Death toll passes 6,400 in Ukraine
BERLIN – The United Nations’ human rights office says the number of people killed in more than a year of fighting in eastern Ukraine has risen to more than 6,400.
The office said Monday that at least 6,417 people have been killed and 15,962 wounded between April last year and Saturday.
The latest numbers compare with figures of 6,116 dead and 15,474 wounded given in mid-April. Shelling diminished after a February cease-fire deal, but fighting has worsened in recent weeks.
The U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Raad al-Hussein, said there are “alarming reports of summary executions by armed groups” and his office is “looking into similar allegations against Ukrainian armed forces.”
Boat sinks in China’s Yangtze River
BEIJING – A passenger ship carrying 444 people sank overnight in the Yangtze River in southern China, and seven people have been rescued, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.
Further rescue work was underway, Xinhua said. The boat was going from Nanjing to the southwestern city of Chongqing when it sank at about 9:28 p.m. Monday night, the report said.
Xinhua said the boat was carrying 397 Chinese passengers, five travel agency employees and 42 crew members.
Germany urges Israel to ease blockade
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Germany’s foreign minister paid a rare visit to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Monday, calling on Israel to ease a blockade on the territory and urging Hamas prevent rockets from being fired into Israel.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier became the latest Western diplomat, including UN chief Ban Ki-moon, to tour Gaza since a 50-day war with Israel last summer.
Israel launched its offensive in response to heavy rocket fire. More than 2,200 Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians, and 73 people on the Israeli side were killed.
Associated Press
