Probe launched after 7 die in NZ boat tragedy

HAMILTON • An investigation is under way in New Zealand to determine why a chartered fishing boat capsized, claiming at least seven lives in stormy seas that kept other vessels inshore.

The victims were identified as a group of Pacific Island friends who regularly fished together, and the captain of the vessel. There were 11 people on the boat, The Francie, when it sank at the entrance to Kaipara Harbour, north of Auckland, last Saturday afternoon.

Three survivors were rescued and seven bodies recovered, police said. The search continues for the missing man, who is presumed dead.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Dozens feared dead in Mogadishu car bombing

MOGADISHU • A car bomb exploded near a busy market in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, killing at least eight people, police said, as medical sources warned the toll could be far higher.

"Our ambulances have collected 13 wounded civilians and 28 bodies; the toll could be higher because of the density of the location where the blast occurred," Dr Abdulkadir Abdirahman Adem, director of the Amin ambulance service, told AFP.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but immediate suspicion fell on the Al-Qaeda linked, Islamist Shabaab group, which is locked in battle against the Somali government.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Befriending service for Finland's seniors

HELSINKI • Finland's national postal and logistics service provider Posti Group announced it was launching a new befriending service in January for seniors. Under the scheme, a "befriender" will visit the customer at an agreed time, either once or twice a week, for 30 minutes to an hour.

XINHUA