NIGERIA – At least 54 bodies have now been recovered from Nigeria’s River Niger after a boat, that may have been carrying more than 200 passengers, capsized in the early hours of Friday, the authorities say. Twenty-four of those on board were rescued, some of whom are still in hospital, but dozens of others may be missing. Divers are still searching the waters but hope is fading on the possibility of finding more survivors.

This is just the latest in a long series of boat accidents on the country’s inland waterways. Despite safety recommendations being made, rules are rarely followed and few are held accountable. The boat was travelling from Kogi state, central Nigeria, to a weekly market in neighbouring Niger state when it went down. Market traders and farm labourers were thought to have been among the passengers.

The cause of the accident is not yet known but there are indications that many of the travellers may not have been wearing life jackets as required. Getting accurate details about who exactly had boarded the boat is difficult because there was no record keeping, the local official in charge told the BBC.

“The problem is that there’s no passenger manifest and because of the time the accident occurred, giving an accurate account of persons, survivors and those missing, is very difficult,” Justin Uche, who is head of the Kogi state office of the National Emergency Management Agency said. Meanwhile Kogi state’s governor Usman Ododo ordered all hospitals where survivors are receiving treatment to ensure that they get adequate care including food. (BBC)

Photo: The River Niger is one of Nigeria’s most important waterways.

UNITED KINGDOM – Homes have been evacuated after a sinkhole opened up on a housing estate. Local councillor David Hughes said it was believed a culvert had collapsed, creating a big hole at Nant Morlais, in Pant, Merthyr Tydfil. South Wales Police, South Wales Fire and Rescue Service and Merthyr Tydfil council confirmed they were alerted on Sunday morning. Mr Hughes said residents of Nant Morlais – about 30 homes – have been evacuated. The cul-de-sac has been closed and people are being advised to avoid the area. More rain fell overnight, just days after Storm Bert caused flooding across Wales, along with a coal- tip landslide and sinkhole at Cwmtillery, Blaenau Gwent. Merthyr Tydfil council said its staff were working with agencies at Pant and “no further help or support is needed at this time”.

“Thank you to everyone who has offered it,” a spokesperson said. They said safety was the main priority and advised people to stay away from the area. (BBC)

Photo: The sinkhole opened up following heavy rain during Storm Bert and again in recent days.

WASHINGTON – The White House is working on a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza but is “not there yet,” the US National Security Advisor told NBC on Sunday, with fighting in the conflict raging on as Arab leaders meet in Cairo to discuss the crisis. “We are working actively to try to make it happen. We are engaged deeply with the key players in the region, and there is activity even today,” said Jake Sullivan, according to a transcript released by the broadcaster. “There will be further conversations and consultations, and our hope is that we can generate a ceasefire and hostage deal, but we’re not there yet,” he added. Sullivan’s comments came a day after Israel hit Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, days into a fragile ceasefire in it´s conflict with the Iran-backed group.

Addressing that conflict, Sullivan lauded the ceasefire deal and said the US was working with Lebanon’s military to ensure it was implemented “effectively.” “We need to protect it and ensure that it is fully implemented,” he told NBC.

In an apparent reference to the Israeli strikes, Sullivan said both parties “have the right, consistent with international law, to take action in self-defense if they’re facing imminent threats.” Speaking in Jerusalem on Sunday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said there were “indications” progress could be made on a deal securing the release of hostages by Hamas in Gaza. (Jamaicaobserver)

Photo: White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House. (AP)

GAZA – At least 200 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on northern Gaza Saturday, according to local health officials, as the United Nations said it would pause aid deliveries through the enclave’s main crossing after more of its trucks were stolen. The developments underscore the worsening humanitarian situation in the enclave, where tens of thousands of people have been killed by the Israeli military, and chronic hunger threatens the remaining civilian population. On Friday, two children and a woman were crushed to death while attempting to buy food from a bakery in central Gaza. The deadly strikes also come with an uneasy truce underway between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said would allow his forces to focus on Gaza.

Speaking to CNN on Sunday, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, said that five buildings, housing more than 200 people were struck in the Tal Al Zaatar and Beit Lahiya areas of northern Gaza. “They were calling for help, and anyone who tried to assist was bombed. Unfortunately, the cries for help have disappeared; they were killed,” Dr. Abu Safiya said. The strike in Tel Al Zaatar left more than 100 people under the rubble, with only one person pulled out. “This scene has become a daily occurrence, and no one is held accountable; no one can stop the killing of innocent people.” (CNN)

Photo: A picture taken during a tour organised by the Israeli Army shows an Israeli truck transporting aid destined for the Gaza Strip at a drop-off area near the Kerem Shalom crossing. (Getty Images)

PORT OF SPAIN – Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley joined regional leaders in Bridgetown, Barbados for a meeting with a bipartisan United States Congressional delegation on Saturday. The meeting focused on several issues including security, economic and climate goals for the US and CARICOM.

The Bridgetown Initiative is a call for urgent and decisive action to reform the international financial architecture (IFA) that was designed at a time when most of the current member states were not independent and when climate risks or social inequalities, including gender equality, were not considered pre-eminent development challenges. The small island developing states (SIDS), including those in the Caribbean have become increasingly at odds with the reality and needs of the world today, making the IFA entirely unfit for purpose in a world characterized by unrelenting climate change, increasing systemic risks, extreme inequality, highly integrated financial markets vulnerable to cross-border contagion, and dramatic demographics, technological, economic, and geopolitical changes.

The Bridgetown Initiative is named for the capital city of Barbados, where the initiative originates. While Barbados continues to play a leading role, it is not an initiative of Barbados alone, but rather a coalition of partners in a movement for global change. (Jamaicaobserver)

Photo: Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.