By REUTERS
COTONOU - At least 18 people, most of them children, drowned after the overloaded boat carrying them sank in a river north of Benin's commercial capital Cotonou, officials said on Monday.The boat was taking passengers across the Héélou River to a market in the town of Togba when it capsized late on Saturday night."The boat that capsized had capacity for eight passengers but was transporting 27, their baggage and four motorcycles," the mayor of the nearby Abomey-Calavi district, Patrice Hounsou-Guede, told Reuters.Benin's Interior Minister Benoit Degla suspended non-motorized traffic on the river pending an investigation into the tragedy.
Israel accuses Hamas of stonewalling talks, threatens to hit Rafah soon
