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Passenger ferry capsizes on the Nile River in Sudan, leaving at least 15 people dead

CAIRO (AP) — A passenger ferry capsized on the Nile River in Sudan on Wednesday, leaving at least 15 people dead, a medical group said.

The ferry, with at least 27 people on board, including women and children, sank in the Shendi district in northern Nile River province, said the Sudan Doctors Network, a medial group that tracks the country’s ongoing war.

The group said at least 15 bodies have been recovered, while residents and rescue teams were still searching for at least six other people. Six people survived the tragedy, it said.

The group urged authorities to deploy specialized rescue teams and equipment to accelerate search efforts.

Such tragedies on overloaded boats are not uncommon on waterways in the African nation, where safety measures are often disregarded.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

By WTOP Staff
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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