Rescue teams recovered a body from the wreckage of a ferry that sank off the coast of Cyprus, bringing the death toll from the accident to 13, while 15 people are still missing, officials said on Saturday.
The Velojet ferry was carrying 267 people when it capsized shortly after sailing from the port of Kyrenia on the northern coast of Cyprus last Sunday afternoon. Search and rescue operations have been continuing since the accident.
This brings the number of confirmed victims to 13, according to the authorities of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is recognized only by Ankara.
Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Unal Östel, said: “With the recovery of another body, the number of victims of the accident rose to 13, while the number of missing persons reached 15.”
The authorities also reported locating the ferry wreckage at a depth of 554 meters off Kyrenia.
Countries participating in a framework that regulates or prohibits the use of weapons that are considered indiscriminate or excessively harmful agreed on Saturday on a document that may pave the way for setting international rules on autonomous weapons.
The number of states parties is 128. Agreement on this non-binding document represents an important step after negotiations that lasted more than a decade regarding the way to regulate weapons systems capable of identifying and attacking targets with varying degrees of autonomy, which are sometimes known as “killer robots.”
However, a human rights organization said that the document's definition of autonomous weapons and measures to limit their potential harm to civilians appear to have been relaxed.
Nicole van Rooyen, executive director of Stop Killer Robots, told Reuters: “It is truly unfortunate that the work that countries have done on the document over the past three years has been greatly weakened in the last hours.”
The member states of the Convention on the Prohibition or Restriction of the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons met in the past few days in Geneva, Switzerland, and reached a consensus overnight.
The agreement comes in light of growing concern about the use of lethal autonomous weapons systems in conflicts and wars. The document, adopted after consensus, is non-binding but could pave the way for formal negotiations on a treaty.
The talks continued until late into the night to overcome differences over the wording, amid opposition from countries such as the United States and Russia.
The United States and Russia prefer to adopt national guidelines rather than legally binding international rules. Washington sought to add flexibility to the non-binding document, including on issues related to the human role in decision-making.
Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a cessation of strikes on Kiev for a period of 3 days, starting today (Saturday), as part of preparations for the visit of an American delegation.
Peskov also told the TASS news agency that Putin is scheduled to meet with US special representatives Steve Witkov and Jared Kushner today.
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow today to present a proposal to end the war that has been going on for more than 4 years in Ukraine, according to Agence France-Presse.
After talks in Moscow, US President Donald Trump's envoys are scheduled to head to Kiev, in the latest attempt by Washington to break the diplomatic stalemate, in the most violent conflict Europe has witnessed since World War II.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of trying to obstruct the envoys' visit, by launching raids on Friday night and Saturday on Kiev airports, in addition to striking a civilian target in the Dnipro region, killing 5 people.
Zelensky said: “It is clear that these Russian strikes on airports constitute a response to the discussions and preparations related to the possibility of the American side visiting Ukraine by air, and landing at Kiev or Boryspil airport.”
This will be the first visit of Trump's friend, businessman Witkoff, and his son-in-law Kushner, to war-torn Kiev, since Trump returned to the White House last year pledging to resolve the conflict.
