday, thanking Putin for sending a message of greetings on the occasion of the 81st anniversary of Liberation Day, the report said. The DPRK celebrates its Liberation Day on Aug 15 in commemoration of the liberation of the Korean Peninsula from Japan's colonial rule on Aug 15, 1945.

UNITED STATES

Teen arrested over ties to university shooting

Police arrested a 19-year-old found hiding in a dormitory closet at Virginia State University on Saturday in connection with an overnight shooting on campus that left five people wounded, including one with critical injuries. Camron Harris of Henrico, Virginia, is not a student on campus nor are four of the people injured, Chesterfield County Police said in a statement. They ranged in age from 17 to 23. One of the injured, a 20-year-old, is a student and has now been released from the hospital, authorities said. The victims' names have not been released. Authorities have given no information about a possible motive. The university said earlier that authorities were searching for multiple suspects, but police provided no additional information on Saturday evening about the search.

AGENCIES-XINHUA