Ukraine President Zelenskyy implores world to respond to torture
Lviv (Ukraine)(AP): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian troops in southern Ukraine have been carrying out torture and kidnappings, and he called on the world Sunday to respond.
Torture chambers are built there, Zelenskyy said in an evening address to the nation. They abduct representatives of local governments and anyone deemed visible to local communities.
Zelenskyy said humanitarian aid has been stolen, creating famine.
In occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, he said, the Russians are creating separatist states and introducing Russian currency, the ruble.
Intensified Russian shelling of Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, has killed 18 people and wounded 106 in the last four days alone, Zelenskyy said.
This is nothing but deliberate terror. Mortars, artillery against ordinary residential neighbourhoods, against ordinary civilians, he said.
He said a planned Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine will begin in the near future.
Zelensky again called for increased sanctions against Russia, including its entire banking sector and oil industry. Everyone in Europe and America already sees Russia openly using energy to destabilize Western societies, Zelenskyy said. All of this requires greater speed from Western countries in preparing a new, powerful package of sanctions. (AP)
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Nigeria confirms at least 27 people died, more than 100 missing after boat capsized
Abuja (AP): At least 27 people died and more than 100, mostly women, were missing on Friday, after a boat transporting them to a food market capsized along the River Niger in northern Nigeria, authorities said.
About 200 passengers were on the boat that was going from the state of Kogi to neighbouring state of Niger when it capsized, the Niger State Emergency Management Agency spokesman Ibrahim Audu told The Associated Press.
Rescuers managed to pull 27 bodies from the river by Friday evening while local divers were still searching for others, according to Sandra Musa, spokeswoman for the Kogi state emergency services.
No survivor was found about 12 hours after the incident occurred, she added.
Authorities have not confirmed what caused the sinking but local media suggested the boat may have been overloaded. Overcrowding on boats is common in remote parts of Nigeria where the lack of good roads leaves many with no alternative routes.
According to Justin Uwazuruonye, who is in charge of Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency operations in the state, rescuers had trouble finding the location of the capsizing for hours after Friday's tragedy struck.
Such deadly incidents are increasingly becoming a source of concern in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, as authorities struggle to enforce safety measures and regulations for water transportation.
Most of the accidents have been attributed to overcrowding and the lack of maintenance of the boats, often built locally to accommodate as many passengers as possible in defiance of safety measures.
Also, authorities have not been able to enforce the use of life jackets on such trips, often because of lack of availability or cost.
